It was a successful trip to Bowen last Saturday for two Burdekin sides competing in the latest round of the RLTD, with both the Reserves and Women’s teams claiming solid wins. The A Grade Roosters had the weekend off with a bye.
The Reserves defeated Bowen 32–18, while the Women’s side dominated their opposition 54–0.
The Reserves came up against a large and determined Bowen outfit on their annual Ladies Day, which saw 260 women celebrate with a Country and Western theme.
With a couple of players sidelined due to injury, coach Peter Horan was forced to make changes, shifting Dylan Doak from halfback to hooker and giving Jye Olsen a start in the No. 7 jersey.
While Doak looked unsettled at dummy half, Olsen thrived at halfback, crossing for three tries in the first half to help the Roosters to an 18–10 halftime lead.
Bowen remained competitive throughout but never managed to hit the front.
Coach Horan admitted it wasn’t the cleanest performance, saying: “It wasn’t a pretty win. We made it tough on ourselves with dropped ball being one of the causes. We’ll need to be more focused and switched on when we meet the stronger sides. But today, everyone did their job and that was pleasing.”
The win marked four in a row for the Reserves, who now sit in fourth place.
Horan named Jye Olsen as his best on ground, closely followed by Bokeem Reid, with Adam Camer also impressing.
Try-scorers:
Jye Olsen (3)
Bokeem Reid (2)
Jack Rushton (1)
Goals: Dylan Doak (4)
Burdekin Women Continue Strong Season With Third Win
The Burdekin River women’s team scored their third win of the season with a commanding 54–0 result over Bowen, following previous wins against Norths and Charters Towers and a draw with Brothers.
Despite landing only three goals from 12 tries, the girls made an early statement, with hooker Abby King diving over in the first minute for her first of four tries.
The Bowen side boasted size, but the Burdekin team — wearing their smart new strip for the first time — countered with pace and teamwork.
Halves Toni Daisy and Martina Monday had too much speed for the defence, scoring two and three tries respectively, while Tiana Krutzfeldt and Akayla Weston also made the most of open space.
Abby King praised the team effort, saying: “We combined well and let the ball do the work. Our defence was strong, with more than one player defending together.”
The side had only one substitute, with players from Ingham unavailable due to a wedding.
“We kept going until the end and never let Bowen break our line,” King added, naming Martina and Toni as the standouts, but noting everyone played well.
Try-scorers:
Abby King (4)
Martina Monday (3)
Akayla Weston (2)
Toni Daisy (2)
Tiana Krutzfeldt (1)
Goals: Toni Daisy (2), Martina Monday (1)
RLTD Results
A Grade:
Brothers def. Norths 44–18
Western Lions def. Centrals 22–18
Souths def. Charters Towers 16–10
Burdekin and Herbert River had byes
Reserve Grade:
Burdekin def. Bowen 32–18
Brothers def. Norths 19–18
Western Lions def. Centrals 44–0
Souths def. Charters Towers 50–18
Women’s:
Burdekin def. Bowen 54–0
Brothers def. Norths 24–6
Centrals to play Western Lions
This Weekend’s Fixtures
The Roosters travel to Ingham this Saturday to take on Herbert River in both A Grade and Reserve Grade. These are crucial clashes, with all sides jostling for position among the competition leaders.
Both A Grade teams will be without their Cowboy allocations. Burdekin is expecting Nemia Nawave and Jett Castello to return.
The Crushers’ Reserves will be led by the experienced Mitch Seri, whose kicking game remains a major weapon.
Meanwhile, the Burdekin River Women will face Centrals in Townsville.
Also this weekend:
Centrals host Souths
Brothers travel to Charters Towers
Western Lions face Norths in A Grade and Bowen in Reserves and Women’s