TODD Mitchell is not one to rest on his laurels.

The unassuming president of Moree Boars Rugby League Club said winning last year’s Group 4 first-grade premiership was a crowning achievement for an outfit that has seen a few dry gullies over the years. The club was, for a long time, one of the hunters.

“We have to defend our title . . . we’re now the hunted, I guess,” Mitchell said.

“Everyone looks at us now as the yardstick of the competition, and that’s OK.

“Winning the premiership was great for the club and it shows this year at the number we have at training.

“At the moment, everything is going well and we’ve just got to keep it rolling. The main thing, is to keep our feet on the ground . . . don’t get too confident or too cocky,” he said.

“We have to realise it’s a whole new season, and there’ll be sides coming after us as hard as they were last year.”

The Boars last season came from a 14-12 deficit at half-time to beat Boggabri Kangaroos 40-18 in a second-half grand-final surge.

The Boars had not won a Group 4 first-grade title since 2002 when beating West Lions 34-18 under captain-coach Tony Murray at Burt Jovanovich Oval.

Last year’s win was the club’s fifth premiership in Group 4 after wins in 1988-89 under captain-coach John Kirkwood, 1999 (Mark Ryan) and 2002 (Tony Murray).

Pragmatism aside, Moree Boars Rugby League Club president, Todd Mitchell, is upbeat about the 2025 Group 4 season, which gets underway locally at Boughton Oval on Saturday with three grades playing.

The win was also a just reward after losing to North Tamworth, 26-16,  in 2023.

“It had been a while since we won a premiership and winning last year makes us the hunted, I suppose,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell is forever the pragmatist – and that’s OK, too.

He said teams like Werris Creek and Gunnedah will be improved, and so will North Tamworth and Dungowan.

“Those sides are going to be tough,” Mitchell said.

But pragmatism aside, Mitchell’s upbeat approach to the Group 4 2025 season shines through.

“The Boars have got four grades this season, and we haven’t had four grades on the paddock for a couple of years,” Mitchell said.

“We’ve been running without an under-18s side since 2022. Now we’ve got good numbers for the men and good numbers for the girls – and really good numbers for first-grade.

“There was about 60 players training last week. The numbers are massive, and I haven’t seen that in years,” he said.

“Last year’s grand-final definitely has had a flow-on effect. Everyone wants to be part of the club, and everyone can see that the committee is doing a good job.

“The knock-out this year showed that, too. It was a huge success,” Mitchell said.

The Moree Boars 2025 season launches on Saturday at home ground, Boughton Oval – women’s tackle, under-18s and reserve-grade take on Dungowan.

Moree’s opening round on Saturday will also see history in the making, with the debut of Moree Boars women’s tackle team, coached by former Newcastle player Chris Swan.

“The Moree club is 107 years old and this is the first time in those 107 years we’ll have women’s tackle in Moree. It’s also the first year of women’s tackle for Group 4– I think it’s fantastic,” Mitchell said.

“It’s the way of the future. The amount of people who watched the women’s tackle at the recent knock-out and said how much they enjoyed it was phenomenal.

“It was like watching the NRLW – I’d sometime rather watch that than the men because it’s old-style footie and they get out and play.

“The players are respectful to each other and they have a lot of fun. It’s just good to watch,” Mitchell said.

“We want to start the season this weekend against Dungowan on a winning note and in two weeks’ time – after Easter – we play Werris Creek at home, which will be a really tough assignment.”

Werris Creek Magpies last weekend beat Group 21 premiers Scone Thoroughbreds, 32-16, in a trial match at David Taylor Oval, the Magpies’ home ground.

“Werris Creek is coming off a good win against Scone,” Mitchell said.

“Scone went through unbeaten in Group 21 and won the premiership, and Werris Creek went out and beat them in a trial match, and that’s made us sit up and watch.”

Words and Image: Bill Poulos