SEASON RANK: 5th
Founded: 1954
Head Coach: PAUL DILLON
Captain: RYAN JONES
Home Ground: DAVID CAMPESE FIELD
REVIEW
2018 in many respect, represented a step in the wrong direction for the Queanbeyan Whites, yet there is still so much to be hopeful about in 2019. Queanbeyan started off reasonably well, winning their first three on the trot against the Gungahlin Eagles, Uni-Norths Owls and Wests.
Beating teams at their level was rarely a problem for Queanbeyan at the start and mid-point of 2018. It was against the top teams when the Whites had trouble. Always in the games but never getting over the line.
Queanbeyan took just four table points from their four games against the top-two sides, Vikings and Royals. Beating the big-hitters isn’t essential to succeeding the Griffin Legal John I Dent Cup, but it helps. You only have to look at the teams that finished ahead of them, Uni-Norths and Gungahlin.
The Owls claimed 13 table points from the leading pair throughout the season and Gungahlin’s win against Royals was a catalyst for their run. The points help, but the momentum of winning a tight game against the favourite is unquantifiable and Queanbeyan just never put a string of games together because of it.
Ultimately, back to back losses against Wests and Gungahlin sealed the Whites fate and they were left looking in from the outside when playoffs kicked off. On the positive side, the squad is good and head-Coach Paul Dillon appears to be the man for the job.
The Whites also have a potential star in their ranks, Will Goddard. The precocious talent kicked the ACT schoolboys to a National Championship in 2017, entering the senior game with incredible ease, ending 2018 as the Whites top-scorer.
Expect a renewed charge from the Whites in 2019, with a stud teenage playmaker steering the ship. A year of what might have been’s becomes fuel for the fire next season. Queanbeyan with a point to prove sounds like a terrifying prospect for the rest of the John I Dent Cup.
SEASON HIGHLIGHT
For a club as successful as Queanbeyan, it seems odd to make a draw their season highlight but in 2018, the Whites 46-46 tie with Easts was incredible. The Whites won six games in 2018 and missed out on playoffs on points-difference, but this was no ordinary draw.
Down 43 -17 with fifteen minutes to play, Queanbeyan produced perhaps the best rugby any team played in 2018 and came steaming back into the game. Easts even had a chance to add a three-pointer in that time but could do nothing to stop the Whites onslaught as they scored four times in quarter of an hour to somehow salvage the game and save their playoff spot for the time being.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
‘Chainsaw’ Jamie Marmont; still plenty of revs left in the Queanbeyan Whites winger it seems. Marmont has been a mainstay at David Campese Field for over ten years and has three premierships winning medals in his locker.
The actual tree-cutters have left Queanbeyan games, but in 2018, Chainsaw Marmont was at his uncompromising best. The veteran did everything he could last year, scoring a team-high 10 tries and earning a spot in the Griffin Legal John I Dent Cup team of the year. No Premiership, but another vintage year from Queanbeyan’s folk hero.
TOP TRY SCORERS
10 – Jamie MARMONT
6 – Sokai TAI
5 – OJ NOA
4 – Ryan JONES
3 – Tom RUEDIGER
2 – Keith MORGAN, Neori NADRUKU, Roby WILSON
1 – Riley AHERN, Lewis BOZZATO, Billy CHALKER, Mitch DOUCH, Carl ELLIOTT, Nathan EXTON, Tom HOLLAND, Will GODDARD, Ben GORDON, Fred KAIHEA, Petau LEFAU, Dan PENCA, Justin SIKIMETI, Cameron STANLEY, Zac TARRANT, Josh WHITE
TOP POINTS SCORERS
53 – Will GODDARD
50 – Jamie MARMONT
30 – Sokai TAI
29 – Mitch DOUCH
25 – OJ NOA
20 – Ryan JONES
15 – Tom RUEDIGER
12 – Ben GODRON
10 – Keith MORGAN, Neori NADRUKU, Roby WILSON
5 – Riley AHERN, Lewis BOZZATO, Billy CHALKER, Carl ELLIOTT, Nathan EXTON, Tom HOLLAND, Fred KAIHEA, Petau LEFAU, Dan PENCA, Justin SIKIMETI, Cameron STANLEY, Zac TARRANT, Josh WHITE
SEASON RESULTS
R1: Eagles (h) W 39-38
R2: Owls (a) W 24-15
R3: Wests (a) W 26-20
R4: Vikings (h) L 10-29
R5: Bye
R6: Easts (a) W 29-20
R7: Royals (h) L 20-28
R8: Eagles (a) W 31-28
R9: Vikings (h) L 15-22
R10: Bye
R11: Wests (h) L 10-30
R12: Owls (h) W 24-7
R13: Vikings (a) L 14-37
R14: Eagles (a) L 24-27
R15: Easts (h) D 46-46
R16: Royals (a) L 24-28
R17: Bye
