May 10, 2025, Round 6 Brothers vs Bond Uni

Brothers have weathered a tough challenge from the traveling Bond University team in Round 6, winning all grades matches and narrowly missing out on the prized scalp of Bond’s three-peating Women’s team. Colts put in a strong performance against front-running opposition to show signs of improvement in their campaign. The results ensure all of Brothers Grades are in the Top 4, and keep the club in touch with Wests in the Doughty Shield with their bye to come in Round 9.

First Grade

Brothers have held out a desperate Bond University with a scrappy mixed-weather win to remain undefeated in 2025, clinching a 33-26 victory at Crosby Park.

Bond, one of the pre-season favourites, have now been on the wrong side of close scorelines, with this result officially marking their season as being in trouble. Meanwhile, the men in Butchers stripes continue to find ways to win with a stunning 25 out of 25 points for this stage of the season. The Bullsharks needed to come away from Crosby with a result to remain in touch of the Top Four, and so were expected to put their best foot forward in this match as the selections proved. Brothers on the other hand, lost several of their backs during the week to injury, and fans of the club would have been concerned before kick off of the unbeaten streak remaining intact.

Some of those fears may have been allayed two minutes after kick off, with Brother’s Number 8 Brad Hemopo taking advantage of a napping Bond defense to bust over the line in the right-hand corner off the back of free kick being awarded to open the ledger.

With conditions oscillating between driving rain and patches of sunshine, handling was at a premium, and both sides settled into a rhythm of trying to put the opposition under pressure through rolling kicking battles, resulting in a breakdown in handling necessitating a scrum reset. This lasted a staggeringly long time, and only broke when Bond’s discipline to break down in a handy position within range of Brother’s feared maul, Theo Fourie clattering through the defenders to score with Jude Gibbs adding the extra two points.

This, however, sparked the inevitable Bond fightback, with the visitors immediately returning fire when fullback Athen Waia-McGuiggan was marched for ten minutes after a lazy high shot. This gave Bond a shot at a rapid back-line move, putting them over in corner through the capable hands of Inside Centre Tyler Campbell, with the conversion being slotted to narrow the lead. Bond then double down and put themselves in front at the break through yet more sloppy discipline from Brothers, a maul try plus extras making the score at half time 14-12.

In the second half there was a noticeable lift in tempo, with the weather still undecided on whether it wanted to be wet or dry. Bond came out of the gates absolutely firing, completing a near carbon copy of Brothers’ opening try in the first half, Kaia Gate taking the points and opening the lead. Brothers wasted no time in responding though, and went forward off the restart to win a line out and put Fourie over again off the back of the maul, with Gibbs slotting the extras to even the score at 19-all.

The next score came off one of the most genius passages of rugby seen all season. Spoiling a Bond line out, Brothers managed to move the ball quickly to Fourie, who found himself with space and time. He deftly punted the ball 60 meters to take a 50/22 which landed 5m out from Bond’s line. Brothers scrumhalf Graham Urquhart was in hot pursuit, and had the presence of mind to throw a quick line out to a lurking Fourie, who had followed up his own ball. Playing quickly off the deck, it was quickly in the hands of the ever impactful Atieli-Samuel Pakalani who give Brothers the lead outright.

It was now or never for Bond, and they started to turn the screws, parking inside a fatiguing Brothers’ half. The toll of defending began to show, and Bond’s maul found a huge amount of go-forward to bully their way over to yet again even the scores at 26-all, Hooker Kobe Walters earning the try.

With both squads trading blows to try and find a way through, the match appeared to be heading towards a draw. That was before some inexplicable brain snaps from the visitors gave Brothers the incentive they needed to march downfield. The first, a late hit on Will Cartwright, playing his 100th game for Brothers, saw Liam Daniela marched, before one minute later try-scorer Walters took another card for cynical play. It didn’t take much imagination to see that Brothers’ famous maul stood a chance of pushing Bond over at the death, and they deftly did this, with Dom Fraser adding to his ever growing tally, with Gibbs taking a 5th and final conversion to complete the scoring.

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Brothers Women have put up a gallant effort to be narrowly defeated 7-0 by reigning Premiers Bond University. The home side were incredibly unlucky to not at least even the score, with a near certain try being denied on full time in dubious circumstances, the ball appearing to be placed on the line but called knocked in in the act of getting up.

The home side dominated large passages of play in the first half, and looked certain to score only to be denied by a determined Bond defense. Both sides went into the sheds at nil-all, with some heroic individual efforts behind the highlight, including some incredible pressure relieving kicks from Natalia Muchalowski-Jonck.

After the break, an early try to Matilda Vial against the run of play was the only blemish on the home side’s score sheet. Unfortunately, the girls in butchers stripes just couldn’t find a way through and incurred only their second loss of the season.

Team of the Round: Third Grade

Third Grade bounced back from their narrow loss to Wests with an emphatic thumping of the Bullsharks at home to re-assert themselves in the top two of the competition. A hat trick to Kai Combarngo was one of many highlights for Brothers.