The 2023 Australian Championships Report

The 2023 TRL Australian Championships took place at the Alabaster Sporting Fields, Gold Coast from Friday 6 to Sunday 8 October.

It was another unforgettable tournament which welcomed multiple new regions from New South Wales including Central Coast, Illawarra, Inner West Sydney, South Sydney and South West Sydney for the first time and attracted 76 teams from 20 regions across 10 Divisions (Men’s APL, Cup and Plate, Women’s APL and Cup, Mixed APL, Cup and Plate, Mixed 30s and Men’s 30s).

Team Honours:
Tournament Division Winners:
Men’s APL – Sunshine Coast Sloths 1
Men’s Cup – Logan City Lakers
Men’s Plate – East Brisbane Tigers White
Women’s APL – South Brisbane Spartans Black
Women’s Cup – Ipswich Jets
Mixed APL – Logan City Lakers
Mixed Cup – North Brisbane Bucks Maroon
Mixed Plate – Logan City Lakers Blue
Mixed 30s – Logan City Lakers
Men’s 30s – East Brisbane Sumatran Tigers

Men’s APL:
A massive congratulations to Ben Maddick’s Sunshine Coast Sloths (pictured below) who were again crowned champions in the Men’s APL Division, defeating a gallant North Brisbane Bucks Team and securing the “three-peat” 5-3 in what was a tremendous achievement for this franchise. We would also like to congratulate Sunshine Coast’s Justin Otto who was the winner of the Individual Player of the Tournament in the Men’s Division.

Men’s Cup:
Logan City Lakers took out the Men’s Cup Division in a fiercely competitive battle against East Brisbane Sumatran Tigers. Arthur Butler was the standout player and proved the difference between the two rivals and was well supported by Jordan Adermann-Kropp and Nic Vardanega in game-defining moments.

Men’s Plate:
East Brisbane Tigers White took the honours in the Men’s Plate Division by downing Melbourne Magic in a highly skilled Final. Despite the Tigers outclassing their opponents in this fixture, it is wonderful to see the Victorians make it to the big dance, which proudly reflects the growth of our great game down south. Shoutout to Illawarra and Inner West Sydney who never stopped trying in a hotly contested Men’s Division.

Women’s APL:
South Brisbane Spartans Black claimed the Women’s APL Division in an epic 2-1 victory against Moreton Bay Ballers. Despite Moreton Bay taking an early 1-0 lead, both teams headed into halftime 1-1 courtesy of an amazing solo try scored by Izzy Buirski – South Brisbane then extended their lead early in the second half on the back of a well-constructed team try which was in the end was enough to secure Women’s APL honours. A special mention to South Brisbane’s Elise Wong who was the winner of the Individual Player of the Tournament in the Women’s Division. We would also like to congratulate the Central Coast Crushers (pictured below) who were ultra impressive in the first year competing in the Australian Championships.

Women’s Cup:
In what will always be remembered as an incredible Finals battle, Ipswich Jets were crowned winners of the Women’s Cup Division, defeating a devastated East Brisbane Bengal Tigers outfit who fought hard to the very end, 3-2. This is a wonderful effort by Ipswich, who prevailed without their injured star player Imogene Davidson!

Mixed APL:
In yet another tough contest featuring these two fierce rivals, Logan City Lakers defeated the East Brisbane Sumatran Tigers (pictured below) to claim the Mixed APL title – this was a special effort by this region as this win helped the Lakers in bringing home four Grand Finals victories at this tournament. Shoutout to Logan City’s Arthur Butler and Sunshine Coast’s Tarni Sullivan who were the winners of the Male and Female Individual Player of the Tournament in the Mixed Division respectively.

Mixed Cup:
Inspired by their fearless leader Connor McHugh, North Brisbane Bucks Maroon proved too strong for the West Brisbane Taipans winning the Mixed Cup Final 5-2 in dominant fashion. A special mention to the South Sydney Bunnies (pictured below) who turned it on and upset a number of teams to make a Semi-Final in the first year at competing in the Australian Championships.

Mixed Plate:
The East Brisbane Sumatran Tigers skipped out to a commanding 2-0 lead early in the first half against Logan City Lakers Blue, however Logan City clawed back to momentum to head into halftime 2-2. The second half was all one-way traffic with Logan City piling on 6 points to claim a memorable 8-3 victory, whilst also scoring one of the best 2-point tries of the tournament with 10 seconds remaining on the clock.

Mixed 30s:
Logan City Lakers defeated a spirited West Brisbane Taipans outfit in one of the great Finals fixtures. Both teams were deadlocked at 1-1 heading into halftime, but it was the individual brilliance of Arron Kirby who steered the Lakers to a 4-2 victory in front of a vocal crowd. Shoutout to West Brisbane’s Eddie Tran who was the winner of the Individual Player of the Tournament in the Mixed 30s Division.

Men’s 30s:
East Brisbane Sumatran Tigers took care of the Logan City Lakers and were crowned the Men’s 30s Division winners. This match was played in tough conditions, but this did little to stop the dominance of East Brisbane in a comprehensive 9-4 victory. We would also like to congratulate East Brisbane’s Cody Green who was the winner of the Individual Player of the Tournament in the Men’s 30s Division.

Individual Honours:
Golden Whistle Award Winners:
Paul Hasemann and Harry Miller (pictured below)

Individual Player of the Tournament Winners:
Men’s – Justin Otto (Sunshine Coast Sloths 1)
Women’s – Elise Wong (South Brisbane Spartans Black, pictured below)
Mixed Male – Arthur Butler (Logan City Lakers)
Mixed Female – Tarni Sullivan (Sunshine Coast Sloths Blue)
Mixed 30s – Eddie Tran (West Brisbane Taipans)
Men’s 30s – Cody Green (East Brisbane Sumatran Tigers)

Monique Roberts Sportsmanship Award Winner:
Andrew Howard (Gold Coast Gladiators Mixed 30s)

Tim Swan Medal “Best & Fairest” Winner:
Sean Armstrong (Logan City Lakers Men’s, pictured below)

Region Championship Winner:
South Brisbane Spartans

Thank you:
TRL wishes to thank all players, spectators, referees, venue managers, physios and vendors who were part of another action-packed three days of competition. We would like to extend our appreciation to all team captains and organisers for selecting teams – without their hard work and dedication putting teams together, these tournaments simply would not be possible.

TRL would also like to thank the team at Alabaster Sporting Fields for allowing us to use their fantastic venue again this year, along with our sponsors and partners:
Major Events Gold Coast
Gallagher Insurance
ENP Fitouts
EV2
Inspire

We are excited to again deliver another instalment of the Australian Championships in 2024.

David Stokes