Finals fever is rife throughout the region with the Bundaberg Rugby League premiers crowned, while other codes prepare for their grand final match ups.
Find out all about the weekend's results here:
Rugby League
Bundaberg born and bred second rower Max Shorter claimed the Les Somerville Medal for the Rugby League Bundaberg Broadcasters A Grade Premiership Grand Final Best and Fairest.
Hervey Bay Seagulls stunned two-times defending champions Past Brothers 32-14 at Salter Oval on Sunday to break a six-year drought.
The Blue and Whites looked to have scored first in the sixth minute, but were penalised for a double-movement, and three minutes later, the rank underdogs made them pay for kicking out on the full, with powerhouse front rower Isaac Mielczarek charging
over and crafty halfback David Woodbridge adding the extras.
The Seagulls were never headed, with Brothers reducing the gap to 6-4 with barnstorming second rower Jake Thompson forcing his way over in the 23rd minute, but lethal lock Logona Vetemotu replying in the 32nd minute, Woodbridge again converting, then kicking a penalty from close range 18 seconds before the break for a half-time score of 14-4.
This score line was exactly the same as in last year’s Preliminary Final which they lost to Brothers 34-14 after conceding an unanswered 30 second-half points.
Memories of that capitulation were revived when the Brethren levelled the scores with tries in the 46th minute to imposing centre Connor Jones, converted by Pat Templeman, and winger Benaiah Kambanei four minutes later.
The Seagulls lost their best player when Logona Vetemotu hobbled off with a serious leg injury in the 55th minute, but their fears were allayed when fullback Ben Hudson strolled over under the posts on the first set from the restart.
David Woodbridge added the extras before the ultra-consistent lightweight halfback, who was the competition’s leading points scorer for the season with 184, scored himself from a superb 40/20 kick and a penalty, and converted his own try four minutes later for a 28-14 lead on the hour.
They continued to dominate territorially and defend magnificently, and winger Jeremiah Pati, who was also absolutely outstanding throughout, put the icing on the cake when he also was rewarded with a try with just under eight minutes remaining.
Down but not out, Brothers, who were noticeably low on match fitness at their first game since defeating Waves Tigers 20-18 in the Major Semi-final three weeks earlier, engineered several try scoring opportunities as the clock ticked away.
The Seagulls jealously guarded their lead to the end, and celebrated a famous victory, for just their second A Grade title since joining the BRL in 2007.
The Seagulls, who finished second on the ladder behind Waves Tigers, had dominated Brothers during the home and away season, racking up a half-century of points in their first two clashes.
They drew in their last meeting in the rounds, and only lost to them 42-22 in the Qualifying Final with a side decimated by injury and illness, so they were deserving champions.
Max Shorter received a two-match suspension from that game and missed both their 8-4 Minor Semi-final victory over Wests and epic 32-28 dispatch of Waves.
The Seagulls were however beaten by Wests 22-20 in the Reserve Grade decider, with Isaiah Bullard kicking the match winning penalty goal for the Panthers with 1min27sec left on the clock.
Blockbusting front rower Phillip Lindsay, who steamrolled his way over for two tries, took out the Player of the Final award after also being a star in South Kolan Sharks’ unbeaten Northern Districts Premiership last season.
But it was a disastrous day for the Brethren, also losing to Waves 22-6 in Under-15 and 12-10 in Under-16 after being minor premiers in both, and being blown away by Wallaroos 50-18 in Under-18.
Waves came from behind to claim the U16 title with a late try and conversion to enterprising hooker Emmanuel Iboro, but the Tigers were simply too strong in U15, with dynamic five-eighth Preston Walsh bagging a double.
Wests were also victorious in U14, accounting for Wallaroos 30-16, while Roos also claimed the U13 spoils with a 26-4 blitz of the Seagulls.
The Panthers had too much firepower for Roos in U14, with domineering second rower Darius Freeman also chalking up two tries after achieving the same feat in their semi-final dispatch of Waves.
AFL
Ben Davis and Lee Taylor kicked two goals each as Brothers Bulldogs made it six wins from as many clashes with Bay Power in the Wide Bay Marquis Macadamias Senior Men’s Premiership this season with an 8.9 (57) to 7.5 (47) semi-final victory over them at NE McLean Oval on Saturday.
