By Darcy Milfull
In classic finals fashion, Brothers pipped the Western District Bulldogs by two points in the dying minutes, returning an all-too-familiar StoreLocal Hospital Cup to the Crosby Park trophy cabinet.
The Bulldogs experienced gutting déjà vu of the 2023 decider, relinquishing a promising lead over their rivals with an errant penalty right in front of the posts. It was an opportunity snatched up by none other than 64-cap Wallaby James O’Connor.
“That was one of the scrappiest games I’ve been a part of, but it was also beautiful. There were line breaks everywhere, some great defence but a few errors,” said O’Connor.
“It was a mixed bag, but we stuck tight and at the end of the game we were the ones on top.”
The first try of the day was claimed by Brothers’ inside centre Dre Pakeho, shortly followed by a double cut-out ball from Bulldog’s fullback Fletcher Spicer, setting up winger Mosese Dawai for an offload to Angelo Smith who scored.
Brothers’ speedster Will Cartwright was next, with a spectacular intercept and runaway try.
His teammate number fifteen Patrick James followed suit with another impressive try, but the Bulldogs found outside centre David Vaihu when they needed him most, beating three defenders to claim 5 points just before half time.
In a pivotal moment for the Butchery, number eight Brad Hemopo charged down what should have been a simple conversion for flyhalf Mason Gordon, much to the delight of a roaring Brothers crowd.
The Bulldogs returned a different team in the second half, putting Brothers on the back foot with relentless line speed and tenacious defensive efforts.
Bulldog’s supporters started celebrating early when star winger Dawai scored a double to bring the score to 25 – 27, but tension returned shortly after with a team-try finished off by Brothers winger Sebastian Hanna.
All the Bulldogs had to do was hang on for the final four minutes, but a last-minute penalty saw green and gold shoulders droop.
The trusty boot of veteran O’Connor sealed the deal, slotting the penalty kick to give a final score of 29 to 27.
This was O’Connor’s first ever premiership with the Brothers side despite his 20-year affiliation with the club, which the Wallabies star joked would ice the cake of his illustrious career.
“I think I’ll hang the boots up now!” he laughed postgame.
Brothers co-captain Will Wilson was “absolutely thrilled” to bag his second ever premiership with the side, crediting the support of the club’s vibrant community.
“To do it two years in a row is very special,” said Wilson.
“It’s so incredible with all the Brothers supporters rushing the field after the game – you can really see how much it means to everyone.”
