Boars run over the Kangaroos in late surge to claim the Group 4 premiership

The Moree Boars stormed home to an emphatic Group 4 Rugby League first grade premiership victory on Saturday afternoon as they outlasted both the Boggabri Kangaroos and the heat at Boughton Oval.

The Kangaroos led the 2024 minor premiers 14-12 at the half-time break and then 18-12 early in the second stanza before a converted try in the 54th minute locked the score up at 18 apiece, which it remained until the hour-mark when the Boars’ onslaught began.

Moree crossed for four tries in the final 20 minutes of the contest to run away with a 40-18 win and earn their fifth Group 4 Rugby League first grade premiership and their first since 2002.

The victory saw the Moree men end a dominant North Tamworth run as the Bears’ reign of eight straight first grade premierships came to an end, but that was destined to happen either way after the Bears missed out on a top-four spot this year.

Moree’s grand final glory also saw them become the first winning side outside of Tamworth since 2004 when a Jamie Lyon-led Wee Waa Panthers side downed the Boars 46-10 at Cook Oval. Either Norths or West Tamworth Lions have won it since then.

Moree would return to the big dance 19 years later when they lost 26-16 against Norths at Jack Woolaston Oval last year, but nothing was going to stop the back-to-back minor premiers from achieving the double in 2024, not even a brave Boggabri side who were playing in their club’s first finals series and decider since 1964.

Boggabri’s coach Shane Rampling was disappointed with the grand final result but was proud of the effort that his men showed not only on the day but all season.

“It’s been a fantastic year, getting to the grand final, but unfortunately we couldn’t come away with the win,” Rampling said.

“We competed really well for about 55 minutes and we controlled the game pretty well, but that last 20 to 25 minutes, we ran out of steam.

“Moree kicked better than us. I think they got three tries off kicks. We just couldn’t contain their kicks.

“We didn’t have the ball the last 15 minutes either. We just couldn’t get the ball and get into the game. That’s a credit to Moree though.

“I think 100 minutes for us the week before probably told in the end, and being a really hot day, we just had no juice in the end. It was just so hard playing without the ball.

“At one stage there, we defended four sets on our line, and they ended up scoring off a kick in that fourth set (on the hour mark). Up until that point our defence had been really good, but we just fell away after that in the last 20 minutes.”

The proud coach also commended Boggabri’s dedicated fans and the local community, who he described as being phenomenal.

“It was unbelievable,” Rampling said of grand final week.

“There was stuff printed out, shirts made, a song made. The support was just fantastic.

“It gives me chills and goosebumps thinking about it. A little town like Boggabri rallying so many supporters to take four busloads to the grand final, plus there was a minibus full of old boys who came to watch us too.

“It’s phenomenal.

“It’s a great little town with massive support and the boys just love it. Why wouldn’t you want to play for Boggi when you have this sort of support?”

In positive news for Boggabri fans, Rampling has committed to the club for another season and declared that he is confident that the majority of the playing group will return in 2025.

It was the Kangaroos that opened the scoring on Saturday as explosive winger Josefa Goneduadua started and finished a scintillating 60-metre play. ‘Little Joe’, as he is known as in Boggabri, charged onto an Andrew Wallace pass on his own 40-metre line and made his way over halfway before being tackled but managing to get his arm free and throw an offload to Pita Rogosau. The huge centre then ran deep into Moree territory before getting an offload pass to Goneduadua after the winger had quickly returned to his feet and flew upfield in support after making his offload.

Boggabri’s fullback Ash White had entered grand final day in great goal-kicking form, and he made no mistake with his conversion to make the score 6-0.

Moree levelled it up at 6-all in the 20th minute when five-eighth Jamie Sampson grubbered into the in-goal from a few metres out and got to the ball first to plant it down before his captain-coach Mick Watton kicked a simple conversion from in front.

Boggabri edged back in front in the 28th minute when White nailed a penalty goal to put the Kangaroos ahead 8-6, but Moree took the lead for the first time in the 32nd minute when former Narrabri captain-coach Brenton Cochrane made a 60-metre run to score between the sticks just one play after his fullback Lachlan McGrady had scooped up a kick on his own tryline and returned the ball 40 metres.

Watton slotted another goal from in front after Cochrane had carved up the Boggabri defence to put Moree ahead 12-8, but the Kangaroos took a two-point lead into half-time after Jack Hayes stormed onto an Isaiah Cochrane short ball close to the line and charged over to score in the 36th minute before White kicked his third goal of the contest.

Another Adams short ball led to Boggabri’s next points five minutes into the second stanza, and this time it was Rob Doolan who scored as the centre forced his way over in the right corner to put the Roos in front 18-12.

The boot of Sampson created the next try in the 53rd minute as the Moree five-eighth produced a perfect chip kick into the in-goal that winger Jake Tighe flew onto and collected to score before Watton added the extras to tie it up at 18-all.

The Boars were beginning to gain the ascendancy at that point and they went ahead 24-18 on the hour-mark after they had camped themselves on the Boggabri line and made the pressure count as centre Alex Barker pushed his way over a few metres inside the right sideline and Watton kicked his fourth conversion.

They made it a two-possession game in the 63rd minute when Wallace spilled a Sampson kick in his in-goal and Brent McDonald caught it and scored the most simple of tries.

Watton made it five out of five with the boot to make the score 30-18, which became 34-18 during the next set when the Moree men went the length of the field off the back of some big runs and super offloads to score a try that Joe Wade finished off.

Watton then put the icing on the cake late in the game as he scored the last of his side’s seven tries and kicked his sixth conversion to make the final score 40-18.

Sampson was named the player of the final, which Rampling said was well-deserved.

The three other games at Boughton Oval on grand final day saw North Tamworth, Dungowan and Werris Creek also celebrate premiership
glory.

Norths kicked off the day with a 22-0 victory over Kootingal-Moonbi Roosters in the ladies league tag competition, with Kimberley Resch named player of the final as her side did the minor and major premiership double.

Dungowan’s under-18s side also did the double as they beat Kootingal-Moonbi 40-10 in the decider, with Braydon Allan named player of the final.

Werris Creek then won the closest contest of the day to claim their first reserve grade premiership in 38 years as they outscored Dungowan 24-20. Sam Tickle was named player of the final in that one.