In a hard-fought duel throughout, the Power got back to within one point at three-quarter time, but the Bulldogs sealed the deal with a 2.3 to 1.0 last term.
Stalwart Dylan Keam was one of their best in his 150th game for the club, which will now host Grand Finals day this Saturday and will meet the unbeaten Hervey Bay Bombers in the Senior decider.
Brothers also accounted for the Power in Under-14 Mixed and Under-12 Mixed, 6.6 (42) to 4.6 (30), and 7.6 (48) to 0.4 (4) respectively.
But the Power surged in Reserves Men, overpowering Across The Waves Eagles 8.9 (57) to 2.4 (16), while the Eagles flew high against Power 5.5 (35) to 4.3 (27) in U17 Boys.
Hockey
Joel Latham hammered in a double as reigning champions Waves Cities outclassed Raiders/Rovers 4-1 in the Bundaberg Division 1 Men’s Major semi-final at Hinkler Park on Saturday.
But Cities’ quest for a hat-trick of Division 1 Women’s titles is over after they were knocked out by All Blacks 3-0 in their Minor Semi-final.
It was a good weekend for Raiders/Rovers, triumphing in four Major Semi-finals, with Reegan Wightman snaring a double to spearhead their Division 2 Women to victory over Cities 4-1, and also being among the scorers as they edged out Arrows/Athletics 3-2 in Division 1 Women.
Levi Kendall was a hat-trick hero for Raiders/Rovers as they blunted Arrows 4-2 in U11, while they also pipped Arrows 2-1 in U13.
Harry Gardiner featured with a two-goal haul as Arrows crashed Cities 6-1 in the Division 2 Men’s Major Semi-final.
Netball
Two-times defending champions Waves Gold bounced back from their shock defeat at the hands of Brothers Hurricanes in the Major Semi-final a week earlier to produce a masterclass to pluck Natives Aim Hearing Magpies 60-40 in the Bundaberg Warren Family Homes Division 1 Preliminary Final at the Superpark on Saturday.
Waves teams were also victorious in Divisions 6 and 9, while Swans clipped the wings of Macaws 39-27 in an all-Natives Masters’ Preliminary Final.
Brothers will be represented in eight grand finals after their Thunder, Monsoon and Whirlwinds teams came to the fore in Divisions 2, 3 and 8, respectively.
Football
All of Bundaberg’s 11 representatives acquitted themselves well for the Football Queensland Wide Bay Men’s All-Stars which was beaten 7-0 but far from disgraced against A League side Brisbane Roar in their trial match in Hervey Bay in front of a crowd of over 2000 on Saturday.
Catch-up games were also played across the divisions to complete the Wide Bay Leagues home and away season on Sunday, and in the FQ Premier League WB Men’s division, captain Josh Adcock was a match winner with a double as United Park Eagles completed a disappointing season on a high note, downing Doon Villa 4-2.
Here are all the scores:
AFL WIDE BAY
Semi-finals:
MARQUIS MACADAMIAS SENIOR MEN’S PREMIERSHIP
BROTHERS BULLDOGS 3.2, 4.4, 6.6, 8.9 (57) d BAY POWER 2.0, 2.2, 6.5, 7.5 (47).
Bulldogs – Goals: Ben Davis 2, Lee Taylor 2, Griffin Webb, Harrison Tancredi, Dean Lawton, Jaykob Gooder. Best: Tristan Taylor, Jack Sickerdick, Cooper Tankey, Jaykob Gooder, Dylan Keam, Sean Cars
Power – Goals: Lachlan Smith 2, Beau Ridgeway 2, Thomas Burch 2, Joshua Wheeler. Best: Kevin Sims, Matthew Schlein, Trent Heard, Jordan Agius, Beau Ridgway, Michael Walsh
RESERVES MEN
BAY POWER 1.2, 5.5, 6.8, 8.9 (57) d ATW EAGLES 0.1, 0.2, 1.3, 2.4 (16).
Power – Goals: Jadan Fredericks 3, Hayden Salisbury 3, Damien McGreevy, Dean Logan. Best: Jadan Fredericks, Matthew Benich, Marcus Gill, Mitchell MacDonald, Saxon Day, Matthew Beikoff.
