Only two games will be played in Round 2 of the Bundaberg Broadcasters A Grade Premiership, following a COVID outbreak within the Maryborough Wallaroos club.
Neither the A grade nor the reserve grade teams will be able to travel to Bundaberg’s Salter Oval for their scheduled matches with Wests Panthers, with the games to be postponed to a later date.
Due to the change, the A grade showdown between Waves Tigers and Easts Magpies has been brought forward to 4.30pm on Saturday, April 2, while two-time defending champions Past Brothers will travel to Stafford Park to take on hometown heroes Hervey Bay Seagulls at 5pm.
The Tigers will still be smarting after surrendering a 22-6 lead to draw 22-22 with the never-say-die Hervey Bay Seagulls in Round 1, who levelled the scores with a conversion after the final siren.
The Magpies meanwhile were a class above the Wallaroos, winning 56-18, but they are likely to face a much sterner test from the Tigers.
Stafford Park is a fortress for the Seagulls and they always rise to another level at home.
They ambushed the Brethren 32-20 in the corresponding match last year, but Brothers coach Andrew Hamilton has his side primed, warning them they will need to be on their game to come home with the points.
On top of their stars from their 2021 premiership - headed by captain Kevin Sherriff, Tyrell Priestley, Royce Blair, Zak Bainbridge and Jake Thompson - all hitting the ground running against the Panthers, their biggest signings Zac Dann and Connor Jones both slotted into the side very well in Round 1.
For Hamilton and Sherriff, another pleasing aspect was the impressive A grade debut of 17-year-old forward Brad Shorter off the bench.
He is set to play a key role again this week, coming up against his elder brother for the first time, Seagulls second rower Max.
His A grade debut capped a big five days for Shorter, who is also the Bundaberg State High School Open League captain and had also been presented his house captain badge at the school’s investiture ceremony on the Tuesday before Round 1.
After being part of the Brothers under 18 team that did not win a game in 2021, Shorter loved being part of a winning side, especially alongside Sherriff who has coached him at the school and representative level over the past five years.
After starting his career with Brothers in under 7s, Shorter transferred to Wests in under 10s and played for the Panthers until returning to the Brethren in under 15s.
Now that he has the taste of senior football, he yearns for more.
“My goals for this year would be to push to be in the A grade team each week as well as take the under-18s Brothers team to a grand final and win the comp,” Shorter said.
Sherriff is also a big fan of the young dynamo.
“Brad has the right mindset and aggression for a rugby league player,” Sherriff said.
“He only got about 15 minutes on Saturday night but was able to show what he has to offer.
“He had an opportunity to have a few tough carries, showed some strong defence and he communicated really well. He is set for bigger and better things.”
