2023 TRL QLD State Championships Writeup

The 2023 QLD State Championships again took place at the Alabaster Sports Complex in Carrara on the Gold Coast from April 28th to 30th. The event was made possible with the support from our major partners Major Events Gold Coast, EV2 Sportswear, Gallagher Insurance and Inspire Health Services. The event saw huge representation from all our QLD regions with players as far North as Cairns coming down to showcase their skills and compete at the state’s highest level. A massive congratulations and thanks to the hard-working team of Venue Managers and Referees who worked tirelessly to bring together a fantastic weekend of TRL.

City V Country Championships

The event was launched with the annual City v Country Championships with the rivalry as strong as ever between the two representative teams. This year’s event also introduced Mixed 30s for the first time, with this series going down to the wire resulting in a decider that was decided in the final seconds of game three with City (pictured below) coming out 2-1 series winners. Men’s 30s, as always, was a competitive series, but this year City were just too strong running out 3-0 series winners. In the Men’s division, it was finally time for the boys from the City to hold the trophy after back to back wins from the Country team. The first game set the series up for a tight contest ending in a draw before City took control and finished with a 2-0 series win. In the Women’s series, City came out of the blocks firing with an early 4-0 lead in the first game before Country nearly pulled off one of the great comebacks in the second half only to fall one try short. The next 2 games were equally as close, but City proved too strong this year coming out 3-0 Winners. Finally, in the Mixed division City again took out the title 3-0 completing a Championship clean sweep for the first time in the series history.

Lam Trinh, a stalwart of the TRL community took out the inaugural Mixed 30s player of the series. The Men’s 30s player went to a newcomer to the division Daniel Cash whose relative youth helped City claim a strong victory. In the Mixed division it was Tyler Carney who took out the award for a dominant display across all three games having recently made the move into the City after previously representing Country. In the Women’s division it was Bec “Simmo” Simson who was deemed Best and Fairest and who has now surely cemented herself as one of the greats of the Women’s game. Finally in the Men’s division Troy Ford took out the prize after some excellent displays across all three games which helped the City team to lift the trophy.

QLD State Championships

Women’s Cup

Many people commented on the strength and competitiveness of the Women’s division at this year’s event after no team was able to make it through the round games undefeated. In the Cup division it was Mt Gravatt, Sunnybank, Beenleigh and Richlands who battled it out in the Semi-Finals. Once all was said and done it was the experience of the Mt Gravatt and Sunnybank teams who made it through to a hotly contested Final. In the end a Hayley Keding double was enough to help the Mt Gravatt Magpies run out 2-0 winners.

Women’s QPL

In the QPL division for the Women’s competition, only 7 points separated 1st and 4th with all top 3 teams registering 6 wins and 1 loss pointing to how closely contested the 2023 version was. The Kedron Colts were able to put on a strong Semi-Final performance to get past a strong and willing Kingston team, but it was the other Semi-Final between Petrie and Yeronga that drew a huge crowd. Ending 1-1 at full time, the crowds gathered around to watch what was one of the greatest drop offs in State Championship history finishing up after Yeronga were able to score after close enough to 10 minutes after the full-time hooter went and teams were down to 3 players each. This paired Kedron and Yeronga in a much-anticipated Final with Kedron running out 5-2 winners in a game that was much closer than the score reflects. (A crucial try saving touch from Colt’s player Jess Dicks in the Final below).

Men’s 30s

In what was the most competitive Men’s 30s competition in recent memory, newcomers Richlands and stalwarts Kingston, Kedron and Carrara were left to fight it out for the Semi-Finals. Kedron, having battled through a number of injuries throughout the tournament, including losing their Captain Cameron Robertson, were able to scrape through to the Final against a Kingston team that had gone through the whole weekend undefeated. In a hotly contested Final it was again the champion Kedron Colts who were able to take out the title and cement themselves as one of the great TRL teams of their generation after winning yet another trophy in the 30s division.

Mixed 30s

For the first time, the Mixed 30s was introduced to the QLD State Championships and what an introduction it had. The title was anyone’s to take with a number of clubs sporting strong outfits and its was Tallebudgera, Mt Gravatt, Richlands and Kingston who would meet in the Semi-Finals. After strong performances in their respective games, it was the Richlands Rattlesnakes and the Kingston Kings who would meet in the Final and after a close first half it was the Rattlesnakes and their star player Thang Dang who would turn on the afterburners and run out 13-4 winners once the final hooter was sounded.