UNDER-17 BOYS
ATW EAGLES 1.2, 2.2, 3.3, 5.5 (35) d BAY POWER 1.1, 1.2, 3.2, 4.3 (27).
UNDER-14 MIXED
BROTHERS BULLDOGS 1.4, 2.5, 4.6, 6.6 (42) d BAY POWER 1.1, 2.1, 3.4, 4.6 (30)
UNDER-12 MIXED
HERVEY BAY BOMBERS BLACK 9.10 (64) d HERVEY BAY RED 2.1 (13).
BROTHERS BULLDOGS 1.1, 4.2, 7.5, 7.6 (48) d BAY POWER 0.2, 0.2, 0.2, 0.4 (4).
FOOTBALL WIDE BAY
FQPL WB MEN
UPE 4 (Josh Adcock 2, Harrison Nasso, Cody Pym) d DOON VILLA 2 (A Mellor, R McAskill).
FQPL WB WOMEN
FRASER FLAMES 3 d DIGGERS 0.
FQ WB U23 MEN
UPE 4 d DOON VILLA 2.
FQPL WB U15
BAYSIDE STRIKERS 4 (B Patterson 2, M Burturlin 2) d ATW 2 (Tino Giovannoni, N Voss).
WB NORTH DIVISION 1 WOMEN
ATW 6 (Korrin Stirrat 3, M Gallop, Leone Aslett, T Crozier) d BINGERA 0.
WB DIVISION 1 MEN
UNITED WARRIORS 2 drew ATW 2.
WB NORTH DIVISION 2 MEN
ATW 4 (Mitchell Capuzzo 3, Ben Mathison) d DIGGERS GOLD 0.
WB NORTH U15 DIVISION 1
BARGARA WHITE 6 (Flynn Schiffke 2, Simon Millett, Spencer Hurst, William Holzberger, Toby Lamond) d GIN GIN 1 (H Lange).
BINGERA 6 (Cameron Manski 2, K Meech, H Jorgensen, L Giles, E Radel) d ATW 2 (M Grima 2).
WB NORTH U13 DIVISION 1
ATW 3 (M Enkelmann, B Lamont, T Adams) d BAV 0.
BARGARA STINGRAYS 7 d BARGARA HAMMERHEADS 0.
BINGERA 9 (Riley Bennier 4, C Stayte 2, Z Kitching, T Lavercombe) d DIGGERS 0.
HOCKEY BUNDABERG
U11s
Major semi-final: Raiders Rovers 4 (Stella Dwyer 1, Levi Kendall 3) defeated Arrows Athletics 2 (Hamish Cook 2)
Minor Semi-final: Waves Cities 1 (Lily Pashley 1) defeated All Blacks 0
U13s
Major semi-final: Raiders Rovers 2 (Courtney Kendall 1, Silvana Powell 1) defeated Arrows Athletics 1 (Tully Dorgan 1)
Minor Semi-final: Waves Cities 14 (Brock Green 1, Cooper Pashley 1, Bailey Hall 1, Ruby Potter 2, Thomas Rach 2, Connor Castelli 3, Riley Vowles 4) defeated All Blacks 1 (Luke Melzner 2)
U16s
Major semi-final: Arrows Athletics Blue 1 (Kira Bryant 1) drew with Raiders Rovers 1 (Bayley Fagg 1) – Arrows Athletics Blue straight through to Grand Final on goal average
Minor Semi-final: Waves Cities 0 drew with All Blacks 0 – Waves Cities drop out of finals
Division 2 Women
Major semi-final: Raiders Rovers 4 (Kerri-Anne Lund 1, Emma Law 1, Reegan Wightman 2) defeated Waves Cities 1 (Gabby Aitkenhead 1)
Minor Semi-final: Arrows Athletics 3 (Deb Burchard 1, Samantha Schuch 1, Julie Munro 1) defeated All Blacks 1 (Kellie Chanoff 1)
Division 2 Men
Major semi-final: Arrows Athletics 6 (Jake McCaig 1, Owen Scherer 1, Keith Scherer 1, Paul Green 1, Harrison Gardiner 2) defeated Waves Cities 2 – 1 (Lewis Dexter 1)
Division 1 Women
Major semi-final: Raiders Rovers 3 (Reegan Wightman 1, Minka Elliott 1, Susan Kendall 1) defeated Arrows Athletics 2 (Nicky Pollock 1, Malanie Stehbens 1)
Minor Semi-final: All Blacks 3 (Jackki Greiner 1, Taylor Jardine 1, Leah McLaren 1) defeated Waves Cities 0
Division 1 Men
Major semi-final: Waves Cities 1 – 4 (Jamie Rach 1, Lachlan McLennan 1, Joel Latham 2) defeated Raiders Rovers 1 (Colby Zahn 1, Ryan Lee 1)
NETBALL BUNDABERG
WARREN FAMILY HOMES PREMIERSHIPS
Preliminary finals:
DIVISION 1: WAVES GOLD 60 d NATIVES AIM HEARING MAGPIES 40.
