John Fitzgerald

The Oberon Tigers’ 34-8 defeat of Manildra has denied the Rhinos a fourth-straight premiership in Sunday’s grand final at Tom Clyburn Oval in Canowindra.

Under the coaching of Nic Barlow, the Tigers’ 26-point winning margin was a relatively high score against a Rhinos team more used to inflicting rivals with similar results.

Manildra’s three-year reign as champions came to an end at the hands of an Oberon team in its fourth year in the Woodbridge Cup.

Previously a Group 10 or Midwest Cup club, the Tigers, with their win in the 2025 decider, have now won premierships in all those competitions.

Their last premiership win was the 2020 Midwest Cup, but they were beaten grand finalists in their initial season in the Woodbridge Cup in 2022, coincidentally against this year’s rival Manildra.

Players from the Manildra side, another year older, had no answer to Oberon’s enthusiastic attack assisted by a better penalty advantage and a higher rate of possession.

The backbone of the Oberon side were club players mainly having come through their juniors system, and four new recruits, one of them, Mat Ranse, proclaimed as the grand final’s man of the match.

Ranse, showing his class, kept his best performance for the game that mattered most, playing an integral role in his side’s first Woodbridge Cup premiership.

Oberon served notice of their intent with first points to hooker Caylib Marston who scored a signature try under the crossbar with just two minutes on the clock.

Following Marston’s converted try and with possession from the subsequent kickoff the Tigers camped themselves in Manildra’s half and, to the Rhinos’ credit, they held their rivals scoreless for another 28 minutes.

Manildra were barely on Oberon’s side of halfway but when they were, looked dangerous, and they scored in the 22nd minute with a try, unconverted, to Jock Yelland, for a 6-4 score.

Eight minutes later, Oberon’s Abel Lefaoseu scored a good individual try down the right wing, collecting a pass 20 metres out, kicking inland and chasing and catching the ball to score wide out.

Tigers’ kicker Blake Fitzpatrick’s conversion attempt bounced on to the crossbar and fell back into the field of play.

The sides went to the break with a tenuous 10-4 lead to Oberon.

The first tackle of the second half, with Oberon receiving the ball, resulted in a penalty to the Tigers for a high tackle, the Manildra player probably lucky not to have been sin binned.

With weight of possession, six minutes after the resumption, Oberon’s Senio Lefaoseu scored close enough for Fitzpatrick to nail the conversion for 16-4.

Receiving the ball from the kick restart again, Oberon were penalised and marched another 10 metres for backchat and, on their line, were put under intense pressure by an increasingly desperate Manildra.

The Oberon defence held firm, three and four players in a tackle, and when the ball was swung wide Manildra’s Jacob Duncan was smashed into touch on the corner post.

In possession again, the Tigers moved the ball confidently downfield, sweeping the defence aside, for Ranse to score near the posts and, with Fitzpatrick’s successful conversion and a 22-4 score, and showing Manildra’s frailties, it was obvious even at that point the Rhinos were a spent force for 2025.

With little to prevent them running freely, Oberon fullback Robby Walsh, another playing well above his weight, scored in the 52nd minute, and the score ticked over another six points with the conversion for 28-4.

At the 60-minute mark, to add further insult to a side carrying the burden of a probable loss, halfback Fitzpatrick scored Oberon’s sixth try between the posts to bring up 34 points with his conversion.

With 10 minutes to go, bogged down by their difficulty to compete, the look of resignation of their first premiership loss in four years, Rhinos’ Jayden Fahey managed to get across for his side’s second try but, with less than 10 minutes to go and down by 26 points, it was too little too late for Manildra.

Manildra played as strongly as they could in a good game of football played in the best spirits but the best players​ on the day were those from the Oberon side.

Mat Ranse, not the biggest player, but who played as if he carried 20 more kilos than he did, fearlessly throwing himself into the opposition, was far and away the best player and deserved his award.

The Tigers’ will-o-the-wisp fullback Robby Walsh was not far behind, and Oberon brains trust halfback Blake Fitzpatrick organised the attack and defence to completely dominate the previously invincible Manildra.