Tallon Smith

The Griffith Waratah Tigers took out their second consecutive Group 20 Reserve Grade premiership with a heartstopping 28-22 win over the Hay Magpies in front of a big crowd at EW Moore Oval on Sunday.

A near perfect first half from the Tigers saw them take an 18-0 lead into half time, only for Hay to claw their way back in the second half to level the game at 22-all in the dying stages.

However, a two-point field goal attempt from Waratahs coach Luke Farmer hit the upright and deflected back into the field of play, with Billy Vearing beating the Magpies players to the ball, regathering it and scoring on the bell to seal back-to-back titles for the Tigers.

Speaking after the win to Battlers For Bush Footy, Waratah Tigers coach Luke Farmer said that the back-to-back titles mean a lot to the club after it spent a year in recess in 2023.

“[I’m] over the moon, the vibe we’ve got with this club, it’s just happiness all around,” he said.

“The club is in a good spot at the moment, we had five grades this year, and it’s just in a great place.

“To win back-to-back [premierships] the world to me and the club as well.”

As for the stark difference between his team’s performances in both halves, Farmer said that it was a case of the Hay side having the momentum in the second stanza, with a bit of luck involved in the final result.

“It’s a game of two halves rugby league, isn’t it,” he said.

“The first half was close to perfect, we were great, we just did everything right, that was our best half of football all year.

“In the second half, Hay fought back and they gave us a shock and we just couldn’t stop them.

“For about a 15 to 20 minute period they just got the momentum and [drew] level.

“We never gave up and we were lucky to get the win right at the end, and what a finish.”

Following the Reserve Grade game, the Hay Magpies made sure they didn’t leave Grand Final Day empty handed, taking out the Women’s Tackle decider 24-10 over Waratahs in a reversal of the Reserve Grade result.

Hay’s Wendy Gonevulavula took out best on ground honours in a match that ended on a sour note, with the game called off early due to an injury.

Earlier in the day, Leeton completed a clean sweep of the first three games to finish as the most successful club again in 2025.

The Greenies opened the day with a 38-24 win over the TLU Sharks in the Aub Farrell Trophy Under 16s decider, led by a two-try man of the match effort from Nate De Paoli.

The great start to the Grand Finals continued for Leeton in the Under 18s Harold Eckley Cup decider, with First Grade half Caydan Hiller putting his experience in the top grade this year to good use in steering his team to a 20-16 victory over the Black and Whites, a performance that saw him adjudged best afield.

Finally, the Greenies took out their third League Tag title in four years, defeating West Wyalong 10-4 in another of their epic battles, with Zarly Pike taking out best on ground honours.

To read about the First Grade clash between DPC and Hay, click here