Men’s Cup and Plate

The second and third tier competitions at this year’s event looked like anything but in the Men’s division with some high-quality teams displaying outstanding TRL throughout the Semi-Finals showing that they are not too far away from taking out the top gong.  In the Cup Final it was a Kingston-on-Kingston affair and yet another Final appearance for a club that punches well above its weight. In the end it was the Kingston Kings Purple team who took out the Final 7-4 which will surely light the fire in the belly to drive this young team forward to competing with the top teams in the Men’s division at future tournaments. In the Men’s Plate it was Brisbane City rivals Mt Gravatt and Stafford who would face off for the trophy with the Mt Gravatt Magpies running out winners 8-2 in a dominant display.

Men’s QPL

This year the Men’s QPL division invited a brand-new team, the Beenleigh Bulls, into its ranks and what a performance they put in during their Semi-Final. Despite being rank outsiders, they fought tooth and nail and showed a spirit beyond their years to bring a star-studded Kingston team right down to the wire. In the end though it was the might of Kingston with players of the calibre of Deshaun Lifu-Bray, Drumayne Dayberg-Muir (pictured sliding in for a try below) and Marlon Doak who progressed to the Grand Final.

In the other Semi-Final, the Kedron Colts, the only team in the Men’s division with a perfect record through the rounds, were up against a supremely talented Graceville Giants team. In the end Graceville were too strong on the day with the Colts, who were missing a number of their usual stars, unable to contain the likes of Cody Green, Darren Gherke and Troy Ford.

The Final was set up to be one for the ages with two teams with a wealth of talent. With numerous players backing up from the Mixed Final merely minutes before, it seemed Graceville were unable to stick with a Kingston team who could not set a foot wrong. In the end, Kingston ran out 10-3 winners in what could be described as one of the best Grand Final team performances you will see in any sport.

Mixed Plate and Cup

Similar to the Men’s competition, these Cup and Plate divisions showcased many of the up-and-coming teams across TRL with some tight and entertaining contests throughout the Final’s series. In the Plate Final it was the Richlands Rattlesnakes facing off against the Kedron Colt’s with Richlands taking the chocolates in a hotly contested game that finished 3-2 in their favour. In the cup division, a Graceville Giants team, who are no strangers to this competition, were up against a Stafford side hungry for success after many close calls in previous events. It was again the Graceville team who took out the Cup though winning the game 5-0 in a clinical display.

Mixed QPL

After battling it out over seven rounds, four teams were left standing to fight over the most coveted prize in the Mixed division, the QPL title. These four teams were Kingston, Fairfield and two teams from Mt Gravatt showing the depth currently available within the East Brisbane based club. In the first Semi-Final, the Mt Gravatt team took a 2-1 lead into half-time with the game looking set for a tight finish as both teams fought tooth and nail for the win. In the end though, Kingston were too strong with Australian Mixed Captain and star player Arthur ‘Goose’ Butler and his team leading the Kings to yet another Final.

In the other Semi, despite a valiant effort from the Mt Gravatt Magpies Blue, Fairfield were too strong running out winners 9-2 and setting up a Grand Final showdown between two teams who had many players who participated in one of the most entertaining mixed Finals at last year’s Australian Championships.

In the Final Fairfield took a 3-point lead going into half time with Kingston looking to come out firing. An early 2-point kick try from Troy Ford seemed to have put a stop to any thought of a comeback before Kingston returned serve with a 2-point try of their own. In the end, the Kings could not find the line again before a breakaway from Samir Edwards to set up yet another 2-pointer for Troy Ford put an exclamation mark on what was a fantastic victory for the Fairfield Pharaohs with the game ending 8-3. (The victorious Fairfield Pharaohs team being clapped on to the ground by their supporters, below). 

Individual Accolades

The Mixed 30s player of the tournament was Thang Dang from the Richlands Rattlesnakes. Thang had a fantastic tournament polished off with a brilliant performance where he set up and scored multiple tries to bring the victory home for the West Brisbane based club. The Men’s 30s player of the tournament went to David Fraser with his two acrobatic efforts in the Final proving vital in the Kedron Colts victory. The Women’s award went to Tegan Schneider, a fan favourite and TRL stalwart, Tegan had a fantastic tournament throughout also playing for City and in the Mixed division. The Mixed player went to Fairfield Pharaohs Samir Edwards, a player who has been in and around many representative teams throughout the years without necessarily getting the accolades he deserved. Samir had a fantastic tournament topped off with a great performance in the Final. The Men’s player of the tournament went to Drumayne Dayberg-Muir. Drumayne continues to showcase some supreme talents on the TRL field and much like a fine wine seems to only get better with age and was a much-deserved recipient of the award. Finally, we come to the referee of the tournament and the Golden Whistle award. The event showcased many of TRL’s great referees but one that could simply not be looked past was one of the youngest of them all, Jaxon Flanders. Jax is one of TRL’s up and coming officials and his effort and performances across all three days of the tournament proved he is right up there with the very best.

Jake Carr