Toowoomba shock Falcons to reclaim 47th title

The 47th Battalion trophy has changed hands once again with the Toowoomba Clydesdales regaining the prestigious silverware on the home turf of the Falcons, completing a 20-6 shutout of the defending premiers Sunshine Coast in yesterday’s decider.

In one of the most-anticipated finals in recent years, the Clydesdales were out for revenge after last year’s loss at home to the Falcons and clearly showed their intentions from the opening whistle, forcing a number of uncharacteristic errors from the men in gold.

Toowoomba’s first points were a stroke of luck when young flyer Billy Jackwitz intercepted a loose Nat McGavin tip-on and ran 95 metres to score against the run of play in the seventh minute.

Boosted by the early scoreboard pressure, the Clydesdales put their foot down and peppered the relenting Sunshine Coast defensive line for the next few sets, but to no avail.

Due to this, and the prospect of the game being a low-scoring affair like in previous years, the Clydesdales chose to take the two when rewarded with a penalty in front of the posts.

Leading 8-0, the match-winning Clydesdales spine of Haydan Lipp, Corey McGrady, Matt Duggan and Ben Sullivan combined flawlessly to force repeat sets, starving the Falcons of possession.

To make matters worse, they were forced to defend the last eight minutes of the first half with 12 men after repeated ruck penalties resulted in five-eight Dylan McGrath sat down for 10.

In the 22nd minute, the pressure was all too much with Sam Bielefeld combing with Sullivan to crash over, giving the Clydesdales a sizeable 14-0 lead going into halftime.

Even after the break, the Falcons couldn’t stop the onslaught with Sullivan playing his part in another Clydesdale try, this time to prop Xavier Manley five minutes into the second half.

Falcons rake Danny Kerr was one of the Coast’s best throughout the weekend and rewarded himself with a four-pointer to keep their hopes alive.

Needing three tries with 12 minutes remaining, the Clydesdales hung on and reclaimed the trophy after losing it to their counterparts at home last year.

In the plate final earlier, they say all good things come in threes and third-time lucky, Central Highlands claimed their first silverware with a 24-16 win over South West in a repeat of last year’s playoff.

The Highlands came out to play from the opening whistle and before the Stockmen knew it, the scoreboard read 18-0.

Central Highlands added one more try before the break to lead 24-6 but as expected, the boys from the west fought back.

Scoring two tries at the back end of the game to be only eight points behind, an injury forced the game to be called early with both teams shaking hands after a hard-fought contest between the country-cousins.

The same success couldn’t be shared by the Highlands’ women after Rockhampton successfully defended their title with a strong 20-0 whitewash to go back-to-back.

Australian Touch representative Tamika Upton’s skill at five-eighth to distribute the ball to either side of the field worked wonders with both Rustlers wingers Meg Neven and Bree Spreadborough capitalising with their speed to attack and score through the brittle Highlands edge defence.

At the conclusion of the carnival, the Region named its Central Crows Men’s, Women’s and Emerging Women’s sides to represent the region in the upcoming month.

A massive congratulations and thanks to the Sunshine Coast Rugby League and Sunshine Coast Regional Council for their hard work contributing to a successful carnival at Sunshine Coast Stadium.

The Region congratulates all players who took part in this year’s carnival and looks forward to the 2020 47th Battalion, celebrating 50 years of the respected competition.

Men's Player of the Carnival: Chris Conway (Central Highlands)

Women's Player of the Carnival: Tamika Upton (Rockhampton)

Day 1 results

MEN

GAME 1: SUNSHINE COAST 46 (Callum Klein 2, Chris Aiton, Sam Bernstrom, Caleb Daunt, Danny Kerr, Nat McGavin, Paul McKewin tries; Danny Kerr 4, Caleb Daunt goals) defeated GLADSTONE 0

GAME 2: ROCKHAMPTON 12 (Jamie Minto, Jace O’Neill, Falcon Peni tries) defeated CENTRAL HIGHLANDS 12 (Shae Cox, Clayton Kilpatrick tries; Ray Ebsworth 2 goals)

GAME 3: TOOWOOMBA 48 (Sam Broomhall, Hnaloan Budden, Steve Franciscus, Ty Gardner, Daniel Jennings, Haydan Lipp, Cory McGrady, Ben Sullivan tries; Matt Duggan 8 goals) defeated BURNETT 0

GAME 4: BUNDABERG 24 (Shaun Collins 2, Josiah Alberts, Matt Craven, Clinton Horne tries; Arden Lankowski 2 goals) defeated SOUTH WEST 0

