Written by Chase Christensen
The Bribie Island Warrigals reserve grade team are ready to go to war in a competition that is looking its strongest to date. The 2024 season was a decline from 2023, as the Warrigals finished in fourth place on the ladder, after winning the grand final in the year before. Fourth place is nothing to whine over though, as many teams would consider finishing in the top four in an 11-team league as an automatic success.
The Warrigals were looking to become back-to-back premiers after an historic 2023 undefeated season. This was not the case though as they were eliminated by Coolum in the first week of the finals. In 2023, Bribie finished with an unbelievable 750 points scored and only 124 points against. This is a superb number for a season with just 18 weeks. These figures meant that they ended the 2023 season with a for and against difference of 626, 174 higher than the next best team. Due to such incredible numbers, the drop off in 2024 statistically looks mammoth. In 2024, for and against differences fell to a positive 106, a decline of 506. Their points scored was just a little over halved in 2024, however their points against rose by a much smaller number of 116. This points to the Warrigals offense being a larger issue then the defence. These significant statistics prove how much more competitive the competition became in 2024. Considering this, fourth is still a solid achievement in my books.
The reason for the decline wasn’t just because the Warrigals were underperforming, it was however, also because of how much more improved the reserve grade league got. Players were beginning to transfer into the Sunshine Coast league from the Brisbane league. This meant transfers from Brisbane, who are at the top level of local footy, were placed into reserve grade teams, in order to warm them up for A-Grade and give them a few trial runs, to see if they’re ready for the top level of community footy.
I spoke to a person within the club who did not want to be named. His answer to the question: ‘What was the number one reason for the team regressing in 2024?’ was, “Some very good quality players left after playing several years together”. He also went on to say, “the connections were just not there”. This is very true, as the free flowing and the exponential football was absent in 2024. A positive that came out of my conversation with him was when he mentioned that there was a lot of young talent on the rise he emphasised the exciting under 16’s young guns by stating, “There is plenty of young talent coming up through the grades, especially from the under 16’s”. He also told me that a group of players had unfortunately left the club. The vibe from my conversation with him is that the players leaving is a huge blow, however there is much to be excited for the future.
Speaking with Michael Lassen, who played for the side in 2024, he kindly gave me some great insight on the team’s future. His information aligned with the other club representative, as he mentioned that they’ve had “a fair few players leave”. A strong point he made that I discussed earlier is, “the Warrigals didn’t do as good as what we could have this year because the whole reserve grade got better”.
“From the recruitment of other teams, in the reserve grade, it’s going to be a really, really strong competition again,” Michael added.
It’s evident that 2025 will be harder for Bribie Island’s beloved Warrigals reserve grade team. Despite this, player chemistry and combinations will grow stronger and there will likely be fresh, young talent on display. The season is set to kick off in April, so make sure you head along to the home games at Bernie Foley Oval and give the Warrigals as much support as you can. I will also keep you up-to-date with season long coverage.
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