May 30, 2022
History was made on Saturday when the South Burnett Thrashers ran on to the paddock for their first game on home turf since 2013.
Sadly, it wasn’t a fairytale ending for the local rugby union fans, with the region’s finest going down to the visiting Dalby Wheatmen 19-12 in a hard-fought game.
This is the first time the Thrashers have been beaten in the Darling Downs competition this year, but they still came away with a bonus competition point due to the closeness of the final score.
Try scorers were Marcus Jensen and Mowen Boino, with Jensen kicking one conversion.
The top-of-the-table clash promised to be an exciting game, and a good crowd turned up at Carroll Oval to watch the Thrashers in action.
Club president Jamie Shirlaw said the match had been “quite eventful”.
There was a long stoppage for injury ahead of half-time, and then the game faced another delay after play was halted for safety reasons when a rescue helicopter came into land on the nearby Kingaroy Hospital helipad.
The home game had originally been scheduled to be played at T.J. O’Neill Oval but was shifted to the St Mary’s Catholic College field after the recent rain.
Jamie said a lack of discipline had held the Thrashers back but apart from the final score, the day had been “a great success”.
“A lot of people came out to support us. It was great to have rugby union back in the South Burnett,” he said.
“A lot of the sponsors also came out to watch us from the sidelines.
“After all the hard work, it was a huge relief to see the blokes run on.”
The Thrashers will heading off to Goondiwindi next Saturday, but will enjoy a week off after that as they have a scheduled bye.
