A thread for all the glorious action of the new BRL competition
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A thread for all the glorious action of the new BRL competition
Attachment 672
Brothers Vs Valleys
Traditional rivals, a local derby. Rugby League the way it should be. What a great way to get your first RL fix for the season. The inaugural Two Blues Charity Shield between these two famous clubs featuring two Second Division Trial games. So let's get out in force and support traditional Rugby League and support Valleys Tim Green as we raise money to help him in his battle with cancer.
All happens at Emerson Park on Feb 14 from 4pm for kick-off.
First trial game for my Diehards. Brothers def Valleys 30-12
Brothers prevail in trial match
http://www.qrl.com.au
Long-time rivals Valleys Diehards hosted Brothers in a pre-season trial at the super impressive Emerson Park on Saturday.
Valleys will this year compete in the newly revamped Brisbane Rugby League, a masterstroke by the QRL as it will generate excitement for the old faithful who have longed for this competition to rear its head again.
This game was billed as the Two Blues Charity shield. An Inaugural pre-season competition that would see the best and fairest player awarded the Wright/Scanlan medal in honour of two of the most respected players in the BRL competition in ex-Australian international and Brothers captain David Wright and Valleys Diehards legend Mick Scanlan.
With a bumper crowd in attendance, it was an absolute mighty effort by the behind the scenes staff at Valleys who simply are geniuses at organising such great events as this one. The day was also a fundraiser for Valleys player Tim Green who at present is battling cancer.
Brothers went on to notch a comfortable 30-12 victory over the understrength Diehards. The visitors produced a brilliant first half performance and were in complete control throughout the match.
The Leprechauns made a bright start to the game, crossing in the fifth minute through powerful centre Tim Tupou who was near unstoppable outwide. With the conversion beautifully executed by lock Adam Crear, the game had started at a ferocious pace and had the crowd on their feet.
Brothers had no problem taking their chances inside the Diehards quarter and some flashy brilliance by halfback Luke Strasser delivered a pass to James Marshall who crashed over for the Leprechauns second try of the afternoon. With the easiest of conversions, Brothers had skipped away to an early 12-0 lead.
Brothers skipped further in front when Crear converted his own try.
Their supporters had reason to be even more cheerful when the Leprechauns crossed yet again right on the stroke of halftime through fullback Eli Wickham who went over after a sizzling move by the Brothers backline. With goal kicking on song it was now 24-0 to the Butcher stripes and Valleys could only look on in despair as the game was now slipping from their reach.
With the one way traffic in the first half crushing the Diehards confidence, some positional changes by coach Pat O’Doherty was what was needed if the Diehards were going to be any sort of match to the slick Brothers side.
Defence looked a little more organised and there seemed to be more structure in the Diehards plays. But just as the Diehards were looking for a resurgence, centre Tupou played a starring role for the visitors as he again made a mockery of the Valleys defence and crossed for his second of the afternoon for Brothers to lead 30-0.
With the injection of replacement hooker Tyrone Lowry, the home side had a breath of fresh air. Lowry’s smart dummy half plays and quick fire passes were just what the doctor ordered to get the Blue and Whites back on track. It was Lowry’s organisational skills that set up Valleys first try and it was lock Chris Frost who finally got the Diehards on the scoreboard.
Another try nine minutes later saw the Diehards hit back, however at 30-10 this would be the final score for what was a very emotional yet successful day.
Diehards get 15 players from norths this week.
BRL PRE-SEASON COMPETITION!
QRL South East Queensland Division Chairman Brad Tallon today announced that former Brisbane rugby league legend Ross Strudwick has thrown his support behind the new BRL competition, committing his company Struddy’s Sports as the pre-season Naming Rights sponsor.
The Struddy’s Sports BRL pre-season competition commences on March 7-8 and will run over four consecutive weekends, culminating with a final day at Norths’ Bishop Park ground on Saturday, March 28. All 10 BRL teams will be on show that day in a rugby league extravaganza.
“I am thrilled to be part of an administration team that has revived the iconic BRL brand,” Tallon said.
“This new competition structure is very exciting with some historic clubs competing again at this premier level, and these are joined by some other clubs looking to make a mark.”
“The return of Valleys has attracted great interest, as has the Logan Brothers club, while the Western Suburbs Panthers carry a brand synonymous with the rich BRL legacy. When you add the Dolphins, Tigers and Seagulls plus fantastic new clubs like Carina, Gaters (Albany Creek) and Normanby, this is a revival for rugby league in Brisbane.”
