2022 Australian Championships

The 2022 TRL Australian Championships were held at Carrara, on the Gold Coast, from October 7-9. It was a massive Event spread across 3 days and with 82 teams competing from 16 different regions. Players came from as far north as Cairns and as far south as Melbourne to compete in what is arguably the most prestigious Event on the TRL calendar.

The Event saw two major changes to the 2021 edition. First, we had the introduction of the over 30s Mixed division (a little more on that later). Secondly, we had the re-introduction of the Region Championship – a battle to be crowned the best (and most consistent) Region in TRL. This was a hotly contested competition which saw a three-way battle between North Brisbane, Moreton Bay and Logan. In the end, Logan came away with the win amassing 50 points in the process – a product of having all 7 teams feature in the finals. Behind every great Region is a great manager and for Logan, they are blessed to have Adam Breakspear at the helm.

Team Honours

As mentioned above, this year’s Championships welcomed in the Mixed 30s. As many of our best stars age, this division will begin to become one of the most popular divisions at these elite tournaments. 2022 was certainly a great start and in the end it all came down to a battle between the Logan City Lakers and Melbourne Magic in the Final. In the end, the guile and experience of the ‘Lakers was just a little too much for Melbourne but the men and women from Victoria should be very proud of not only making the Grand Final but for the fact five teams made their way up to the Event – a true of sign of the growth of the game in Melbourne.

In the Men’s 30s division, it was a case of dejavu with North Brisbane again coming up against the Gold Coast. Again, the Gold Coast were fancied and certainly dominated the opening exchanges. However, like many years before, North Brisbane turned up the intensity when the game was on the line. “Cometh the man, cometh the hour” – that was what Mason Part told his comrades at half-time and he lived up to that statement with a clinical second-half performance that took the game away from the Gold Coast side. Another impressive year from the men from the ‘Coast but unfortunately they will need to wait a few months before they get another chance at redemption.

In the Men’s Plate Division Grand Final, after what was a grueling 2-all score line in the 25th minute of the game, West Brisbane scored a full-field intercept on the buzzer to get the victory over Melbourne. This is the first time that both West Brisbane and Melbourne have featured in a Men’s Plate Division final, it was great to see some fresh faces gunning for the title.

In the Mixed Plate Grand Final, the Sunshine Coast defeated the reigning Mixed Plate champions, South Brisbane in an upset no one saw coming… The South Brisbane Spartans have held this title since the 2021 Australian Championships, also taking out this division at the QLD State Championships earlier in the year. But Sunshine Coast proved too good utilizing the 2 point kick tries and girl tries with a whopping 7-1 win.

For Mixed Cup, UQIC who were competing in their first-ever Australian Championships, took it out! They were able to out-gun South Brisbane, arguably the favorites coming into the game with multiple finals series under their belt and in position one on the ladder leading into the finals. This was an amazing effort and there is no doubt the team partied hard into the night before taking the coveted prize back to the St Lucia faithful.

For Men’s Cup, it has been a story of heartbreak for the East Brisbane Men’s Cup team for the last 4 years, featuring in the finals but not tasting the sweet nectar that is gold… until now! After multiple disallowed tries both ways, East Brisbane narrowly defeated North Brisbane 3-1.

The Women’s Cup division was the only final requiring extra time. The low scoreline does not accurately represent how exciting the game really was! With multiple disallowed tries both ways it was 1-1 at full time. The game went into an exciting overtime drop-off. After 5 minutes and down to 4 on 4, Sunshine Coast took out the division over South Brisbane with a 2-1 victory.

In the Women’s APL Final, it was an all-North Brisbane-affair but despite these women all knowing each other well and playing against each other most weeks, there was plenty of heat and competition out on the field. Two teams with very different playing styles came up against each other. North Brisbane White, captained by Jess Sleep, came out firing with a cross-field 2-point kick try to start the game. North Brisbane Maroon, captained by Bec Simson, soon hit back with some fancy footwork and a try to make it 2-1 at halftime. The Female Player of the Tournament, Eliza Mooney just proved that the kick is key in this game and led her team to victory with another 2-pointer in the second half to take out the division.

