OBERON Tigers quartet George, Matt and Trent Rose plus Riccie Arriola made a strong run for the Walgett Aboriginal Connection at the NSW Koori Rugby League Knockout but weren’t able to claim the top prize.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Walgett were knocked out at the quarter finals stage by Combined Countries and couldn’t claim the title they laid their hands on back in 2014.
The Oberon players still claimed some handy scalps along the way, including victory in the round of 16 over Woollumbin Warriors who boast a large Queensland Cup pool of talent.
With the high expectations they put on themselves Matt Rose said the Connection squad were left disappointed not to go all the way.
“We were probably disappointed not to go through to the semi-finals or the final. We did manage to beat the Woollumbin Warriors who have around 10 QLD Cup players and five NRL contracted players,” he said.
“Unfortunately we had to back up just 40 minutes later. We drew 12-all with Combined Countries but they went through because they scored first.
“Riccie Arriola was awesome for us and Trent got the player of the tournament award for our team. He had a great competition as well.”
Walgett opened their account with a 28-6 win over Waterloo Storm and, despite the closer scoreline, put in a much more polished performance in the second round to see off Central Coast United 18-6.
The 16-8 victory that followed against the Warriors would be a tournament highlight for Walgett.
“We led that game 10-8 and we scored with only two minutes left in the match,” Rose said.
“The games were only 20 minutes halves so the intensity was a lot higher than 40-minute half matches.
“There were 138 teams all up across all division and 63 men’s teams. There was some really good rugby league being played.”
While the Walgett squad left Redfern disappointed Rose said the team just have to look one year down the track.
“We did all we could but for it us it was still a good performance. We’ve been one of the most successful teams in the past. We've three of the last seven and have usually been around the top four so it was a bit disappointing not to be there again,” he said.
“We’ve got 12 months to get ready and try to win again.”
Hosts Redfern All Blacks managed to successfully defend their title, once again beating the Newcastle All Blacks in the decider. The final score was 42-12.
The result means the Redfern All Blacks will once again have hosting rights for the 2017 edition.
