History highlight for Valleys Fillies
RUGBY LEAGUE: Round 11 of the TRL Premiership was the week of the close contest as four games went right down to the wire.
It showed the tight nature of the competition heading into this weekend’s mid-season finals, as crowds made their presence felt around the grounds.
Andrew O’Brien from At The Footy with Obee and Cookie
was on hand at Dalby and Gatton at the weekend to witness a pair of thrilling TRL contests.
The highlight for O’Brien didn’t come from either of those contests however, opting instead for the Valleys Fillies’ momentous outing at Cahill Park as the centrepiece of the weekend.
“It was unbelievable. I’m a real historian and I just loved that,” O’Brien said.
“I saw them in the 47th Battalion and it was great to see a smile.
“(Coach) Dave McColl has put in so much hard for the first win and it was tremendous. They were all very good and worked together as a team.
“They had jobs to do and they did it. The Molly O’Connell try about 10 minutes from the end was inspirational in front of the can bar.”
The focus of the Toowoomba Rugby League shifts to the Madsen Rasmussen Trophy and President’s Cup finals this weekend, and O’Brien said the tag of favouritism could rest with the Warriors.
“I think Wattles are favourites. The reason being Valleys had it pretty tough against Dalby and Gatton,” he said.
“Wattles are coming off Souths and the bye. They will be very fresh and have coped with the stop-start nature of the season the best of all the teams.
“The match-up of Cory McGrady and Matt Duggan is worth the entry fee alone.
“It will be won by the team that holds onto the ball. When you have two tight teams, like we saw in games on the weekend, teams that won hung onto ball well in the second half.
“I think the success story for Valleys is their forward pack. Gatton’s is the largest we’ve seen this year, and Valleys for- wards managed to stem the tide.”
Another moment that stood out for O’Brien was the meeting of Dalby custodian Corey Blades and new Highfields fullback Denzel Burns.
He described a moment in the second half as a special one, as the two speedsters met in a one-on-one situation during their thriller in Dalby.
“Corey Blades went right through the middle, and came to the heir apparent Denzel Burns,” he said. “It showed that a new era might just be on the way. It was fantastic to watch the young buck and the old buck come together.”
At The Footy with Obee and Cookie will broadcast from Herb Steinohrt Oval on Sunday.