“To also have a BRL legend like Ross Strudwick on board as a sponsor of our pre-season competition only adds spice to the mix. Ross was a champion on the field and he has worked tirelessly to position his company Struddy’s Sports as a true leader in the sporting goods and apparel field. Struddy’s Sports is also a proud licenced supplier of QRL on-field apparel to clubs”.
Tallon added: “I also want to acknowledge the fantastic support from the five Brisbane clubs who were instrumental in achieving this new structure. Without their vision and support we wouldn’t have been able to put this new league competition into place, and I thank them for this effort as well as the QRL Board for its assistance.”
Each of the Brisbane Intrust Super Cup clubs have forged a link with two clubs, and players will be dual registered to allow for transfer between the Intrust Super Cup and the BRL competition. This is the same model which supports all other Intrust Super Cup clubs, with players drawn directly from the local premier grade competitions.
Wynnum Manly will support only one team, with the Ipswich Jets to continue in this program until such time as the Seagulls are in a position to support a second feeder team.
Strudwick said he was thrilled to be involved.
“When I became aware of the League’s plans to revive the BRL competition I wanted to be part of this venture,” he said.
“I was lucky enough to play in the old BRL when it was considered the second best league competition in the world so I have great memories from those times. Players like Lewis, Meninga, Miles, Belcher, Dowling, Close … the names just keep coming. I’m sure this new era will unearth some great stars in our game and I’m proud Struddys Sports is able to contribute in some way.”
Ross opened his first retail outlet in Sunnybank, Queensland in 1975 and while his football commitments took him away from the retailing, with support from his family he managed to build Struddys Sports to a highly respectable name in the sporting world.
The Struddys Sports brand became strongly recognised through the concentrated marketing efforts in the retail sector as well as the school and club market. Having gained a greater market share hence greater buying power, a successful profitable model was established at 82 Bryants Road, Loganholme.
In 2002 the directors researched for new and better ways to boost the group’s collective performance; eventually Struddys Sports Wholesale and Manufacture division was formed.
Today, in 2015, Struddys Sports has supplier contracts with many Government and private institutions, schools (both private and state), private enterprises, Queensland Rugby League, Men of League, School Sports Australia, TRL and City Touch just to mention a few.
Struddys Sports is a certified ‘Australian Made’ company, manufacturing locally in Brisbane. Now Struddys Sports manufacture their own brand of apparel, catering for all apparel sporting needs. Together with their factory offshores, Struddys Sports has the capacity to deliver apparel in exceptionally short time frames.
Strudwick played 320 games with Valleys after being enticed north by the wily QRL boss Ron McAuliffe after representing NSW and Australia. He went on to play for Queensland and also forged a successful coaching career, claiming the final BRL premiership at the helm of Brothers in 1986. The Broncos entered the National competition the following season.
A copy of the Struddy’s Sports BRL pre-season competition draw is attached. The final series day at Bishop Park will feature all 10 teams with matches to commence from (11.30am). The final will kick-off at (3.30pm) following the season’s official opening, marked by several legendary past BRL stars. Struddy’s Sports has contributed prizemoney for the pre-season winner, with all teams to receive a Struddy’s Sports gift voucher.
The 18 round “home and away” season draw will also be released in coming days, with a number of games to feature as curtain-raiser events to Intrust Super Cup club match days. For any further information on the BRL competition or the Struddy’s Sports pre-season, please contact Shane McNally on (07) 3367 6070 or s.mcnally@qrl.com.au
http://www.qrl.com.au
BRL has a fb and twitter!
https://www.facebook.com/BrisbaneRugbyLeague?fref=ts
https://twitter.com/BrisRugbyLeague
"Happy to announce that tomorrow's Struddys Sports preseason final between Redcliffe and Valleys will be streamed live on the QRL website for those who cannot make it to Bishop Park. Mike Higgison and Troy Robbins will provide expert commentary.
LINK: http://www.qrl.com.au/interactive/live-stream.html
Kick off at 3.15pm!"
Good to see the Diehards get a much needed win.
VALLEYS DIEHARDS 30 (Willis Grant 2, Joshua Minniecon 2, Shane Picker, Aiona Nona tries; Shane Picker, Liam Sue-Tin, Joel Adams goals) def GATERS 10 (Aaron Corbyn, Stephen Tunnicliffe tries; Kieran Turner goal) at Emerson Park, Grange.