COUGARS ON PROWL
Young mates eager to lead University in clash with South Toowoomba
YOU’D be hard pressed to find a bond tighter than the one between Deng Arok and Andrew Bani-Freeman.
Like Batman and Robin, the pair is a dynamic duo on the field and best mates off it.
A youth group at the HumeRidge Church bought them together as friends in their childhood and ultimately led them to Aussie rules football.
“We knew each other through our youth group,” Bani-Freeman said.
“I was into footy back in under 8s, and then Deng joined in a few years later.
“He was a bit more hungry for it.”
“Ross Savill got us along to the youth group, and it’s pretty exciting that we get to play a senior grand final together,” Arok added.
Now the pair is hoping to lead University Cougars to a Allieds Cup flag this weekend.
Arok, 21, is part of University’s leadership group as a vicecaptain, a role he wasn’t expecting but has performed admirably
“I wasn’t really expecting it (vice-captain),” he said,
“I was just excited to have a season of footy.
“When I got the leadership role, I just wanted to do it to the best of my ability.”
University will take on South Toowoomba in today’s final.
A big part of the Cougars success this season has been their young core and the ability to burn teams off.
AUSSIE RULES: They’re the dynamic duo who are best mates off the field and lethal on it.
University young guns Deng Arok and Andrew Bani-Freeman are looking to guide the Cougars to another Allieds Cup flag this weekend.
The pair has been friends since childhood as part of a youth group at the HumeRidge Church, which led them on a path towards football.
“We knew each other through our youth group,” Bani-Freeman said.
“I was into footy back in under 8s, and then Deng joined in a few years later. He was a bit more hungry for it.”
“Ross Savill got us along to the youth group, and it’s pretty exciting that we get to play a senior grand final together,” Arok added.
Arok, 21, is part of University’s leadership group as a vice-captain, a role he wasn’t expecting but has performed admirably in their final run.
“You’re always excited for a grand final. Any time you get to play in the last game of the season is amazing,” he said.
“I wasn’t really expecting it (vicecaptain).
“I was just excited to have a season of footy. When I got the leadership role I just wanted to do it to the best of my ability.”
Bani-Freeman, 20, has been a standout performer in his first year of senior footy.
He came away with the AFLQ Darling Downs Rookie of the Year award in his return to the sport after a few years off.
“I missed it,” he said.
“I played touch for the last few years and I just wanted to get back into it.
“Unfortunately we couldn’t do it last year which made me hungrier for it.
“To come back this year and make a grand final is bloody awesome.”
A big part of the Cougars success this season has been their young core and the ability to burn teams off with their legs.
Arok said they would again look to their strengths in order to try and take down the Bombers.
“We’ve got a really young core and we’ve got a lot of legs,” Arok said.
“We do like to use our speed a lot and that’s how we like to take the game on, from the backs up to our forwards.
“We want to play fast and use our pace.”
To claim their first flag since 2018, they’ll have to get through the defending champions South Toowoomba, who have timed their run to perfection.
The Bombers have lost just once since the mid-season break, stringing together five wins in that span and handing Coolaroo its only loss of the season last week.
Like the late great Bart Cummings did so many times in the Melbourne Cup, South Toowoomba coach Nathan Stewart has got his side peaking at the right time.
TOOWOOMBA OUT TO CLIP HAWKS’ WINGS
They’ve been the dominant women’s team on the Downs since their inception, and the Toowoomba Tigers are out to add another string to their bow.
They get the chance to make it seven straight flags when they take on Goondiwindi in this weekend’s senior women’s decider.
No team has been able to take down the Tigers since coming into the competition in 2015, but the Hawks enter with a puncher’s chance.
Toowoomba has won all three encounters throughout the regular season, however Goondiwindi has improved each time, including going down by just six points in their last meeting.
GRAND FINAL DAY
U12 – South Toowoomba vs Coolaroo at 8.30am
U14 – Toowoomba vs South Toowoomba at 10.30am
Women – Toowoomba vs Goondiwindi at 12.30pm
Men – University vs South Toowoomba at 2.30pm