Tallon Smith
Leeton has emerged as a serious Group 20 premiership threat after scoring more than 60 points for a second straight week in a dominant 66-6 elimination final victory over the Griffith Black and Whites at the Leeton No.1 Oval on Saturday.
Captain-coach Billy Dickinson crossed the line five times as the Greenies scored 12 tries to one to set up an elimination final clash Tullibigeal-Lakes United next Saturday, September 5 at Solar Mad Stadium in Griffith.
After a patchy run of form was emphatically put to bed with a 60-point win over injury-hit West Wyalong last week, Dickinson was even more impressed to repeat the performance in a final against a side that defeated the Greenies 26-20 at the same venue just three weeks ago.
“It was very pleasing, we lost to them three weeks ago, and our goal was to come out and prove how good of a squad we can be and try and beat them with intensity,” he said.
“I think we did that early and set the tone for the game, and the points just kept flowing.
“Obviously coming off the loss to them, a few boys had something to set straight, and we got the chance [on Saturday], and I think we showed that we are the better team.
“At this time of the year, two weeks of scoring 60-plus, we’re pretty happy with that.”
After a frenetic opening where both teams had a number of chances, it was Dickinson who opened the scoring off a sublime ball from halfback Caydan Hillier, with fullback Henry Taylor doubling the early advantage to 12-0 soon after.
The Greenies avalanche only continued from there, with last week’s six-try star of the show Kyson Freer the next to score after racing away off a Hillier cut-out pass, before Taylor showed some individual brilliance to tally up his second.
Freer then doubled up himself off another assist from Hillier, before Taylor turned provider for Dickinson as the home side opened up a 34-0 half time lead.
The one-way traffic resumed on the other side of the intermission, with Jesse Watson getting his name on the sheet, followed by Dickinson crossing for tries three and four.
Skipper Will Charles stood up to ensure the Black and Whites would not exit the competition with a scoreless defeat, but that was to be the lone resistance as an angled run saw Blake McDonald rewarded, before Taylor completed his hat-trick and Dickinson tallied up try number five to reach the maximum 60-point margin.
After missing part of the season with injury, Dickinson has returned with some serious form in recent weeks, scoring in the side’s two previous games before his explosive performance on Saturday.
“It was pleasing to come back in and try and get some form and some fitness, which is something I’ve been trying to do,” Dickinson said.
“It was a good chance and got the ability to do that [on Saturday] and was on the lucky end of a few Caydan Hillier masterclass passes.”
Masterclass was one way of describing Hillier’s game.
While the Black and Whites were without their dynamic halfback Isaiah Buerckner for their biggest game of the year, 19-year-old Hillier finished with four try assists to steer the Greenies to the first finals victory of his career and the club’s first postseason win since the 2023 grand final.
With the side looking to avoid repeating the straight sets exit of last season, Dickinson was pleased with the manner in which the young playmaker orchestrated the performance.
“We haven’t won a finals game in two years, so that was something we wanted to set straight and obviously it starts with your halves and making sure they’re taking control of the game,” he said.
“I think his exposure to first grade has built some maturity in him and I think [Saturday] was a great example of that and he was able to show that he is not just there to make up the numbers, he is one of the better halves in the comp.”
Another player that impressed in his second first grade game of the season was Goolgowi premiership winner Taylor, with Dickinson pleased to have a more experienced player around the young squad.
“Obviously last week wasn’t the greatest game of footy to judge anything off, but [Saturday] proved why we fought so hard to try and get him here, and it’s great to have another mature body in this team,” he said.
“We’ve got an average age of about 20, so one of them older blokes doesn’t hurt, and he’s a great leader and someone we enjoy having around the team.
“[I was] very pleased with how he played, he scored three tries, but he also set up two or three more, so he’s everything you want and he showed his class [on Saturday].”
Meanwhile, Yanco-Wamoon booked its place in a major semi final showdown with the Griffith Waratah Tigers with a 31-16 victory over Tullibigeal-Lakes United in the qualifying final at the Yanco Sportsground on Sunday.
Hawks centre Nia Remuera scored a hat-trick to lead the side to victory, which snapped TLU’s nine-game win streak and sends the Sharks into the minor semi final against Leeton in Griffith next Saturday.
Next week’s finals schedule is below.
Group 20 Finals Week Two
Minor semi final
Saturday, September 5 – Tullibigeal-Lakes United v Leeton, Solar Mad Stadium, Griffith, 2:40pm
Major semi final
Sunday, September 6 – Griffith Waratahs v Yanco-Wamoon, Exies Oval, Griffith, 2:40pm
LEETON 66 (Billy Dickinson 5, Henry Taylor 3, Kyson Freer 2, Jesse Watson, Blake McDonald tries; Elwyn Ravu 6, Taylor 3 goals) DEFEATED GRIFFITH BLACK & WHITES 6 (William Charles try; Meli Ranitu goal) at Leeton No.1 Oval, Saturday August 29.
