Sport
5 September, 2025
West Wyalong, Yanco produce upsets of the year in dramatic final round
Chicks primed for semi clash as Men close season on a high
THE West Wyalong Mallee Men have finished a tough Group 20 campaign on a high note with a 24-18 win over the Yenda Blueheelers at Ron Crowe Oval on Saturday night.
Playing in front of a healthy home crowd on Sponsors Day, the wooden spooners looked anything but as they ran in five tries to three to extinguish the Blueheelers’ finals hopes.
West Wyalong Vice-President Josh Judd said that the return of a few key stars, including Jasper Loudon, saw the side able to field a bench and match it with their more highly-fancied opponents.
“We had a few blokes play that hadn’t played for a little while, so that definitely helped,” he said.
“They hooked in and had a crack, it was good.”
The star of the show was five-eighth Bobby Jones, whose quick-fire double opened a gap that was too big in the end for Yenda to overcome in the second stanza.
Judd said that while Jones was among the Mallee Men’s best, the win came off the back of a team performance, with the increased numbers and no Aussie Rules on Saturday helping West Wyalong to field a fresh 17 players for the first time all year.
“Bobby was really good last night, he had a really good game,” he said.
“Dylan McCartney he was pretty solid as he always is, Bobby Jones, Logan Collins, they were probably the standouts, but everyone had a bit of a crack which is good.
“It would be the first time this year that they haven’t played both days a few of them.”
As for what the morale-boosting win does for the side heading into next year, Judd said that it will help the club retain many of its core players, which in turn will assist with recruiting a few stars to help out their locals.
“I think the blokes that have been fair dinkum all year, it will keep them interested knowing that if we can play with a bench, which we had last night, if we can get 17 on the field every week, they’ll win as many games as they lose,” he said.
“We’re doing a bit of work at the moment in trying to recruit two or three extra players for next year and putting a bit of work into our locals that are a little bit on the fence whether they’re playing or not.
“If we can just get two or three outsiders to come in, I think we will definitely be a competitive team again.
“It should show them that they can do it, and if they hook in and put the effort in, they’ll win a few games [next year].”
The Mallee Men’s win was the second major upset on Saturday, after the Yanco-Wamoon Hawks caused a major boilover hours earlier, securing a finals berth against the odds with a 34-30 win over the Griffith Waratahs at the Exies Oval.
Captain-coach Jim Dabea and winger Vilimoni Waqanidrola each crossed for doubles for the Hawks, who outscored the Tigers in a thrilling 11-try shootout even with the dynamic Ulu Akolo back in the side.
The Darlington Point-Coleambally Roosters finished the season as Minor Premiers after a 37-18 final round victory over Tullibigeal-Lakes United at Coleambally. An Isaac Railo double led six different try scorers for the Roosters, who remain on a 13-game winning streak heading into the finals where they will defend their crown after a week’s rest.
Finally, the Griffith Black and Whites had the final say in the top five race, but it wasn’t to be as they fell agonisingly short of a playoff berth in an 18-16 loss to the Leeton Greenies. Despite scoring four tries to three, the Black and Whites’ inability to land a goal saw last year’s runners-up finish outside the five, half a game behind the Hawks.
Meanwhile, for the Greenies, a double to coach Shan Bradbrook saw them return to their winning ways on the eve of the postseason, all the while doing a favour for cross-town rivals Yanco-Wamoon in the process. Finals footy kicks off next weekend, with Hay to host Yanco-Wamoon in a sudden-death showdown at the Hay Park Oval on Saturday, before Waratahs take on Leeton at the Exies Oval in the Qualifying Final on Sunday.
In the League Tag, the Mallee Chicks bounced back from their reality check with a resounding 60-0 win over Yenda. In what was a good hit out for the side before the business end of the year, the Chicks were never troubled and took stock of last rounds loss by defending well and holding their opposition to nil.
The girls will now have a rematch against Black and Whites at 12pm this Sunday September 7 at Griffith in what may well be a curtain raiser for the grand final.
TALLON SMITH
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