Well, what an exciting season of football, which was generally played in a good spirit and at a high standard. I think I am correct in saying that not one player was sent off in the competition this year (although there were a few sin-bins) which is a great achievement, and a credit to all the players and coaches in the competition. The following is a brief summary of the performance of all the teams in the competition and how they fared, plus some overall comments on the competition.
The biggest controversy during the year was the BJRL proposal to split the competition into 2 five-team comps after some early big losses by the lower teams, which would have relegated Logan Bros, Easts, Slacks Ck, Holy Spirit and Brighton into a "B" comp. It is fair to say that this proposal did not meet with universal approval, and in the end an 8 team comp was settled on, with Holy Spirit relegated to B0 Grade and Brighton to B00. Teams that had not played these 2 were awarded byes for the remainder of the first Round, the Chairman's Trophy doubled as a fixture match, and 2 extra games were scheduled mid-week to allow all teams to play each other 3 times. Whilst this led to a high load on particularly representative and union players, it did result in a fair competition which was a good compromise.
Brighton: Stepped up 2 grades to join the competition, and were in trouble immediately with a big loss to Redcliffe in a trial match. Unfortunately, they could not field a competitive team after that and suffered 4 big losses in the competition proper before their relegation down 2 grades where they were moderately successful.
Holy Spirit: After narrowly missing the semi-finals in U13JA following a poor finish to the season, Holy Spirit were expected to fare well this season, but were very disappointing in their opening games against Arana, Redlands, Souths and Redcliffe and were subsequently demoted a grade. They certainly improved from that point, eventually going on to win the B0 competition, so their early form may have been a little misleading - one would think there certainly should be enough available talent to field a third "A" team on the northside, and this team would seem to have the basis for this in the future.
Slacks Ck: Stepped up to the "A" division after being last year's JB runners-up. Looked like dropping out of the competition at a couple of stages during the year, and lost a number of players to other sides during the early confusion in the competition, but at 2 points - following a forfeit to Redcliffe in Round 10, and a big loss to Centenary in Round 16, they recommitted firstly to the comp, and then to finish the season on a high. To their credit, they did not forfeit another game after the Redcliffe one, and did indeed finish the comp on a high note, going perilously close to defeating preliminary finalists Centenary and Premiers Arana and notching up a victory over Easts in the last few weeks of the season. Looks as though this team will not be in the A comp next year which is a pity considering the experience they have gained this season, but no doubt some of their players will be a valuable asset to other sides if they choose to leave to stay at the "A" level.
Easts: Last year's B premiers, entered the competition this year with some trepidation, but opened some eyes when they were unlucky to lose to Redcliffe by 2 points in the second round of the year, and it was thought that as the season progressed they would become more used to the demands of "A" grade and perhaps become a real force in the competition. Unfortunately for them, this really did not eventuate, and 2 wins over Slacks Ck plus an upset win over Redcliffe in Round 11 were their only successes of the season. They did manage to lead a number of the top sides for long periods, but their inability to go the full 60 minutes, plus a tendency to make critical mistakes in their own half proved costly throughout the season. They also lacked size in the forwards and probably need to pick up 3 or 4 good players to be a force next season.
Redcliffe: Last year's runners-up (and indeed grand finalists in all their comps to date) really struggled all year, and despite occasionally looking as though they had finally hit form, failed to sustain it at any point during the year, eventually bowing out when hammered by Souths in the last game before the finals. Probably their major achievement of the year was that they were the team to end Arana's unbeaten start to the season in Round 9, and were one of only 2 teams (Redlands being the other) to beat Arana twice in the season, and their talent was demonstrated in a 26-all draw with Redlands in the 2nd last round. Ironically it was their mid-year loss to Easts that eventually proved critical, and they will be looking hard in the mirror in an effort to determine what went wrong this season.
Souths: Certainly one of the most exciting teams in the competition, with only Redlands racking up more points, but defence was their Achilles heel, conceding over 120 more points than any other team in the final five. It finally took a win over Redcliffe at Brandon Park in the final round to wrap up a finals spot, and then they had every opportunity to defeat Centenary in the elimination semi, but in the end lost that game, ending their season at the same stage as last year.
Logan Bros: Were knocked out in the preliminary final last year and it was thought they could go even better this year, but started the season poorly with three losses and were in danger of losing their "A" status when plans to split the comp were formulated. In the end, they survived and improved steadily as the season progressed, and indeed from Round 7 to the end of the preliminary rounds they only lost 2 games, both to Redlands, including one by only 4 points, to give them a finish in the top 3, and second favouritism to Redlands for the premiership in many peoples' eyes. However they saved two of their most disappointing performances of the season for the finals, firstly losing to Arana in a game in which they led early and looked to have the Panthers on the rack. This meant another Panther clash, this time with Centenary, the next weekend, and once again they were defeated, to emulate Arana's path out of the semis last year - two losses in two games. They had some consolation at season's end when they travelled to Cairns where they won the Tassell shield without conceding a point, but will probably look back on 2002 as a year in which they didn't live up to their expectations.
