Some of the seeds for the Hills Bulls journey to the 2023 Sydney Shield Grand Final were planted in the Preliminary final of 2022.
Finishing second on the ladder that year, Bulls were playing fifth-placed Penrith Brothers with their eyes already looking ahead at playing St Marys a week later in the decider. Brothers won 14-12.
“A hundred per cent that’s been motivating,” Bulls prop Sean Walpole told nswrl.com.au
“We were too busy thinking about St Marys the week after and underestimated Penrith Brothers – and we paid for that.
“This year everyone was focused on each team as they came up week by week – nothing further.
“I definitely think that loss last year has helped us get to where we are this year.”
Hills Bulls meet defending Premiers St Marys on Sunday at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium.
The Bulls have played all three weeks of finals, where Saints have had just one game – the Major Semi-final win over Penrith Brothers (28-10).
“In a way it could be seen as a bit of a disadvantage for them as we’ve played a lot of footy this past month and have good match fitness,” Walpole said.
“In saying that, the other end of the stick is how our bodies are holding up. But we’ve come here with form after two good wins. We have momentum.”
They are indeed showing plenty of spirit. With a man in the bin and down 18-0 after 30 minutes in last weekend’s Preliminary final against Brothers, the Bulls fought back to win 22-18.
“Wins like that stay in the back of your mind – we know we can do it when the chips are down,” Walpole said.
St Marys centres Michael Tuavao, Mason Iaria and winger Moung Dot are among the top-four try scorers in Sydney Shield this season with 41 tries in total making them formidable opponents.
“It’s definitely a strong back line but that’s because our forward pack plays so well with all their yardage carries,” Iaria told nswrl.com.au
“We’ve got a few from our playing group from last year so we know what it’s like being around finals and a grand final.
“Everyone is confident and St Marys is such a proud club. We don’t want to let each other down.”
Walpole talks of the same sort of hunger, especially after the Sydney Shield team was shown a video of the Hills Bulls winning the Ron Massey Cup in 2022.
“It was just incredible. We’re a small club – a community club as there’s no Leagues club backing us,” he said.
“So we haven’t got the money some of the other clubs have. So to see us get a win and compete with these big clubs like St Marys and Wenty (Wentworthville), we as players take that on board quite a lot.
“It’s something we find great pride in that we can go toe-to-toe with these sorts of teams.”
Like their club logo suggests, the Bulls have a bit of grunt up front.
Seven tries have been scored by the Bulls forward pack in three weeks, including three by hooker Kruz Niutili-Schmidt.
“He’s a young guy that came to us from Norths (Bears) and he’s really bought into the club,” Walpole said.
“Everyone put in last weekend but Kruz’s performance (two tries) was phenomenal. He really capitalises on those quick play-the-balls with some of our strong runners.
“He knows when to go and when to pass. He’s punished a lot of teams that way this season.”
