Manildra Rhinettes have claimed their first Woodbridge Cup league tag premiership with a tense 10-6 win against Cargo Blue Heelers on Sunday (August 27).
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Playing in front of a passionate crowd at Jack Huxley Oval, the sides endured a tense first half stalemate before tries to Rhinettes Holly Petrie and Hayley Sharpless were enough to overcome Sally White's effort for Cargo.
Captain Molly Hoswell said it was "crazy" to finally win the trophy after their 2022 grand final heartbreak.
"After last year we definitely wanted it just a bit more," she said.
"We had that extra push in us.
"At the start of the year we weren't getting numbers to training, to come so far and win the grand final is just crazy.
"We had an imperfect season but finished it in the perfect way."
Alongside the halfback for the post-match celebrations and for most of the game was Brooke Cusack who said the team crucially learned from what they had done wrong.
"At the end of the day we wanted it more," she said.
"We learned off our losses, knew what we had to do. We didn't want to lose another grand final."
Sweltering standoff
The mercury was already pushing 20 degrees Celsius by the time the match kicked off and the tough conditions were evident throughout the first half.
Manildra enjoyed some dominant field position and possession but try as they might they couldn't crack the Blue Heelers' wall.
Cargo employed some physical tactics to great effect, rushing up and getting in the face of the Rhinettes players.
With the scorers untroubled after the first 30 minutes, they had to spring into action early in the second as Petrie kicked and regathered to touch down amidst confusion as to whether or not she had been tagged.
The referees concurred she hadn't and the scoring was underway in Manildra.
The Rhinettes then had one hand on the trophy when Sharpless weaved her way over with some nice footwork.
Cargo hit back with a great individual effort by White but Manildra held on to finally exorcise those 2022 demons.
Hoswell paid tribute to Cargo, who themselves were chasing a fairy tale following their winless 2022 campaign.
"They were so good today," she said.
"We didn't know what to expect, we hadn't played them since round two. They have come a long way.
"In the first half we didn't really gel but in the second we turned it up, made good tags and did well to hold them out."
- Manildra Rhinettes 10 (Holly Petrie, Hayley Sharpless tries; Molly Hoswell goal) defeated Cargo Blue Heelers 6 (Sally White try; Jorja Lees goal)
Player of the match: Jordyn Wright (Manildra)
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