By Tallon Smith

The Young Cherrypickers may have had to do it the hard way, but the 2024 Minor Premiers converted their regular season crown into their first title since 1991 with a last-gasp 16-12 win over the Wagga Kangaroos in the Group 9 Grand Final at McDonald’s Park today.

The best side all year, dropping just one game and drawing another, the Cherrypickers dominated proceedings in the opening stages before being forced to come from behind to defeat a never-say-die Kangaroos team.

After establishing their dominance early, Young opened the scoring through second rower Jayke Hogan to take a 4-0 lead inside the opening 10 minutes.

The Cherrypickers had their second soon after when hooker Jesse Corcoran darted out from dummy half close to the line and wrestled the ball to the ground with multiple Kangaroos defenders attempting to stop him from doing so.

After a period of strong defence from both sides, it was Kangaroos centre Dakota Ruta who was next to cross the line, breaking through the Young defence to score out wide and put his team back in the contest at 10-4.

After Young put the ball out on the full from the kickoff, the Kangaroos went on the attack again, and were beginning to win the field position battle.

The Wagga side made it two in a row when James Smart chased his own kick and took on Boro Navori in a contest for the ball before regathering it to score next to the uprights.

Unlike after the first try, Roos fullback Charlie Barton added extras to send the two teams into the break at 10-all.

A little push and shove early in the second half threatened to boil over, but it was very well handled by referee Ben Whitby with both sides cautioned and play allowed to continue.

Soon after, the Roos dropped the ball in great attacking position, but received a penalty for a shoulder charge, with fullback Charlie Barton taking a shot at penalty goal which was successful, giving the Kangaroos the lead for the first time in the match.

A frantic period of mistakes and defence ensued, with neither team able to break the match open, with the best chance being a runaway effort by the Kangaroos which saw the final pass intercepted 10 metres from the line.

The stalemate couldn’t last forever though, and it was Jahnayah Freeman who bursted through the Kangaroos defence to score the match winning try with three minutes remaining, with the kick from Devon Makoare-Boyce giving Young a 16-12 lead.

The Kangaroos regathered the short kickoff and went on the attack hunting for a reply, but a fifth tackle shift to Dakota Ruta ended in a changeover, and after Young held the ball and put it out of play with a kick for touch, a forward pass by the Wagga side with seconds remaining triggered a pitch invasion as Young washed away 33 years of pain to take home the Group 9 crown.

Young captain Tom Giles was elated post match, after having delivered the town its first premiership in the entire playing squad’s lifetime.

“It was a great game of footy,” he said in his acceptance speech.

“It’s been a long time coming, we were probably due for one.”

“The supporters have been unreal, the boys have got one more thing for you, let’s go pack the Aussie [Hotel].”

Young Fullback Nic Hall was named player of the match after a strong game at the back for the ‘Pickers.

Lower grade victories on the day went to Gundagai 18-16 over Albury in Reserves, Temora 12-8 against Brothers in League Tag, while the Kangaroos did the double in the underage grades with a 10-6 win over the Brothers in the Under 18s and a 38-4 victory in their 16s showdown with South City.

Cover Photo: Group 9