Sport
19 June, 2025
Wattles Warriors Cop the Brothers Leprechauns’ shillelagh
A positive result in what coach Travis Burns described as a very important match fell by the wayside on Sunday at Toowoomba’s Glenholme Park when an under-manned Wattles Warriors outfit copped a 50 – 24 walloping from fellow top three front runners the Brothers Leprechauns.
Five-eighth Nick Carrie was in sensational form for Brothers and was deservedly named Player of the Match, while fleet of foot wing finisher Jackson Lenzo snared a try hat trick in the Leprechauns’ nine to four touchdown gallop.
Brothers have certainly turned the table on a difficult stretch of seasons in recent years to be a competitive force in 2025.
Their one-sided TRL Round 9 success on the weekend, while also putting a thick layer of icing on their sponsor day celebrations, has them level second on premiership points with Wattles.
Wattles kicked off in the match slight favourites, with Burns happy to be fielding what was arguably his best side of the season to date.
In what was billed as the Match of the Round, his Warriors started the contest capably establishing a 12 – 6 lead after touchdowns by halves pair Dwayne Duncan and Tommy Hatch.
Plans went astray when Western Clydesdales front-rower Lopini Kioa was sent off in the 25th minute after a tackle that saw Brothers’ Hayden Ensbey heavily concussed.
If there was a turning point in the game, it was the loss of giant enforcer Kioa which reduced the Warriors to twelve men for the final 55 minutes of play.
The home side lifted a few gears thanks to their obvious ability while making full use of their manning advantage.
Brothers adjourned for half time leading 16 – 12, and gained further momentum after the restart and were never headed.
Losing a forward of the calibre of Kioa, who showed his high standards in his club debut for Wattles in their previous fixture win over Southern Suburbs, was certainly a speed bump, but then the Warriors have won this season with a second half complement of just twelve back in Round 2 against Oakey.
While praising his own team highly, Brothers’ experienced coach Scott Schulze also rated Wattles performance: “They’re a good side, the scoreboard details are far from a true indication of the game.”
Halfback Tom Hatch, hooker Dan Taber and three-quarters Mitch Bourke, Matthew Christensen and Daniel Jennings were more than effective in Wattles’ efforts.
The Warriors will need to be on their game this Saturday when they clash with the fourth on the ladder Valleys Roosters.
The Roosters are on a roll coming off four consecutive wins in the past four fixtures, a statistic which is sounding a warning to the Wattles camp.
Brothers 50 defeated Wattles 24 (Tom Hatch 2, Dwayne Duncan, Ryan Kelly-Payne tries; Dwayne Duncan 4 goals).
Reserve Grade
On the back of a stellar performance by front-rower Marley Tunstead, clearly the best in green and gold, highlighted by his incisive runs and aggressive defence, Wattles’ reserve grade team capitalised on a slim 14 – 10 half time lead to set a course for a 32 – 16 victory.
Duggan brothers Jack and team skipper Tom also rose to the occasion with inspiring performances from hooker and second-row respectively, and edge finisher Koby De Luca snatched two tries and four goals in the total to ease into second top point scorer in the reserve grade competition with 68 points.
“We started well and were dominant across the park in attack and defence,” Coach Will Manley said, “but we did take our foot off the pedal for much of the game.”
The result against Brothers has Wattles level with the Warwick Cowboys on the second rung of the premiership ladder, just a point behind ladder leaders the Valleys Roosters.
Wattles 32 (Koby De Luca 2, Lachlan Clements, Will Hauser, Jack Duggan, Jacob Ranger tries; Koby De Luca 4 goals) defeated Brothers 16.
Under 19
A second successive loss with Wattles finishing well short of Brothers 20 – 6 on Sunday saw them drop out of the top five.
The Cameron Hamblin coached Warriors can boast experience, ability and team numbers, but those attributes weren’t enough to reel in the undefeated premiership leading Leprechauns.
Despite the result, Wattles’ front rower and Players’ Player Tom Fenwick was his side’s outstanding performer throughout, while fellow bookend Sebastian Hepner also impressed.
Busy hooker Atticus Sullivan was very effective at dummy-half while centre Mason Watson shone in the green and gold back line.
Brothers 20 defeated Wattles 6 Hamish Gartery try; Mason Watson goal.
- Glyn Rees
