The late afternoon sun, a fiery orb of celebration, beat down on Twickenham Oval in Tumut, its golden rays illuminating the scene of a hard-won victory. The final whistle had sounded, and the crowd’s roar was a joyous symphony for the Gundagai Tigers.
With a scoreboard reading 32-20, they had tamed the Young Cherrypickers, their champagne footy display in the opening stanza a distant memory now replaced by the gritty, determined effort that saw them through.
It had been a performance of undeniable class and grit. The early onslaught, a blitzkrieg of black and gold, had set the tone. James (Jimmy) Morgan had been a blur of motion; his two tries a flash of brilliance that put the Cherrypickers on the back foot. The first, a dazzling run from a set-play, saw him slice through the line with an effortless grace that belied the brutality of the contest. His second was a different beast altogether, a show of sheer power as he bounced off a would-be tackler to crash over.
The tries by Toby Dasey and Benjy Hannan were a testament to the Tigers’ all-around strength, proving their attack was a multi-headed monster. Yet, it was Gabriel Gul who had been the heart and soul of the Tigers’ victory.
Already placed in the Group 9 team of the season, Gul had a game for the ages. He was a human wrecking ball in defence, his bone-rattling tackles echoing across the field. But it was his work with the ball that truly shone. His offloads were like gifts, putting teammates into space. His two tries were the cherry on top of a truly dominant display, a performance that showcased why he was considered one of the best in the competition.
Tigers coach Aaron Gorrell praised both Gul and Morgan, saying, “Gabriel Gul and James Morgan got a double each last week. We shifted, after not earning the right to do so by performing in the middle, and it was ineffective. On the weekend, I thought we performed well in the middle and really dominated in that area. We earned the right to shift, and those blokes I thought were two of our best.”
Gorrell also emphasised the importance of the team’s early performance. “I think it was 22-0 after 30 minutes, so we really wanted to get off to a good start,” he said. “We knew their forward pack has been dominant for the last couple of years, so we knew it was going to be a test for our blokes and I thought they lost that test last week against Wagga, but really improved this week, and they laid the platform for us and I think that first 30 minutes really set up the game for us.”
While the Cherrypickers, led by the spirited Jesse Corcoran, Boro Navori, and Tom Giles, had fought valiantly, their late push simply wasn’t enough to overcome the early deficit. Navori, in particular, had been a threat all game, his two tries keeping a glimmer of hope alive for the Young faithful. But in the end, the Tigers’ lead proved unassailable.
The 32-20 scoreline, while a victory, masked the true story of the game; the Tigers had been in command from the first minute to the last, the late try by Young only serving to make the result appear closer than the balance of play reflected. “We were probably better in a few areas, but it’s hard to say,” Gorrell said.
“That last 20 minutes, I think we went into just a protection mode and blokes, like it’s pretty hard to tell them not to when they’ve got to stare down the barrel of the grand final.”
The coach also revealed that several players had played through injuries. “We took Wilson Hamblin off, who carried an injury into the game, and he’s got through that pretty well. We had a few blokes busted after that Kangaroos game, and it was a regular game yesterday, probably a few of them don’t play, so to their credit, they bit down on their mouth guard and did what was needed to get us through to this week, so I’m proud of their effort.”
He added, “Everyone who carried an injury, nothing got any worse, which is a good sign and another week’s rest before this game, so everyone should be better than they went into the Young game.”
The celebrations were short-lived, for the players’ minds were already turning to the next challenge: the 2025 Group 9 Grand Final. And their opponents: the formidable Wagga Kangaroos. The match-up carried a weight of history and a personal narrative that had the entire region buzzing.
This wasn’t just another game. The Tigers and Roos had a history as old as Group 9 itself, a rivalry forged in decades of hard-fought clashes.
Earlier this season, the two teams had met twice; each encounter had been a classic. In the first clash, the Tigers had gone to Wagga and delivered a stunning blow, a gritty 22-10 victory that ended the Roos’ undefeated run. The Kangaroos, who had looked unbeatable to that point, were rattled by the sheer ferocity of the Gundagai defence.
It was a statement victory for the Tigers, a performance their coach, Aaron Gorrell, had lauded as the “best of the season.” But the Kangaroos had their revenge. Just a fortnight ago in the Major Semi-Final, the Roos had flexed their premiership muscles, defeating the Tigers in a tight, tense affair. That victory had given them the week off, a well-earned rest while the Tigers had to fight for their spot in the preliminary final. That win had left a bitter taste in the Tigers’ mouths, a hunger for redemption that would fuel them in the Grand Final.
Gorrell reflected on the loss, stating, “We have just got to play our brand of footy. We didn’t do that, and maybe we got caught out a bit. I think we were a bit better than we were after that Young game. I don’t think they will get us like that again. We were pretty poor that day, so I think it was just the wake-up call we needed and going to a grand final, it’s not hard to get up for, so I’m sure we’ll be at our best on Sunday.”
He continued, “They’ve been the best team all year, and that’s why they’ve earned that right. We’re not usually great after a week off, so for us, it was probably as much as we needed yesterday off. Our boys toughed it out, showed some good character. We are confident with where we are at, and we have just got to make sure we turn up with the right attitude, and I’m sure it’ll be a great game.”
“We have got some very experienced players that have played in a few grand finals and we’ve got a nice mix of young blokes that are chomping at the bit, so I think everyone keeps each other in check and the older blokes get the energy bouncing off those young blokes and the older blokes can keep the younger blokes intact a bit and make sure their feet are on the ground and we’ve got to work hard this week to get what we have trained and played for all year.”
And then there was the man in the middle of it all: James Smart. The Gundagai junior, a boy who grew up dreaming of wearing the black and gold, would now be tasked with bringing down his beloved Tigers.
Smart was an icon in Gundagai, a former captain-coach who led his boyhood club to two premierships. He had left for the Roos at the start of the 2022 season, and since then, with halves partner and fellow former Tiger Nathan Rose, he had been a constant thorn in the Tigers’ side. Now, on the biggest stage of all, he would face his old friends, his old home. The grand final was set to be more than just a battle for a trophy. It was a clash of titans, a story of redemption, and a test of loyalty.
Gorrell said he expects his team’s lineup to remain largely the same. “Our 1 to 16 will be the same. I’ll just decide in the next few days, we’ll fill that last spot and the 18th man. We will sit on our hands until a bit later in the week, but it will be more or less the same. It’ll just be that last spot where I’ll work out what’s the best suit for us.”
Gorrell reiterated the team’s renewed focus. “We had a week off really against Roos, and they dominated us, but I thought our forwards really turned that corner, and we’ll bring that aggression this week.”
The town of Gundagai was already a whirlwind of anticipation, with talk of a sea of black and gold jerseys descending on the grand final venue at McDonald’s Park in Wagga Wagga. The Tigers were ready to fight, but the question on everyone’s mind was, could James Smart’s heart let him win the day for the Roos? And could the Tigers finally get their sweet revenge for the defeat just a few weeks ago?
The stage was set, and the Group 9 Grand Final promised to be a legendary chapter in an already epic rivalry.
– Tully Potts
Some of the great results the Tigers have enjoyed on their path to the Grand Final
