The BlackFit Warriors honoured "a brother" in the perfect way at the weekend's Wellington Wedgetail Nines.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Less than two weeks after the sudden death of Warriors player William 'Fulla' Beale, the Bourke side won the fast-paced competition at Kennard Park.
It was Thursday, March 16, when Beale, the brother of former Wallaby Kurtley Beale, died. The loss sent shockwaves around communities from Sydney to Bourke and many places in between.
The Warriors came together on the weekend and won the Wellington Wedgetail crown by defeating Pacific Brothers 8-6 in a bruising grand final.
"It was emotional on the weekend," Warriors coach Mark Knight said.
"We lost our brother ... this side was in honour of him."
The weekend marked the first time the Bourke Warriors, one of the many proud Knockout sides in the state, and the Josh Toole-led BlackFit organisation came together to run a team.
The plan is to feature the BlackFit Warriors at knockouts in the western area as well as possibly further afield. Wherever they do go, the Warriors will now be sure to honour Beale every time. To ensure that, the club created the William 'Fulla' Beale Players' Player award which will be handed out after each competition.
The inaugural winner was Cameron Dennis, who was also named the player of the tournament after starring throughout the Warriors' run at Wellington.
"We had some of his (Beale's) cousins play with us in our side and two of his brothers played in another team that came from Sydney so they presented the trophy for us," Knight said.
As well as players from Bourke, there were others like Western Rams representative Corey Cox in the side and also a sprinkling of real star power.
Former NRL Dally M winner Ben Barba accepted the Warriors invitation to pull on the jersey and he made the trip to Wellington from Queensland for the occasion.
As well as impressing on the field, Barba was a big hit off it and even a number of the Pacific Brothers players requested photos after the grand final.
"It was good to get some of the boys from home to come and have a run with the likes of Ben Barba and Brett Kelly," Knight said.
"We threw him (Barba) a message and he said he was keen. He just loves playing football and coming out this way."
Knight said it was pleasing to take part in the Wellington Wedgetail Nines, a competition which is still in its early days.
The weekend marked the second edition of the competition and the hope is it can grow into an event which not only showcases outstanding regional rugby league, but also benefits the Wellington community.
The Wedgetails Knockout side ran the event in conjunction with the Wellington Cowboys while Quit B Fit, a program which tackles smoking in Indigenous community, was the event partner and while other health and social welfare businesses and organisations were among the sponsors.