Infront of a huge crowd at BB Print Stadium, the Bowen Mudcrabs faced off against their closest rivals, the Proserpine Whitsunday Raiders, in a grand-final matchup with extreme bragging rights.
The question on the region’s lips was whether the pincer would be mightier than the sword when the two sides met for the Mackay Rugby Union final on Saturday – and there was only one certainty: it would be a tight affair.
Raiders had fought hard against Kuttabul the weekend before to make their claim in this final trophy game, with the Mudcrabs having taken a well-deserved break the week before, having already beaten Raiders to shoot straight through to the final game.
The Bowen side had served up Raiders their only loss in almost two seasons in that Major Semi-Final, leaving the Proserpine side with a point to prove coming into the game.
Each of their matchups in the season had been arguably some of the best games of Mackay Rugby Union played in years, and the pressure was mounting.
And this grand final did not disappoint; it was an instant classic.
Busloads of fans witnessed Bowen and Whitsunday players leave it all on the pitch, decked out in their supporter gear – one even dressed as a crab – and revelled in a rugby final that well exceeded the price of admission.
For the Bowen side’s supporters who made the three-hour trip down to the Sugar City, the petrol price was worth its weight in gold.
It was one of the most incredible final games the league has ever seen, with it heading right down to the wire with Casper Turner scoring for Bowen in the last 10 seconds to win it.
Muddies made history come the end of the 80 minutes, winning the final and ending their 41-year drought in the process, claiming their first ever league title with a 25 to 22 win against the Proserpine Whitsunday Raiders.
Coach Tom Anderson, whose father was one of the original Mudcrab founders of the club and was watching on the day, led the long, post-match celebrations that ran through into the early hours of Monday morning.
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