GAME 5: CENTRAL HIGHLANDS 12 (Reece Baker, Clayton Kilpatrick tries; Ray Ebsworth 2 goals) defeated GLADSTONE 6 (Chris Riley try; Kyle Mongta goal)

GAME 6: SOUTH WEST 12 (Warren Draper, John Russo tries; Warren Draper 2 goals) defeated BURNETT 6 (Michael Giles try; Barry Tapau-Fewquandie goal)

GAME 7: SUNSHINE COAST 38 (Rowan Klein 2, Dalton Perrins-Phillips 2, Chris Aiton, Josh Buckland, Dylan McGrath tries; Caleb Daunt 3, Danny Kerr 2 goals) defeated ROCKHAMPTON 0

GAME 8: TOOWOOMBA 26 (Corey Blades, Hnaloan Budden, Matt Duggan, Billy Jackwitz, Campbell Stewart tries; Matt Duggan 3 goals) defeated BUNDABERG 0

WOMEN

ROCKHAMPTON 20 (Lakila Gudgeon 2, Sarah Field, Rhiannon Revell-Blair tries; Tashina Ketchup 2 goals) defeated GLADSTONE 4 (Krystal Sulter try)

SUNSHINE COAST 30 (Kelli Dunlop 2, Peta Dray, Amalee McClennan, Michaela Peck tries; Lana Sheedy 5 goals) defeated BUNDABERG 0

WESTERN MUSTANGS 16 (Teresa Aiton, Kaleshia Janes, Karen Reynolds tries; Natalia Parsons 2 goals) defeated GLADSTONE 0

CENTRAL HIGHLANDS 28 (Deb Barchard, Lauren Pingel, Tegan Rolfe, Mariah Storch, Tasma Vesey tries; Kailah Rogers 4 goals) defeated BUNDABERG 0

ROCKHAMPTON 12 (Rhiannon Revell-Blair, Bree Spreadborough, Justin Willie tries) defeated WESTERN MUSTANGS 10 (Kaleshia Janes, Natalia Parsons tries; Natalia Parsons goal)

CENTRAL HIGHLANDS 10 (Miranda Davidson, Layla Fauid tries; Kailah Rogers goal) defeated SUNSHINE COAST 6 (Annette Brander try; Lana Sheedy goal)

Day 2 results

MEN

GAME 9: GLADSTONE 24 (Deklin Huth 2, Beau Elphinstone, Jayden Hansen, Chris Riley tries; Kyle Mongta 2 goals) defeated BURNETT 22 (Arthur Saltner 2, Barwoo Fisher, Barry Tapau-Fewquandie tries; Barry Tapau-Fewquandie 3 goals)

GAME 10: ROCKHAMPTON 34 (Ryan Franks 2, Lachlan Norris, Gavin Hiscox, Sam Stibbards, Jace O'Neill tries; Falcon Peni 5 goals) defeated BUNDABERG 6 (Shaun Collins try; Arden Lankowski goal)

PLATE FINAL: CENTRAL HIGHLANDS 24 (Leigh Coghill, Chris Conway, Justin Daniels, Danyon Reed tries; Ray Ebsworth 4 goals) defeated SOUTH WEST 16 (Floyd Daniel, Warren Draper, Jack Just tries; Warren Draper, Joseph Packer goals)

TROPHY FINAL: TOOWOOMBA 20 (Sam Bielefeld, Billy Jackwitz, Xavier Manley tries; Matt Duggan 4 goals) defeated SUNSHINE COAST 6 (Danny Kerr try; Danny Kerr goal)

WOMEN

POOL A 3RD v POOL B 3RD: BUNDABERG 10 (Kady Tinker, Sophie O'Toole tries; Holly Blucher goal) defeated GLADSTONE 10 (Natasha Van Der Breggen, Zeah Lane tries; Krystal Sulter goal)

POOL A 2ND v POOL B 2ND: WESTERN MUSTANGS 8 (Karen Reynolds, Nadine Hattingh tries) defeated SUNSHINE COAST 6 (Sophie Fisher try; Lana Sheedy goal)

WOMEN’S FINAL: ROCKHAMPTON 20 (Lakila Gudgeon, Bree Spreadborough, Tamika Upton, Meg Neven tries; Tashina Ketchup 2 goals) defeated CENTRAL HIGHLANDS 0

RANKINGS FOR 2020 47TH BATTALION