Sport
21 September, 2026
Lions give their fans something to roar about
The Mittagong Lions have convincingly defeated Oakdale Workers to be crowned this year’s Macarthur rugby league reserve grade champions.
The Mittagong Lions have convincingly defeated Oakdale Workers to be crowned this year’s Macarthur rugby league reserve grade champions.
The Lions won Sunday’s grand final 28-8 at the Campbelltown Sports Stadium in front of a large crowd of supporters who had travelled from the Southern Highlands and further afield.
While the Workers were the first to put points on the scoreboard – just 10 minutes into the game – the Lions scored twice on the corner post through No 2 Lucas Ash to head into the half-time break with a 12-4 lead.
The Lions scored minutes into the second half to extend their lead to 16-4 but the Workers were not about to give up on their premiership dream with No 17 Kody Ogen sprinting the full length of the field for a sensational solo try.
With the scoreline at 16-8 and plenty of time left on the clock, nobody was prepared to call the game one way or another.
But the Lions scored through No 5 Tyson Adcock with 15 minutes left to play (taking the score to 20-8) and through No 4 Matthew Daw (26-8) with just over 13 minutes left on the clock to put the game out of the Workers’ reach and bring the army of Mittagong supporters to their feet.
A penalty goal (28-8) in the dying minutes proved the icing on the cake.
Mittagong’s No 1 Harley Rebbeck was named man of the match.
Mittagong coach Matt Fenn described it as a “great win” and said it was simply a case of having a plan and successfully putting it into action.
Fenn said the Lions had started quickly and had maintained steady pressure throughout the game.
“They didn’t take their foot off the pedal,” he told The Southern Wire after the game.
He said Harley Rebbeck, Brendan Bayliss and Harry Fletcher all had outstanding games but overall it had been a solid team effort.
He said Harley Rebbeck’s successful conversion of the two Lucas Ash tries from the sideline in the first half tuned the game on its head and provided the team with a real boost.
He also paid tribute to the Mittagong supporters and said it was difficult to put into words the “massive” difference they had made by turning out in such force.
The players, their families and supporters were planning to celebrate their win on Sunday night at the Highlands Mittagong Golf Club.
Fenn also said there were some “loose plans” for a ‘Mad Monday’ get-together.
Sunday’s grand final action started with the Under 18 Gold matchup between The Oaks Tigers and the Camden Rams with the temperature already edging towards 28 degrees before kick-off.
The Rams put three unconverted tries on the board before the half-time break to take a handy 12-0 lead into the second half.
They extended that lead to 16-0 within a couple of minutes of returning to the field.
The Tigers scored two quick tries mid-way through the second half to give their supporters a glimmer of hope but Camden scored a converted try with just over three minutes to go to secure this year’s silverware with a 22-8 win.
The first grade grand final between the Camden Rams and Campbelltown Collegians was an absolute belter and was forced into extra time with the scores locked at 30-30 at full time.
The Rams scored a penalty goal on the half time siren in extra time to take a 32-30 lead and Steele Brown sealed the with an intercept try with less than three minutes left on the extra time clock.
The final score was 38-0.
It was enough to send the Camden fans into a frenzy given it was their first grade premiership in a row.
· Keep an eye out for our grand final day gallery featuring photos from all three games.
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