In his weekend sports wrap, Vince Habermann reports that Across The Waves Eagles won an epic AFL Wide Bay grand final against Bay Power.
Mitchell Wright kicked four goals as hosts Across The Waves Eagles trailed at every change but dug deep to snatch a 10.7 (67) to 10.4 (64) victory from the jaws of defeat against a brave Bay Power in the AFL Wide Bay Marquis Macadamias Seniors grand final at Frank Coulthard Oval on Saturday.
Reigning premiers Bay Power were up for a titanic battle from the start, and they kicked the first goal after a torrid first eight minutes.
The Eagles clicked into gear and made the first break with three goals in quick succession, through Damon Wood, inspirational captain Jason Bethune and Mitchell Wright, but their momentum was stalled by a lengthy delay following an injury to Cody Woodrow, who was stretchered off the field.
After the resumption, Power surged with three unanswered goals in quick time, at they took a one-goal lead to quarter time, and they maintained the same advantage at the long break, before stretching it to 18 points at three-quarter time with another rapid-fire three-peat.
Waves came out all guns blazing in the final term and regained the lead with Mitchell’s fourth goal, before Power kicked their only goal of the fourth quarter to put their noses in front again as the minutes ticked away.
Riding on the back of a string of free kicks, Waves again edged ahead with a superb kick from the boundary at an acute angle by Patrick Power, but still it was not over as the battle continued right down to the dying seconds with the 2019 champions rallying for one last attack but being unable to get within kicking range before the siren.
Waves had many heroes, including Mitchell Wright and dual goal kicker and fearless leader Jason, but they were both beaten for the Best on Ground Award by the super-efficient Damian McRae, who also received the prestigious award for the League’s Best and Fairest moments earlier.
The Eagles also claimed the Colts’ flag with an 8.11 (59) to 7.5 (47) triumph over minor premiers Hervey Bay Bombers, but the Bombers outgunned the Eagles 7.8 (50) to 6.5 (41) in an also fiercely contested Reserves decider, and also triumphed in Under-14 and Under-12.
In Bundaberg Junior Rugby League, Under-18 minor premiers Wests Panthers did not get to play due to a Hervey Bay Seagulls forfeit, while fellow Bundaberg team Waves Tigers, who had already been consigned to fourth and last place, played their hearts out in their last game of the season before going down to second placed Wallaroos 26-20 despite a 16-point haul to powerhouse lock Joel Cox, who notched a hat-trick of tries and kicked two goals.
In Bundaberg Cricket, Waves maintained their perfect record from three matches in the Division 1 Twenty/20 competition with Callum Neubecker bagging a career-best 5-12 in a six-wicket victory over Norths on Saturday, while Brothers bounced back from their first-up loss to East Bundy Magpies a week earlier to record easy wins over Hervey Bay and Norths respectively.
AFL WIDE BAY
Grand final results:
SENIORS
Across The Waves Eagles 3.1, 5.3, 6.4, 10.7 (67) d Bay Power 4.1, 6.3, 9.4, 10.4 (64). Goals – Eagles: Mitch Wright 4, Jason Bethune 2, Damon Wood, Michael Sommer-Liverton, Nathan Van Eekeren, Patrick Power.
RESERVES
Hervey Bay 2.3, 2.3, 5.7, 7.8 (50) d Across The Waves 0.0, 3.1, 5.1, 6.5 (41).
COLTS
Across The Waves 3.6, 4.6, 8.9, 8.11 (59) d Hervey Bay 1.0, 3.2, 5.3, 7.5 (47)
UNDER-14
Hervey Bay Bombers 6.8 (44) d Bay Power 4.5 (29).
UNDER-12
Hervey Bay Bombers Black 6.6 (42) d Hervey Bay Bombers Red 4.3 (27).
CRICKET BUNDABERG
DIVISION 1 T/20
Round 3: BROTHERS 5-134 (Jarrod Laycock 49no, Jason Riley 4-0-31-2) d HERVEY BAY 93 (S Kosmidis 29, Dean Krebs 4-0-16-3, Andy Porter 4-0–24-3, Dylan Heycox 4-0-21-2). WAVES 4-97 (Michael Loader 41) d NORTHS 96 (Chris Napper 32, Callum Neubecker 3.2-0-12-5, Mitchell Waters 4-0-28-3, Marty Maloney 3-0-13-2).
Round 4: BROTHERS 6-132 (Jarrod Laycock 36, Luke Solano 33, Damian Turner 4-0-22-3, Chris Napper 4-0-19-2) d NORTHS 7-105 (Julian Bond 24no, Luke Solano 4-0-15-2, Matthew Jackson 3-0-17-2). EAST BUNDY MAGPIES 3-111 (Troy Beckton 4-0-24-2) d HERVEY BAY 7-110 (Zac Bills 40no, Troy Ignatenko 29).