Centenary: Entered the competition with much fanfare coming up 2 grades from last year, but unlike Brighton, fortified by the addition of a number of quality players from the Ipswich competition. Started very well, with three wins in succession, including one over Logan Bros, but then crashed to 3 successive defeats against Redlands, Souths and Arana as the reality of playing in the A's with limited depth started to bite. Performed well in the middle of the season, winning seven straight, but only 1 win in five games was not the best lead into the finals series. After fighting out a spectacular elimination semi-final win over Souths, they took this form into the knockout semi where they disposed of Logan Bros comfortably, and when they led 16-4 after 20 minutes of the preliminary final against Arana, the "impossible dream" of a first year Grand Final appearance seemed well and truly on the cards. They were unable to maintain the effort into the second half however and 28 unanswered points ended their season, where 3rd spot was most acceptable give the step-up in quality for most of the team.
Redlands: Last year's premiers proved they would again be the team to beat, starting the season well, but somewhat surprisingly fell by a point to Arana in a thriller in Round 3. Five wins in succession steadied the ship, and guaranteed them a place in the Chairman's Trophy final, but they then lost consecutive games, the first by 2 points in a controversial match against Logan Bros, then, almost unbelievably by a single point again to Arana. After a steadying win against Souths, they gained revenge against Arana with a comfortable win against an "out-of-sorts" Panther team in the Chairman's trophy match. Redlands only further loss of the preliminary rounds was in Round 12 to Centenary, although they were only able to draw against Redcliffe in the penultimate round with a late converted try, meaning they were undefeated in the last 10 rounds. The week's break for being minor premiers apparently did them no harm judging by their absolute annihilation of Arana 40-0 in the Major semi, after leading 12-0 after 8 minutes, and 22-0 at halftime. Entered the Grand Final as almost "unbackable" favourites and looked to have the premiership in their keeping with a quarter of the match remaining, but the rest, as they say, is history! This loss was their first in a trophy or finals match in two seasons, but even though being runners-up is by no means a disgrace, they will be disappointed not to have finished on top.
Arana: Bolstered at the start of the season by a players from Aspley, Albany Ck and Mitchelton, were looking to improve on the 4th place performance last year when they lost both their final matches after finishing third on the table. Gained some immediate confidence with a final minute 2 point trial win over their perennial bogey team Redcliffe, and this initial confidence was maintained with 7 wins to open the premiership season, including a last minute 1 point win over Redlands, and an incredible "come-from-behind" win over Logan Bros. Somewhat unexpectedly their winning run was ended in the final game of the first round by the Dolphins, who made up an 8 point deficit in the final 6 minutes to win 20-18, however Arana had already guaranteed themselves a place in the Chairman's Trophy. The next 5 games saw only one loss, although that unfortunately was the Trophy match where Redlands handled the occasion much better to win easily. Injuries really started to take their toll and after a loss to Centenary, fortunate draw with Logan Bros and another loss to Redcliffe on successive weekends the Panther's challenge seemed to be fading, and despite steadying to win 5 of the next 6 matches leading into the semis, in only one of these games, a 58-16 mauling of Souths, did they demonstrate really good form, and the talk on the Guest Pages was of a similar exit to last year, despite the good start to the season having the Panthers finish in 2nd place on the ladder. The qualifying semi against Logan Bros saw Arana hard hit by injuries, both before and during the game (reducing the team to 12 players at one stage) but a gallant Arana withstood a slow start which saw them trail after only 3 minutes, to score 2 tries just before the break to give them a narrow buffer at half-time, this with the prospect of running into a stiff breeze in the second stanza. The players dug deep however and after scoring early after the resumption clung doggedly to the lead, eventually running out 5 point winners. The fact that the next week's game was not a knockout was a blessing for the battered side, and playing with a reshuffled, understrength team they ran into a hot Redlands side and were never in the match. Fortunately a number of players were able to return for the Preliminary final, but when Centenary led 16-4 after 18 minutes it looked like the season was coming to an end. A try before the break lifted their spirits however, and in the second half they never looked back scoring 24-0 to run out 32-16 winners over a tiring Centenary. Following the major semi result, not many favoured Arana in the season decider, and 2 early tries and a 10-0 lead to the defending premiers did nothing to indicate anything else. However the game flowed with possession, and with Arana getting more ball they were able to score 2 tries before half-time to trail by only 2 points at the hooter. The second half began in similar fashion to the first, and at the mid-half "drinks" break (because of the heat on the day), Redlands led 26-8 and seemed to have the match well and truly won. An inspirational individual try to "part-time second-rower" Alex Fresta, well converted in the blustery conditions, lifted the side however, and they quickly followed up with 2 further 6-pointers to incredibly lead 26-24 with 5 minutes remaining. For everyone concerned this was certainly the longest five minutes of the season as Redlands attempted to score the winning try, but the Panther's dug deep and held on to be Premiers. Incidentally this was their 7th win by 6 points or less this year (Incredibly 11 Arana games this year were decided by a converted try or less - talk about the "cardiac kids"), and perhaps more characteristic of the side also the 7th time this season they had won games after trailing in the second half. Most supporters of the side would have hoped for a Grand Final appearance, and of course will be ecstatic with the win.
Conclusion: Congratulations to all the players, coaches, managers, parents and supporters of this competition in 2002. I think its excitement is indicated by the fact that no fewer than 22 games were decided by less than a converted try, and going into the last week of the premiership six teams still had a realistic chance of taking out the title. There is already a lot of talk about temas and players coming and going next year - let's just hope the comp is as entertaining as this year's!!!
Brad Tallon
Oct 6 2002
