The Broulee Dolphins capped off a fantastic 2018 season with two premierships over the weekend, as both the under 13s and under 15s took home the trophy.
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The under 13s played in the ACTJRU green division this season, and qualified for the semi-finals despite losing three of their last four games.
They turned that form around in the semis, beating Trinity 49-0, before a 26-17 win over St Edmunds College White in the grand final.
Dolphins junior president Jon Brady said it was a tight match.
“Our boys jumped out to an early lead with two tries,” he said. “St Edmunds fought back and leveled the scores by half time.
“It was pretty close right up until the end. We maintained a two-point lead until the last two minutes, when Rusty Van Dyke scored a try to seal the win.
“That was the division-three competition they were in, but beating the big schools is always a big effort, especially in a grand final.”
Mr Brady said the team was very excited about their victory.
“That was their first every grand final, so they were all very happy,” he said. “Our fly-half Bailey Brady was named as the player of the match as well.”
The under 15s were forced to come back from a half-time deficit against Trinity College, but did enough to win 35-31.
“It was quite a similar game to the 13s,” Mr Brady said. “Broulee scored two early tries, then Trinity fought back and were leading by seven points at half time.
“We pulled ahead in the second half, and were up by nine points but Trinity scored a late try to get within four.
“We had another three or four minutes after full time to keep Trinity out, but the boys managed to do that.”
Mr Brady, who is the coach of the under 15s, praised his sides concentration at the end of the match.
“We played a really strong defensive game, and they really stuck to the game plan we set up for them,” he said.
“That’s the fourth grand final they’ve been in, and the first they’ve won since under 11s. They’ve had a lot of player turnover in that time, so they were really excited to get that win.”
The club now turns its attentions to a girls’ rugby program that will run through the remainder of September.
“We’re doing it for a month as preparation for the Super 7s,” Mr Brady said. “We’ve had about 35 that have come along, and there’s still three more weeks if people want to check it out.”
The sessions are held at Captain Oldrey Park in Broulee every Friday evening.