THE Cargo Blue Heelers League Tag side has capped their perfect season in style, claiming the Woodbridge Cup premiership trophy in a hard-fought grand final match against the Manildra Rhinos.
Played at Sid Kallas Oval in Cowra, the game was a microcosm of the Heelers’ season: it looked good on paper, but that didn’t tell the whole story.
Manildra led for most of the game, with about 10 minutes left held an eight point lead.
And then young gun Adelaide Pittis took charge of the game, running in two tries to put Cargo ahead by two and lock in the final 14 to 12 scoreline.
“Adelaide Pittis in her first year is pretty awesome,” said Cargo coach Anthony Regan.
“She’s got speed. She’s come so far since we started in February, learning the game; because she hadn’t played it before.
“She’s an amazing young lady, and anyone with speed like that, it’s awesome to watch.”
While Pittis, who was also named best on ground in the grand final, did the damage late, Regan praised his players for holding the line and keeping in the game.
“I’ve always said to the girls, we’re a clunky side, but we’re based on guts,” he said.
“We won’t give up. Defence is our main positive in the side. It’s just a never-say-die attitude, and they just defend like their life’s on it.
“That was a kind of a plan to do that again, and we did want to, as a group, wear their better players out and make them do a lot of defence, and I think kind of that showed at the end a bit when their defencive line started breaking up a bit, and it created room for Adelaide to do her stuff.”
With the Heelers down on the scoreboard for a lot of the game, Regan said there were some nerves.
“I was worried about the fact that we were making so many uncharacteristic errors,” he said. “We were our own worst enemy.
“Manildra were playing really well, they were up in our face, so they were on their game.
“We did change a few little things up and had a couple of different players in different areas for the day to try to mix it up.
“That was one of the reasons we made a bit of a break there at the end. We had Sophie (Fardell) brought out a bit wider, and she went through a hole and set Adelaide up. But it was all based on our defence.
“While there was time on the clock, I knew it was still a chance, and when we scored the second last try, I thought we were a real chance then.
“Luckily enough, we got that chance and Adelaide got away again.”
With Cargo going into the game undefeated in season 2026, Regan said there were some nerves.
“I’ve coached for nine years of footy, and I’ve never coached a side that’s gone from start to finish that hasn’t lost a game,” he said.
“It was a little bit of pressure that way. But anyway, keep quiet on that one.”
While the 10,000 mile view would suggest Cargo’s undefeated season was all about powerhouse side, Regan said the team had faced a significant amount of adversity in climbing to the peak of the Woodbridge Cup League Tag mountain.
“We’ve had a couple of really hard games in the finals,” he said.
“No excuses, but over the past four or five weeks, we’ve had like six major injuries in the team.
“We had one girl break her ankle, two did their knees, and the rest broke hands and stuff.
“One girl (Sarah Kirkmans) actually took the plaster off Wednesday so she could play.
“Ebony Madden, she was playing with a broken hand. My daughter, Emma Fallows, had a broken hand. They’re all going to the surgeons probably this week.”
Manildra coach Mel Gibson was sanguine in defeat and full of praise for her squad.
“It’s a massive achievement to get to the grand final, but it’s also bloody hard to take when you lose,” she said.
“Honestly, I can’t fault my girls, they were amazing. They played with their heart and soul. They held their heads high and they enjoyed the day.
“It is what it is, we can’t do any better than what we did.”
Gibson acknowledged Pittis was the difference maker.
“Adelaide Pittis has just got that much speed, we can’t match it, like she’s an unbelievable runner,” she said,
“Once they get through that line and they give her the ball, you just can’t match up.”
With the sun shining in Cowra on Sunday, Gibson said it was just one of many highlights of an overall great day for rugby league.
“It was unbelievable for Woodbridge,” she said. “There was a massive crowd there.
“The Cowra Magpies, they ran the day perfectly. You couldn’t fault anything for the way that it was set up; the presentation, the supporters of everyone’s teams.
“It’s magnificent for the game, and that’s what it’s all about in the end, isn’t it, really. It’s to bring the game to the country, and we were just proud to be a part of it.”
Woodbridge Cup grand final results
First Grade
Oberon Tigers 24 v Blayney Bears 14
Tries – Oberon Tigers – Ryan Jervis, Abel Faifua Lefao, Luke Christie-Johnston, Jack O’Neill
Blayney Bears – Brodie Fenton, Ashleigh Magaya, Name Private
Conversions – Oberon Tigers – Blake Fitzpatrick (4)
Blayney Bears – Name Private (1)
Grand Final Player – Nate Gunn, Cowra Magpies
League Tag
Cargo Heelers 14 v Manildra Rhinos 12
No game data provided
Grand Final Player – Adelaide Pittis, Cargo Heelers
Youth League
Cowra Magpies 42 v Oberon Tigers 8
Tries – Cowra Magpies – Nate Gunn (2), Curtis Bell (2), Harry Beale (2), Lachlan Tarrant
Oberon Tigers – Fergus May, Joe Ryan
Conversions – Cowra Magpies – Phillip Ingram (6)
Penalty Goals – Cowra Magpies – Phillip Ingram (1)
Grand Final Player – Ryan Jarvis