Grand final glory comes to Toowoomba
FROM THE DOGHOUSE TO PENTHOUSE: HIGHFIELDS’ CLIMB TO THE TOP OF TRL
THEY’VE enjoyed a stirring rivalry throughout the 2021 TRL Premiership season, and they’ll have to be at their best to lift the trophy this weekend.
Goondiwindi takes on Highfields in the TRL A-grade grand final this Sunday, with the Eagles getting the chance to secure their first ever grand final win in the top grade.
They claimed the club championship this season, but it hasn’t always been the case for the club, with the once battlers coming good.
We caught up with stalwart Sean Hamel about the early struggles at the club, and how sweet it would be to take out the TRL crown.
To say things are going well for the Highfields Eagles would be an understatement.
They feature two teams on grand final day, had their U17s girls win their competition and they’ve just claimed the TRL’s club championship.
It wasn’t all smiles and trophies during the foundation years of the club however, and one man who has been there through the times is Sean Hamel.
Needing a change of scenery in 2013, the outside back linked with the club as they returned to the competition,
“I joined Highfields when they came back into the comp in 2013. I was dual registered with the U20s Clydesdales,” Hamel said.
“I needed a change from where I was, and my coach at Valleys (U18s) came across.
“There were some lean years early on. We had four or five blokes at training and we’d get flogged by 80.
“Ever since Gus (McKellar) came on he’s helped to change the culture, and I wouldn’t want to play anywhere else.”
Apart from an anomaly in 2019, the Eagles have enjoyed senior success in recent years, although A-grade silverware had always eluded them.
That changed earlier this season when they were able to take out the Madsen Rasmussen Trophy over Goondiwindi, who they will again meet in Sunday’s grand final.
While Hamel said the Boars would come in as favourites on the back of their minor premiership success, he knows his team will take the contest to the Boars.
“The pressure is all on them. They are minor premiers and have only dropped a couple of games all year,” he said.
“We’re feeling pretty good, although there’s a few sore bodies after the weekend. We’ve been able to rest up a bit and the boys are feeling confident and riding this high.
“It’s been a long time coming. We had a bad year in 2019 and then the season got cancelled last year. We’ve worked hard at training since November to try and get to this moment. To see it come together is a relief and weight off our shoulders.
“People like Alan George and Penny Howells that started this club, to see where it has gone from when I first joined through to now, makes this so much sweeter.”
Hamel praises the tight-knit nature of the playing group for being a big contributor to their success.
“All the guys are best mates,” he said. “When there’s not footy we’re over at each other’s place having a beer or a barbecue,
to see where it has gone from when I first joined through to now makes this so much sweeter Sean Hamel
going to the gym together or even working together.
“I know this means everything to the club. For everything we’ve gone through, the sacrifices of our families, wives and partners, this means a hell of a lot.
“This would be a great way to go out. I don’t know what I’m doing next year, but I’ve been busting my arse for about nine years now, so this would mean a lot.”
TRL grand final day gets underway at 10am on Sunday at Toowoomba Sports Ground.
The Chronicle will be live blogging the day right from the start, so you can stay up to date with the latest happenings in the U18s, women, reserves and A-grade.
Head to thechronicle.com.au on Sunday to follow along.