Grand Final day delivered none of the endings Moree Boars travelled to Gunnedah hoping for.
Three senior teams ran onto Kitchener Park on Saturday with Group 4 premierships at stake. First Grade were chasing a third straight title, Reserve Grade had returned to the decider after falling two points short a year earlier, and the Women’s Tackle side arrived as defending premiers.
All three were beaten.
Gunnedah defeated Moree 28–12 in First Grade and 14–10 in Women’s Tackle, while Dungowan claimed the Reserve Grade premiership with a 24–10 win.
The results ended three different Moree campaigns which had all reached the final Saturday of the season.
First Grade arrived in Gunnedah chasing a third consecutive premiership and appearing in a fourth straight Grand Final. The Boars had beaten Gunnedah 32–16 in last year’s decider at Boughton Oval and opened the 2026 season with the same scoreline against the Bulldogs.
But the balance between the two sides shifted as the season progressed.
Gunnedah handed Moree its first loss of the year with a 48–12 victory in June, then edged the minor premiers 22–20 at Boughton Oval in the major semi-final. That forced Moree through the preliminary final before the sides met again with the premiership at stake.
Gunnedah completed the turnaround on Saturday, winning 28–12 to claim its first First Grade premiership since 1998.
Cameron Rodgers and Jake Tighe scored Moree’s tries, with Adrian Smith converting both.
The defeat closed a 17-match campaign in which Moree won 14 games, scored 714 points and conceded 282. The Boars had secured the minor premiership after finishing the regular season with 13 wins from 14 matches.
Reserve Grade also went into Saturday trying to reverse a Grand Final result from 12 months earlier.
Dungowan had beaten Moree 24–22 in the 2025 decider. The Boars returned this season to claim the minor premiership with 10 wins, two draws and one loss before ultimately earning another shot at the Cowboys.
Again, Dungowan prevailed, this time 24–10.
Cody Picker and Jade Girard scored Moree’s tries, while Shannon Hippi kicked a conversion.
It was only the Boars’ second defeat of the campaign. Reserve Grade finished with 11 wins, two draws and two losses from 15 matches, scoring 472 points and conceding 224.
The Women’s Tackle decider was the closest of Moree’s three Grand Finals, with Gunnedah winning 14–10 to claim the club’s first premiership in the competition.
It reversed the result of last year’s Grand Final, when Moree defeated the Bulldogs to take the title.
Gunnedah entered Saturday as minor premiers, while Moree had finished the regular season third and worked through the elimination side of the finals to earn the chance to defend its premiership.
Maddie Martin was among Moree’s try scorers in the decider, with Colleen Fernando adding a conversion. Moree’s Simone Blacklock was voted BarTV Sports’ fan Player of the Match.
The women finished their campaign with six wins from 11 matches, scoring 180 points and conceding 146.
For Moree, Saturday ultimately came down to three scorelines and three premierships won by somebody else.
But those results also marked the end of seasons in which the Boars repeatedly put themselves in contention.
First Grade were minor premiers, reached a fourth consecutive Grand Final and remained in the hunt for a third straight premiership until the last game of the year. Reserve Grade were also minor premiers and lost only twice across their campaign, while the women returned to the Grand Final as defending premiers after entering the finals from third place.
Saturday’s premierships belonged to Gunnedah and Dungowan.
For Moree, three long campaigns ended one game short.
