By Tallon Smith

The Gerringong Lions have affirmed their status as the premier side in Group 7, taking home back-to-back titles after a 28-10 win over the Shellharbour Sharks at Centenary Field in Albion Park on Sunday.

In doing so, the Lions emulated the feats of their 1920-21-22 and 2015-16 sides in winning consecutive premierships for only the third time in the club’s history.

Gerringong Centre Toby Gumley-Quine matched his efforts in the Major Semi Final, scoring two tries for the Lions, whilst halfback Rixon Russell, Corey Mulhall and Jordan Chandler also crossed the line as the Minor Premiers converted their regular season crown into the major title.

Gerringong Coach Scott Stewart said that the win was a great achievement for the club and the town, particularly given how many local juniors were in the side.

“It’s a great achievement, we had 17 juniors playing on the day which is probably a real good shout out to our junior league and the way it’s run,” he said.

“[They keep] producing kids who want to play for them and then they come through and step up and get an opportunity to play First Grade.”

Speaking on the overall performance, Stewart said the Lions’ efforts across all areas in the match were strong.

“It was pretty comprehensive,” he said.

“We played some really good footy to get into that lead. 

“It’s a little bit of a shame that there was a fight at the end, which ruined it a bit, we probably had a chance just to spend those last few minutes enjoying the moment.”

Both of the Lions’ back-to-back victories in the past two seasons have come against the Sharks, and with Gerringong also beating the Shellharbour outfit in the Reserves Grand Final, Stewart said the rivalry is stronger than ever as the two sides continue to push each other all the way in their respective pursuits of greatness.

“I’m sure that rivalry’s still there, I don’t think they’re gonna go away, Shellharbour,” he said.

“We’ll go again next year, but I’m sure Shellharbour will still be there looking to go [after] us.

“I suppose we’ll just [turn] up next year and hopefully most of those guys will be back, [but] I think there’s a few older ones that will be giving it away.

“We’ve been the hunted for the last 15 years, so that’s not gonna change, but I’d rather be where we are at the moment than any other position.”

As for the achievement of winning back-to-back premierships, Stewart said that the rare feat is not lost upon the squad, with Gerringong only winning consecutive titles twice previously despite their Group 7 record 22 First Grade titles dating back to their foundation in 1914.

“It’s happened twice [that we’ve gone] back to back,” Stewart said.

“The town, it’s a rugby league town, everyone knows its history, [and we’ve] still got [three] blokes playing in the NRL.

“If you saw Sunday night, most of the town was up here [at Michael Cronin Oval] celebrating the players, it means a lot.

“They appreciate it, the boys, how much Rugby League is respected in the town, and they go out there and perform accordingly.”

Moving to the lower grades, and in an identical matchup to First Grade, Gerringong got the better of Shellharbour 17-16 to take home the Reserve Grade Premiership.

A field goal to halfback Isaac Russell was all that separated the two sides, with the Lions taking home back-to-back titles in that competition as well.

Meanwhile, Milton-Ulladulla added to their League Tag Division 1 crown with an 18-0 win in the Ladies’ Tackle Grand Final also against Shellharbour.

The loss meant the Sharks finished the day 0-3, a disappointing result, but still a testament to the club’s strength in that they qualified for the decider in three grades.

Finally, Albion Park-Oak Flats took out the Under 18s Premiership with an 18-16 win over the Warilla-Lake South Gorillas in a tense Grand Final.

The victory over the defending premiers secured the Eagles’ first Under 18s title since 2018, and their first premiership in any grade since 2019, with the title a part of the club’s broader resurgence in 2024.

In the Grand Finals for the Lower Grades last weekend at Shellharbour, Nowra-Bomaderry won the Third Grade Regan Cup over Stingrays 26-20, Milton-Ulladulla took out the Ladies League Tag Division 1 decider against Jamberoo 30-0, and the Superoos flipped the script to beat the Bulldogs 12-4 in the League Tag Division 2 finale.