Cowboys notch up remarkable rugby league five-peat
“This year was something else. Credit to the Fijian boys they run hard and hit hard for 80 minutes, we knew we were going to have to bring it today."
The Cowboys’ mortgage on Southland’s senior club rugby league title continues.
They knocked over Southland Fiji Bati in the 2023 grand final played at Elles Rd in Invercargill on Saturday.
The 28-10 victory extended the Cowboys’ remarkable run to five straight Southland club titles.
They came up against a physical Fiji Bati team but the Cowboys’ finals experience shone through.
It scored four first-half tries to push out to 22-0 halftime lead.
The Fijian team coughed up the ball too easily and as a result was put under constant pressure by the Cowboys.
That led to frustration and plenty of ill-discipline from the Fijians. They found themselves giving away far too many penalties to be a genuine threat in the final.
Fiji Bati did score a couple of late tries to go from 28-0 to 28-10 but it was all too late.
Captain Dylan Lovett has been a key figure all of the Cowboys’ five straight titles and he admitted soon after the final that the latest grand final victory required plenty of resilience.
“This year was something else. Credit to the Fijian boys they run hard and hit hard for 80 minutes, we knew we were going to have to bring it today,” Lovett said.
“You can’t doubt the boys, we defended our line for 75 minutes without them scoring. So, I can’t say too much more than that. I’m just proud of my boys, proud of the way we come together each and every year.”
The tension between the two teams was obvious with it threatening to spill over at times throughout the final.
The worst job in Invercargill on Saturday might have been officiating that game with plenty of niggle and also advice on offer.
Although despite the niggle, Lovett paid credit to the Fiji Bati team in regard to what they have brought to the Southland club competition.
Fiji Bati - a new team in the Southland competition - is made up almost exclusively of Fijians who have now made Southland home.
“It’s brought some new life [to the competition]. Instead of just having He Tauaa, Cooks, Cowboys year in, year out,” Lovett said.
“It’s a physically dominant team and you know what the Fijians play like, they play sevens footy, so you’ve just got to try and track the field and try to keep a hold of them.”
Lovett was again one of the Cowboys’ best, as was hooker Daniel Low who has also been a key figure in the impressive five-peat.
Low scored two first half tries and his kicking game out of dummy half put the Cowboys at the right end of the field.
Fale Iosefo was a handful on the edge for the Cowboys and also scored a brace of tries.
For Fiji Bati player-coach Talemaitonga Tupati led the way on defence.