By Casey O'Connor
The Gatton Hawks are celebrating their win in the Clive Berghofer Land Sales TRL Reserve Grade Grand Final.
The game began at a frenetic pace with eight minutes remaining off the accelerator and neither side took their foot off the accelerator until the full time siren.
Wattles put first points on the board when Jordan Henry scored.
From the get-go there was plenty of spirit in the game and more than a little spite.
By halftime the Hawks had taken a 12-6 lead.
Tensions continued to simmer in the second half and boiled over resulting in a send-off for one of the Gatton try scorers from the first half, Paul Iopu.
Despite being reduced to 12 men for the remainder of the game Gatton seemed able to repel Wattles attacking raids and score tries themselves.
Tries to Dom Haak and Bailey Williams extended Gatton’s lead to 26-12.
With eight minutes remaining on the clock, Josh Hendry narrowed the margin to 26-18.
All chances of a grandstand finish were snuffed out when Brandon Clarke scored for Gatton.
In a fiery game it was a polished performance from the Hawks, and they deserved their win.
Another one of the Minor Premiers home in the GF.
The Gatton halves James Schroeder and Jagan Swan were pivotal to their win, but it was Tom Morris who earned the award for the Player of the Final for his work in attack and defence.
In a beaten side Tom Morris, Josh Henry, Tim Duggan and Mitch Bourke played well giving Wattles every chance.
Gatton 32 (Dean Bichel, Paul Iopu, Taylar Hawthorn, Dom Haak, Bailey Williams, Brandon Clarke tries Jagan Sawn 4 goals) defeated Wattles 18 (Jordan Henry, Mitch Bourke Josh Henry tries Thomas Morris 3 tries)
