November 9, 2024
Two proud Indigenous rugby league teams, the Cherbourg Hornets and Woorabinda Warriors, took to Jack O’Chin Oval at Cherbourg last Saturday to decide who would take home the prestigious Pioneer Shield.
The match was planned to be the highlight of a big day of league which included three earlier games, but unfortunately not everything went to plan.
About seven minutes before half-time in the Pioneer Shield game, with the Hornets leading 18-10, a Cherbourg player suffered a serious injury, halting play.
Two ambulances had been called to the Cherbourg Oval earlier in the day to assist other players, so when this latest incident occurred, there was a 95-minute delay until an ambulance could arrive back at the ground.
Because of the nature of the injury, the injured player could not be moved so the game was eventually called off.
Cherbourg won the Shield last year, so will hold the trophy by default.
Despite the disappointing end to the day, there were still plenty of other highlights for league fans to enjoy.
In the earlier Community Cup, the Murgon Mustangs were triumphant over the Sunshine Coast Bunyas, 42-26, holding on after they were leading 36-12 at three-quarter time.
Pop Stanley presented the trophy to Mustangs’ captain Tarell Indich, who was also named Best Forward in the game.
Best Back was Jovan Gyemore and Lloyd Langton was Player of the Match.
Pop congratulated both teams for their efforts in the game and urged the players to always follow their dreams.
In Under 17s, Cherbourg Hornets defeated Sunshine Coast Bunyas; but Woorabinda were too strong for the Hornettes in the women’s game.
