In 2023 TRL expanded into a number of new areas south of the border and it also saw some rapid growth in the Melbourne region. 2024 was therefore always going to be a year where NSW were going to be competitive. However, the Blues performed at a level that no-one saw coming taking 3 of the 5 series winning Men’s, Women’s and Men’s 30s. It was a tremendous effort that will help shape this rivalry for the years to come.

 

The Women’s series was incredibly competitive with NSW taking this out, 2-1. Many of these women have played together over the last few years narrowly going down to QLD in those years. Thus the victory in 2024 was all the more sweet given some of these heartbreaking losses. Tegan Schneider was inspirational as skipper and was ably supported by Chalyse Foster (who crossed for multiple crucial tries) and Renez Bates who provided significant drive through the middle all night (and rightfully also took player of the series). This was a close series with every game being decided by only 1 point. We are certainly looking forward to what 2025 will deliver in this space.

 

 

 

In the Men’s series, the first game was a see-sawing battle that finished 6-6 with NSW scoring right on the siren. NSW then came out to dominate QLD in games 2 and 3 to take a 2-0 series win. It was an extremely satisfying series win for captain Seigo Tanaka who has been on the wrong side of the ledger in the last few years. Corben Downes from South Sydney was a standout for NSW providing a tall kick option in attack that paid dividends on multiple occasions; whilst the likes of Nate Wood and Sean Armstrong provided the necessary guile and silk through the middle when it counted. However, the player of the series went to Riley Matenga Hongara who was dynamic in attack collecting a bagful of tries across the series. Well done NSW.

 

 

In the Mixed series, NSW were very competitive but lacked the required consistency to challenge QLD across the series with the Maroons winning 3-0. Standout players for QLD included both Jayden Cummins (pictured below) and Arthur Butler who together were almost unstoppable through the middle. In the Mixed 30s series, it was a similar story with QLD’s TRL experience proving too strong. Some of these QLD players have been doing this for nearly 15 years and many would not look out of place in either the open Men’s, Women’s or Mixed sides. The standout players were Nikki Shields (who won player of the series) and Arron Kirby.

 

 

 

 

Finally, in the Men’s 30s division, the QLD side were well fancied to win and win comfortably. However, Adrian Cush had other ideas and assembled a team of ‘effort players’ to get the job done. The likes of Sam Parlane and Rowan Crouch from Melbourne epitomised the kind of spirit required at this level and it was this combination of will and the skill from Cush (especially off the boot) which saw this team overcome all odds to win the series 2-1. Cush was also awarded player of the series for his individual impact on the result in games 1 and 3.

The 2024 AA Earthworks and Haulage World Cup was like no other we have ever seen. Huge growth on 2023 saw the Event climb to 64 teams which was befitting of an Opening Ceremony early Friday morning which celebrated not only TRL, but culture and community. The Event was played in incredible spirits.

 

 

 

Mixed was split across three pools with the top four ranked teams making through to the Premier League, teams ranked 5-8 making it through to Cup, and teams ranked 9-12 making it through to Plate. After the regular rounds, the standout teams were the open Australian Mixed PL team, Aotearoa Maori Mixed PL team and the Australian Mixed 30s team which was also competing in the general pools. Whilst the Australian Mixed PL team had a comfortable win over the plucky Barbarians (captained admirably by Nic Vardenega), the Aotearoa Maori Mixed and Australian Mixed 30s team faced off in a classic semi-final that went to extra time. This semi-final ended up going in favour of the Australian Mixed 30s team 8-7 in the most dramatic of circumstances. This meant the ’30s then had to face off against the Australian Mixed PL team in the final. This was always going to be a tight clash but in the end, the speed and agility of Arthur Butler proved the difference with the Australian Mixed PL team winning 5-2. It was little wonder then that Arthur Butler took out the Mixed player of the Tournament.

 

 

In the other divisions, Denmark beat Denmark in the Mixed Cup division whilst the Barbarians overcame England in the Mixed Plate. Notably Denmark were arguably the standout Nation across the entire Tournament winning three Grand Finals (more on this later).

 

 

Men’s saw some interesting results across the round games but there was a sense that Denmark and Australia were going to find each other come Grand Final night and this is how it panned out. Both sides have won the World Cup on several occasions with Denmark featuring a remarkable set of cousins and brothers that have forged a legacy of elite performances over a number of years. The Grand Final was another epic encounter with Denmark prevailing 3-2 in what can only be described as edge-of-your-seat viewing for anyone at home watching the livestream. Well done to Zak Ryan from Denmark who also claimed best male player at the Tournament.

 

 

In the other divisions, Japan (To) overcame Japan in an epic Grand Final for Men’s Cup; whilst Indigenous Men’s took out Denmark in a see-sawing affair which Denmark were tipped to win. Well done to all teams.

 

 

 

This was an incredibly competitive division with little separating the top 6 teams. In fact, things were so tight that Denmark missed the Premier League finals after going down to both the Barbarians and New Zealand in games they were expected to win. China were the surprise packet claiming fourth spot and an unlikely showdown with Australia for the Grand Final. Whilst Australia was expected to win, China ended up giving them one hell of a scare with several near missed before eventually going down 5-1 in the semi-final. In the other semi-final, the Barbarians edged out New Zealand thus setting up a grudge match between Australia and the Barbarians (with many of the Barbarians having previously represented Australia at previous World Cups). In what was a low scoring affair, Australia ended up prevailing and won 2-0 but it was an edge-of-your seat encounter from start to finish.

 

 

In the Cup division, Denmark faced off against the Philippines in the final in what was another close game with Denmark prevailing 2-0 in that game also. Special shoutout to Tori Collinson from Australia who claimed female player of the Tournament.

 

 

Arguably the most fiercely contested of all divisions, there was very little separating the top four sides – PNG, Aotearoa Maori, NZ and Australia. In the end PNG were able to scrape through to play the Aotearoa Maori in what was an epic encounter (picture of both teams below). It had everything including some Marlon Doak theatrics (PNG). He was on fire setting up tries and demonstrating all his wizardry. In the end he was the difference with PNG taking it out 6-5.

 

 

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The standout performers across the State of Origin Series were as follows:

Women’s Player of the Series: Renez Bates (NSW)

Mixed Player of the Series: Jayden Cummins (QLD)

Mixed 30s Player of the Series: Nikki Shields (QLD)

Men’s 30s Player of the Series: Adrian Cush (NSW)

Men’s Player of the Series: Riley Matenga Hongara (NSW)

 

The standout performers across the World Cup were as follows:

Golden Whistle (best referee): Harry Miller

Women’s Player of the Tournament: Tori Collinson (AUS)

Mixed Player of the Tournament: Arthur Butler (AUS)

30s Player of the Tournament: Marlon Doak (PNG)

Men’s Player of the Tournament: Zak Ryan (Denmark)

 

 

 

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Of course Events like this are not possible without the support of our generous partners and sponsors. These included naming rights sponsor – AA Earthworks & Haulage as well as Experience Gold Coast, EV2 and Gallagher Insurance Brokers.

 

 

Thankyou also to all venue managers and referees who ably contributed to making this Event the success it was.