Tallon Smith
Tullibigeal-Lakes United washed away years of pain and claimed its first Group 20 premiership in a decade with a nail-biting 17-16 win over the Griffith Waratah Tigers in the grand final at EW Moore Oval on Sunday.
A Jaden Kelly field goal in the 75th minute was all that separated the two sides after Waratahs mounted a comeback from 10-0 down to take a 16-10 lead, only for the Sharks to level and then win the match in a thrilling finish.
TLU co-coach Craig Morriss said he was proud of his side’s growth over the course of the season, after ending an eight-year finals drought and now a 10-year title wait with a squad of almost entirely local players.
“[It’s] so special to have all local players and come from where they were at the start of the year,” he said.
“I think in the first program they had us down as coming last.
“We knew if we could just change the way we played and build a culture at the club and belief, we could get to where we were, and that’s built every week.
“Overall, they just played for each other, they’ve been doing it for 20 weeks, and today they nailed it.”
Only one try was scored in a gruelling first half, with Tristin Johnson crossing in the left hand corner to give TLU a 4-0 lead at the break.
That margin grew to 10-0 less than four minutes after play resumed as Brodie Morris found his way over under the posts from short range.
Waratahs needed to hit back and did soon after when halfback Moses Lolohea took the ball at second receiver on a right side shift and split the Sharks’ defence to score.
The tide began to turn from there, with Sina Tatofi dashing from dummy half to put the Tigers in front 12-10, before doubling up with a burrowing effort to extend his side’s lead to six points.
However, the biggest moment of the match arrived after that, when TLU five-eighth Bobby Jones nailed a 40-20 to give his side field position, and co-coach Cody Collins rewarded his playmaker’s effort by crashing over to level the game at 16-all off the following play.
With the scores deadlocked and just under five minutes remaining, Sharks halfback Kelly stepped up and nailed a field goal to give his side a 17-16 lead.
TLU managed to hang on from there despite a frantic finish, which included a missed 38 metre shot at penalty goal from Waratahs fullback James Girdler, sealing the club’s fourth premiership and first since 2016.
Having already rallied from eight points down at half time in their last match at EW Moore Oval in the minor semi final a fortnight ago, the Sharks’ belief was again a feature on the biggest day, as the side withstood a Tigers surge to claim the crown.
Reflecting on the campaign, Morriss said resilience and hard work has been a feature throughout, particularly in the postseason.
“This is the story of our whole finals, is that we are behind or whatever at half time and work hard to get there,” he said.
“I think it’s just … belief in each other, and their defence is unbelievable.
“Tahs have got such a big team, and they just keep coming all day, and we just kept repelling them, I don’t know how many times we repelled them on our line.
“[It was] just a fantastic effort, I couldn’t be prouder [of] these young fellas, a breath of fresh air has just gone through the town.”
The Barry Hails Medal for best on ground was awarded to Sharks stand-off Jones for his outstanding performance, which was headlined by his match-turning 40-20 kick.
In praising the performance of his number six, Morriss was quick to point out the fact that it was his second best on ground performance in a grand final this year after he guided Tullibigeal to the Northern Riverina Football League senior premiership, while the TLU mentor also noted the effort of his fellow co-coach.
“Then we needed something special and Bobby popped up, he’s a special player,” Morriss said.
“He’s a dual best and fairest now, he won best and fairest in the Aussie rules league too, so that’s a big statement for his ability.
“I thought Cody Collins wasn’t far behind him, his work rate would be phenomenal if you kept the stats today.”
Another exceptional performer for the Lakes side was Kelly, who steered the team around the paddock before coolly kicking the side to victory under pressure.
After missing the club’s 2016 triumph while playing for the Wagga Kangaroos, the legendary halfback’s heroics secured him a second title following his 2013 crown, to go alongside three Ray Thorpe Medals in a remarkable career.
Although he made it look easy, Morriss said Kelly’s clutch kick followed work earlier in the week in setting up for and executing field goal plays.
“That’s what we needed to do, and we had plays during the week for that, we got to that situation, so we did some situational training,” he said.
“He’s a great kicker, he can kick both feet, and everybody knows how good he is at kicking in general play, field goals, goals, whatever.
“Jado’s always been there to do what he does.
“He just landed it, nailed it.”
The premiership win ends a lean run for the Sharks, with the side picking up wooden spoons in 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023, before again missing the finals in the past two seasons.
For Waratahs, the loss sees the side fall agonisingly short of the ultimate success after another strong campaign.
Despite the disappointment of the final result, Waratahs coach Brett Goldspink said he was proud of the resilience his side showed to take the lead after being 10 points down in the second half.
“It’s been a great year, obviously we fell at the final hurdle, but you can’t fault our determination, the boys fought all the way to the end,” he said.
“The game was to and fro, it was obviously a very exciting game from a spectator’s point of view.
“I think our first half wasn’t great, we just didn’t throw enough at Lakes, but we showed that fight in the second half, and it just came down to who had the ball in the crucial parts of the game, and Lakes got that field goal and we just ran out of time.”
Aside from the game itself, Tigers’ return to the biggest match of the year also comes just three years after the club sat out the 2023 season after entering recess.
Goldspink said reaching the grand final is a testament to the hard work of volunteers and players in getting the club back on its feet.
“It’s huge for the club, three years ago they were in recess and to get back to a grand final, it’s a testimony to how the club is going,” he said.
“We’re in a healthy position and we’ve just got to make sure we maintain it now into next year.”
In the other grades, a penalty goal after the siren from Noah Forbutt lifted Yenda over Narrandera 14-13 in a thrilling reserve grade match, while Hay secured its third women’s tackle title in a row with an 18-16 win over Yenda.
Earlier, Shailyn Williams’ Black and Whites side secured the league tag premiership with a 24-16 win over previously unbeaten Leeton, and West Wyalong completed an undefeated campaign with a nerve-racking 10-8 victory over Yanco-Wamoon in the under 18s decider.
TULLIBIGEAL-LAKES UNITED 17 (Tristin Johnson, Brodie Morris, Cody Collins tries; Jaden Kelly 2 goals; Kelly field goal) DEFEATED GRIFFITH WARATAHS 16 (Sina Tatofi 2, Moses Lolohea tries; James Girdler 2 goals) at EW Moore Oval Griffith, Sunday September 20.