DIVISION 2 T/20
Round 3: EAST BUNDY MAGPIES 0-57 d WAVES 56 (Damien Black 25, Kassidy Pollitt 1.5-1-1-3, Laurie McCloskey 3-0-6-2, Ashley Pollitt 4-0-21-2). NORTHS 6-154 (Shaun Pinney 35, John Balaam 28, Matt Tanner 3.4-0-22-2, Ben Howard 4-0-29-2) d BROTHERS 4-153 (Ben Howard 51, Brent Smith 47no, Richie Sharman 4-0-28-2).
Round 4: NORTHS 7-110 (Chris Napper 47, Lachlan Donovan 4-0-20-2, Kassidy Pollitt 3.5-0-31-2) d EAST BUNDY MAGPIES 108 (Dan Clancy 30, Sumesh Jose 4-1-15-3, Shaun Pinney 2.3-0-20-2). BROTHERS 6-177 (Jason Welsh 59, Josh McInnes 41, Ben Howard 32, Jack Munro 4-0-15-2) d WAVES 6-83 (Damien Black 28no, Brent Smith 3-0-6-2).
DIVISION 3 T/20
Round 3: ISIS 3-73 (Scott Rehbein 31no, Jack Rae 2.1-0-21-2) d BROTHERS 8-72 (Ethan Reeves 1.4-1-7-2, Yogesh Bhanushali 2-0-9-2). WAVES 3-129 (Mitch Wormington 81) d YMCA 8-127 (Lex Webster 25, Troy Barbagallo 25, Ryan Maclean 3-0-21-3, Nick Catasti 3-0-14-2).
Round 4: BROTHERS 5-162 (David Boge 58, Anthony Rehbein 39no, Greg Brady 4-1-13-2) d YMCA 8-149 (Brett Woodward 48, Ronan Dempsey 25, Oliver Boge 4-0-35-3). ISIS 7-138 (Scott Rehbein 43, Jackson Rehbein 32, Roderick Jensen 4-1-15-2) d EAST BUNDY MAGPIES 97 (Evan McLean 36, Adrian Goddard 2.2-0-8-3, Adam McCoombe 4-1-21-3, Marty Ryan 3-0-10-2).
RUGBY LEAGUE BUNDABERG
UNDER-18
WESTS PANTHERS d HERVEY BAY SEAGULLS on forfeit
WALLAROOS 26 (Tom Colvin, Jonah MacDonald, Bailey Eckart, Keian Grogan, Ethan Ballard tries; Tom Colvin 3 goals) d WAVES TIGERS 20 (Joel Cox 3, Jackson Paul tries; Joel Cox 2 goals).
UNDER-16
BROTHERS 46 (Mitchell Allen 2, Chandler Richardson, Kayne Mitchell, Flynn Hodge, Izac Pointon, Lane Cross-Price, Fletcher Ace, Bradley Shorter tries; Fletcher Ace 2, Kayne Mitchell, Brayden Sander, Lane Crossley-Price goals) d WALLAROOS 20 (Bailey Mills 2, Liam Doolan, Kyle Knight tries; Nathan Jacobsen, Noah Dawson goals).
UNDER-15
HERVEY BAY SEAGULLS 56 (Dane Blanke 2, Kade Raspor, Eli Bailey-Ward, Kyal Pitchford, Tyson Connon, Robert Borsboom, Harry Armstrong, Jonty Brien tries; Jonty Brien 5, Eden Wheeler 3 goals) d WESTS PANTHERS 12 (Lincoln Dwyer, Ryan Bugeja tries; Ryan Bugeja 2 goals).
BROTHERS 54 (Ethan Brennan 2, Ben Toft 2, Jack Picaro 2, Matthew Smith 2, Zander Evans, Ezekiel Monckton, Ben McLaughlin tries; Ezekiel Monckton 5, Owen Nash goals) d EASTS MAGPIES 16 (Jack Frohloff, Ricky Druce, Coen Searl tries; Coen Searl, Joseph Mimi goals).
UNDER-14
WESTS PANTHERS 26 (Cooper Black 2, Kacy Blackburn, Brody Lake tries; Lucas Brough 3 goals) d HERVEY BAY SEAGULLS 20 (Noah Douglas-Denduck 2, Boedie Dwight, Jamall Nelson tries; Boedie Dwight 2 goals).
BROTHERS 22 (Blake Powter 2, Joseph Doyle, Jack Schmidt tries; Dawson Hess 3 goals) d WAVES TIGERS 14 (Tom Morcom, Coen Philips, Sebastyn Brennan tries; Sebastyn Brennan goal).
UNDER-13
HERVEY BAY SEAGULLS 50 (Braidan Houliston 3, Cooper Fitzgerald, Michael Parsgaard tries; 7 goals) d EASTS MAGPIES 0.
WAVES TIGERS 20 (Hayden Ferguson 2, Jimmy Gear, Preston Walsh tries; Jack Howarth, Jimmy Gear goals) d WALLAROOS 10 (Joe Franklin try; Lachlan Nitschinsk goal).
BROTHERS 30 (Toby Collins 5, Zachary Stephenson, Levi Monckton tries; Jomar Gustilo goal) d WESTS PANTHERS 10 (Xavier Stanley, Johnathon Coyne tries; Darnell Saunders goal).
