By Tallon Smith

The Wests Devils have erased the heartbreak of their 2019 and 2022 losses to claim their first Illawarra Rugby League First Grade premiership in six years courtesy of a 31-20 victory over the Thirroul Butchers at WIN Stadium on Sunday.

The Butchers raced out to a 12-0 lead in the early stages, before the Devils clawed their way back, scoring six tries to one from there on to secure the victory and the premiership.

Wests utility Justin Rodrigues said that finally breaking through to win the premiership after a couple of heartbreaking finals exits in the past two seasons was an incredible feeling.

“The feeling on Sunday was incredible, all the days have blended into one at the moment,” he said. 

“To finally lift the trophy again after six long years, which for Wests is a long time between drinks, [was amazing].”

As for the past couple of seasons and the heartbreak of losing multiple finals, including the controversial 2022 Grand Final against Collegians, where a clear knock on was awarded as what turned out to be the match-winning try, Rodrigues said there was a sense of relief when the siren went and the Devils were in front on the scoreboard.

“Our last [premiership], which I was a part of, was in 2018,” he said.

“A lot of us boys were a lot younger mixed in with a lot of older and more experienced guys back then, so that felt great, but I was just young and dumb back, [and] then you think you’re going to win a comp every single year.

“I guess the older you get, the more heartaches we’ve had, and the more Grand Finals we’ve lost [along with] semi-final exits.”

When asked about the influence of the large contingent of Wests supporters which packed the lower tier of the western grandstand, Rodrigues said the players both felt and appreciated the support which lifted them to victory in the match.

“I think that was my fifth or sixth grand final for West in my time and that was by far the biggest West crowd that I’ve played in front of, it was amazing,” he said.

“While we’ve got a tight knit group of supporters that always get around, and we’re all very close and connected, we don’t have the largest supporter base of the likes of Thirroul, [especially given that] we don’t generally get as much community involvement.

“But on Sunday, it seems like every man and their dog that knew anyone to do with a Wests player was at the ground with a Wests jersey on.

“So it was a really good feeling to play with such a big supporting crew on Sunday.”

After leading their past couple of Grand Finals in recent years before going on to lose in heartbreaking circumstances, things were a little different this year as the side fell behind 12-0 early on, but Rodrigues said the belief that they could win the match never faded.

“It was a bit different to [the past few years], in our previous Grand Finals, we’ve been the team with the early lead and ended up conceding defeat,” he said.

“It was a real sweet feeling, [but at] 12-0 down it didn’t feel so sweet.

“It was looking a bit ominous there early days, but we tightened up our middle and ended up sticking to our guns and sticking to our structures and knew that if we could put it together for the remainder, it didn’t matter what the lead or the deficit was, we would be able to get them back because that’s just how we are at Wests.

“We always believe we can win, regardless of the position we’re in, and we were fortunate enough to put it together and grab the victory.”

Wests halfback and former Super League star Dane Chisholm was named player of the match, after kicking three goals and slotting a field goal in the match.

The Devils are now widely expected to face the Group 7 Premiers in the second edition of the South Coast Premiers Challenge early next year.