DIVISION 2: BROTHERS THUNDER 36 d BROTHERS CYCLONES 29.
MASTERS: NATIVES SWANS 39 d NATIVES MACAWS 27.
DIVISION 3: BROTHERS MONSOON 44 d FUSION SOLOMONS 34.
DIVISION 4: ALLOWAY AQUA 39 d BROTHERS TORNADOES 36.
DIVISION 5: FUSION MAGIC SULTANS 40 d BROTHERS WILDFIRES 25.
DIVISION 6: WAVES EMERALDS 36 d WAVES SAPPHIRES 33.
DIVISION 7: FUSION SANDHILLS 38 d FUSION WESSEL PETROLEUM 34.
DIVISION 8: BROTHERS WHIRWINDS 16 d WAVES MAROON 15.
DIVISION 9: WAVES TEAL 33 d FUSION SHIFT AUTO 13.
DIVISION 10: ALLOWAY ORANGE 17 d WAVES JADE 15.
RUGBY LEAGUE BUNDABERG
Grand finals:
BUNDABERG BROADCASTERS A GRADE PREMIERSHIP
HERVEY BAY SEAGULLS 34 (Isaac Mielczarek, Logona Vetemotu, Ben Hudson, David Woodbridge, Jeremiah Pati tries; David Woodbridge 7 goals) d PAST BROTHERS 14 (Jake Thompson, Connor Jones, Benaiah Kambanei tries; Pat Templeman goal). Les Somerville Medal: Max Shorter.
RESERVE GRADE
WESTS PANTHERS 22 (Phillip Lindsay 2, Lochlan Modrow, Ryan Sharpe tries; Isaiah Bullard 3 goals) d HERVEY BAY SEAGULLS 20 (Fredric Cobbo 2, Jacob Polzin, Ben Ryan tries; Joel Denduck 2 goals). Player of Final: Phillip Lindsay.
UNDER-18
WALLAROOS 50 (Bronson Andrews 3, Bailey Mills 3, Adam Khan, Codey Kearns, Kyle Knight tries; Adam Khan 7 goals) d PAST BROTHERS 18 (Ilamia Cattell, Chandler Richardson, Wil Simmons tries; Caio Kerr 2, Patrick Curtis goals).
BUNDABERG JUNIOR HITZ FM 93.9 CHALLENGE CUPS
Grand finals:
UNDER-16
WAVES 12 (Emmanuel Iboro, Jude Sheppard tries; Emmanuel Iboro 2 goals) d BUNDABERG BROTHERS 10 (Joseph Doyle, Benny Medley tries; Blake Powter goal).
UNDER-15
WAVES 22 (Preston Walsh 2, Robert Hadwen, Owen Hess tries; Preston Walsh 2, Robert Hadwen goals goals) d BUNDABERG BROTHERS 6 (Toby Collins try; Jomar Gustilo goal).
UNDER-14
WESTS 30 (Darius Freeman 2, Beau Molo, Kyjuan Tanna, Baidan Bosen, LeBron Tanner tries; Nait Gough 3 goals) d WALLAROOS 16 (Kev Weribone 3 tries; Thomas Titmarsh 2 goals).
UNDER-13
WALLAROOS 26 (Bayley Carius, Cooper Axen, Kai Warren, Alex Tinney, Deejay Kearns tries; Kai Warren 3 goals) d HERVEY BAY SEAGULLS 4 (Thomas Mason try).
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