August 15, 2022
A penalty kick right on full-time has ended the South Burnett Thrashers’ 2022 campaign in the Darling Downs rugby union competition.
The team, which finished in third place on the ladder, took on fourth-placed Roma at Gold Park in Toowoomba on Saturday in the sudden-death minor semi-final.
“Unfortunately we were missing a number of key players due to injury or work commitments, such as Ryan MacDonald, Sata Tale and Jerry Qoro,” club president Jamie Shirlaw said.
“The absence of Ryan and Sata were sorely missed in our back line.
“The conditions were wet and cold but both teams came out and played well in the first half.
“The score was 10-7 in Roma’s favour at half-time.
“The Thrashers defence on their own line in the first half was outstanding. We were able to withstand Roma’s attack, stopping many would-be tries.
“In the second half our discipline let us down, giving away too many easy penalties. This let Roma get a further lead of 13-7.”
But the Thrashers did not give up, and victory looked to be within their grasp when Jack Tuigau scored a try with five minutes to go.
“Marcus Jensen kicked the conversion taking us to a one-point lead,” Jamie said.
“It looked like we had done enough but in the dying seconds of the game we gave away a penalty near our tryline and Roma kicked the goal as the final whistle was blown, taking the score to 16-14.
“Although it was disappointing, Roma played very well.”
Jamie said the fact the Thrashers had made it into the finals during their first year back in the competition was “beyond our expectations”.
“We were happy to just be playing rugby again. Getting a shot at the finals was amazing.”
He said although they were now out of the competition, the club’s year was not yet over.
“Our next goal is to compete in some Rugby Sevens carnivals over the off-season. The club has applied to compete in the Byron Bay Sevens later this year,” Jamie said.