There was no final more closely contested than the Men’s APL Grand Final between the Sunshine Coast and Logan Lakers. Ben Maddick who recently celebrated his 32th birthday, turned back the clock and he was ably supported by big Tyson Brough who got the job done when it counted most! In the end, the Sunny Coast boys got up 3-2 but it was one of the great games of the Tournament.

Speaking of great games, it did not get anymore exciting than the Mixed APL Final. This game was genuinely a game of two halves. South Brisbane was holding a firm 4-point lead at halftime. However, the mixed player of the tournament, Deshaun Lifu-Bray, was having none of it and came out firing in the second half. Lifu-Bray put on one of the great individual performances in recent memory and in the end, the Logan City Lakers were just too clinical and took out the title with a 13-9 win over South Brisbane.

Individual honours

The whole tournament was played in incredible spirits and showcased even greater levels of sportsmanship and fair play. Two players were specifically recognised for this with individual awards. The Monique Roberts Sportsmanship Award was introduced in 2021 in the living memory of Monique Roberts who tragically lost her life in 2020 to a brain aneurysm. The 2022 recipient was Natasha Clayfield, an extremely worthy North Brisbane player who is never spotted without a smile on her face. The Tim Swan Best and Fairest Medal was awarded to Arthur Butler. Butler is not only one of the best players in TRL but his gentle nature shines through on the field. Congratulations to both of these well-deserving recipients.

The full list of individual awards is set out below but of note are the Sunshine Coast’s Ben Maddick (best male player of the Tournament) and North Brisbane’s Eliza Mooney (best female player of the Tournament). These two players had weekends to remember. Aakash Soni must also be commended for his refereeing output and performance generally, taking out the coveted Golden Whistle award.

All of the winners (including the individual recipients) are listed below.

Men’s APL: Sunshine Coast defeated Logan City.
Women’s APL: North Brisbane White defeated North Brisbane Maroon.
Mixed APL: Logan City defeated South Brisbane.
Men’s 30s: North Brisbane defeated Gold Coast.
Mixed 30s: Logan City defeated Melbourne.
Men’s Cup: East Brisbane defeated North Brisbane.
Women’s Cup: Sunshine Coast defeated South Brisbane.
Mixed Cup: UQIC defeated South Brisbane.
Men’s Plate: West Brisbane defeated Melbourne.
Mixed Plate: Sunshine Coast defeated South Brisbane.

Monique Roberts Sportsmanship Award – Natasha Clayfield (North Brisbane)
Tim Swan Best and Fairest Medal: Arthur Butler (Logan City)
Best Male Player: Ben Maddick (Sunshine Coast)
Best Female Player: Eliza Mooney (North Brisbane)
Best Mixed Player: DeShaun Lifu-brey (Logan City)
Best 30s Men’s Player: Mason Part (North Brisbane)
Best 30’s Mixed Player: Aaron Kirby (Logan City)
Fastest Male (race): Corey Pocock (Logan City)
Fastest Female (race): Jess Kirkby (South Brisbane)

Golden Whistle (referee of the event): Akash Soni

Thank you

The Event’s major sponsors included Major Events Gold Coast and Ev2 Sportswear. The Event was also proudly sponsored by Inspire and Rebel. Without the support of these entities, it would not have been possible to have conducted such a successful tournament. TRL also partnered with Steps 4 Hannah with the aim to raise awareness in their quest to HALT domestic violence. To donate or see how you can help raise awareness please click here.

These Events are of course driven by the many Region Managers within TRL and without their collective dedication, an Event of this magnitude would not be possible.

Thank you also to Jake Carr (Tournament Director) along with 40+ Venue Managers and Referees. Your output and dedication through the weekend is truly appreciated.

Finally, thank you to all the players for making the tournament so memorable! We expect our representative events to grow further into 2023. We cannot wait!

— Emma Kurki