By Tallon Smith

The Leeton Greenies’ League Tag side have won their second successive premiership after ending West Wyalong’s unbeaten season with a 16-12 victory in the Group 20 Grand Final at Griffith on Sunday.

The Greenies’ effort echoed the efforts of their men’s team in ending their 89-year wait for successive titles, with two tries to Taylah Axtill and another to Jamie Taylor ensuring both top grade trophies will remain in the cabinet at Leeton for another year.

Leeton captain Gabby McGregor said that the win felt “pretty bloody good” for the side, especially given the massive player turnover over the off-season.

“A bit shocked to be honest, but everyone dug deep and had a good go, so here we are,” she said.

“This year we started fresh again, a lot of our old girls retired, so we started with a lot of young girls this year.

“So it [the team] should be the same team now for a few more years.”

When asked about the performance of the side, who were the only team to take competition points off of West Wyalong this year with an 8-all draw in Round 8, McGregor said she was “absolutely” proud.

“Very very proud, but my vote [for our best] goes to Taylah Axtill, she got us out of trouble,” she said.

“We had confidence, we knew it was going to be hard, but we just knew it was whoever showed up on the day who was going to take it away.”

McGregor said that the 31-degree heat took a toll on the players, but the sides simply had to overcome the extra challenge.

“It’s ridiculous to have to play like that, but we did it,” she said.

The pride in the sides’ performance was echoed by West Wyalong skipper Braela Bell, who despite the loss said she was “the proudest” she could have been of her side’s effort in both the Grand Final and the season.

“We’ve worked hard all year, we had a massive pre-season, we’re a bloody great bunch of chicks,” she said.

“I’m so proud of every single one of them.”

When asked if the loss gives the side more motivation for next season, Bell said that it will “absolutely” be in the back of their minds.

“We’re not giving up, that’s for sure, and we’ve definitely got to keep working to come home with that trophy,” she said.

“This gives us more motivation, and we want the win even more, we’re never gonna give up.”

When also asked about the heat, Bell said that despite its effect on the players, both sides tried to remain focused on the match rather than the conditions.

“It was ridiculous, but no one spoke about it on the field, we all sucked it up, everyone knew it was hot, we were all playing in it,” she said.

“Unfortunately we haven’t had much practice playing in the heat, considering we play in winter, so yeah, it was pretty tough out there.”

West Wyalong fullback Ava Lemon won the player of the match award despite being on the losing side.

Reserve Grade

Meanwhile, the Yenda Blueheelers have also gone back to back, taking out the Reserve Grade premiership with a 26-4 win over the Leeton Greenies.

After a massive win in last year’s Grand Final, the Blueheelers showed no signs of slowing down in 2023, dropping just one game all year (an 18-14 loss to the Black and Whites in Round 2), to storm to a second successive title.

However, Sunday’s win came just a day after interchange forward Kyle Darrington was airlifted to hospital in Sydney following a car accident.

Yenda skipper Jordon Burley described the win as “unreal” for the club, particularly given the circumstances and also the scorching 31-degree heat.

“It’s back to back for us, but in saying that it’s a completely different side to last year,” he said.

“We knew it was going to be hot, which you don’t play in these conditions all year, but Grand Final Day for some reason it seems to be hot as.

“It was just rotations, we had a really good bench, and we just knew if we could keep the lads as fresh as possible always, we’d probably come out on top.”

Burley also spoke of the future of the Group, given that the lower grades have featured reduced numbers of teams in 2023.

“We’ve always battled away, I think the Group [20] has gone through a couple of tough years, but if we can just hold on, the reinforcements, the juniors, are coming,” he said.

“We’ve just got to stick by a couple of tough years and we’ll get through it.”

Yenda fullback Noah Forbutt won the man of the match award after a great performance for the Blueheelers, while Jayden Wood was also a standout performer, crossing for two tries.

Junior Grades

The Griffith Black and Whites also tasted success on Grand Final Day, starting the day off with wins in both the Under 16s and Under 18s, both coming over Leeton.

The Under 18s encounter saw a comfortable win for the Black and Whites, who cruised to a 36-14 victory.

Benjamin Fattore spearheaded the victory, crossing for two tries, while Saul Railo, Tali Talioesila, William Charles and Mason Payne all joined him on the scoresheet for the Griffith side.

The Under 16s encounter was much closer however, with the Black and Whites scoring a last gasp 20-16 win.

Jezaiah Charles was outstanding for the Griffith side, following in the footsteps of his older brother in scoring a Grand Final try, before adding what proved to be the matchwinner for his second.

The win is the Black and Whites’ first Under 16s title since 1983.