Brothers took a major step toward securing the 2025 minor premiership with a commanding 28–10 win over Easts in wet conditions at home, reclaiming the Welsby Cup and solidifying their place in the top two with two games remaining.

The Welsby Cup, originally donated by businessman, politician and sportsman Thomas Welsby, is contested in the second-round meeting between the top two first grade teams from the end of the first full round of home-and-away matches.

The result lifted Brothers to 58 competition points, just two behind new ladder-leaders Wests following the Bulldogs’ 50-point mauling of GPS. However, Wests have played one more game than Brothers and Easts.

With remaining fixtures against UQ and Souths, two wins would secure the minor premiership for Brothers.

Brothers head coach Ben McCormack told Rugby News the win was extremely significant.

“It was a big game for a couple of reasons,” he said.

“Anytime you play for silverware like the Welsby Cup, you want to win it – and obviously it had a big implication on how the top two will finish.”

Despite difficult wet conditions, Brothers handled the occasion better than the Tigers, disrupting Easts’ set piece and outlasting them in a physical, tactical battle.

“I thought we took their line-out away from them,” McCormack said.

“We put a lot of pressure on at line-out time and got good pay there. The scrum was a bit of a mess in the wet, and I think both sides were unhappy with how it played out.

“Because we had a good crack at their line-out, we probably took away a fair bit of that field position pressure that they’ve been able to apply on teams throughout the season.

“Then once we had the ball, even though the conditions didn’t really suit our style of attack, I thought we stayed patient, built some good pressure and scored some good tries.”

Brothers also welcomed back two key players, with Brad Hemopo running the line-out and landing three conversions in an all-round display, and Michael Wood returning from suspension to deliver a powerful, physical performance.

“Woody was excellent – super physical and really hard to tackle. Brad ran our line-out beautifully, carried well, and kicked goals. He did a good job of that,” McCormack said.

“We had a lot of guys in the pack stand up and play good footy. Someone like Will Wilson just did his usual 80-minute, error-free performance – making no mistakes and putting his body on the line.”

McCormack also praised winger-turned-centre Oli Harvey, who impressed after shifting to inside centre for the first time this season.

“I think the backs got cold at times when they were standing around watching 10 scrums in a row, but when they got involved, they did a great job,” he said.

The win sets Brothers up for a strong finish, with finals momentum front of mind.

“We have two big games to finish against UQ and Souths and hopefully that gives us some good momentum to take into week one of the finals,” he said.

“Whether that’s Easts or Wests or Bond, it won’t really matter to us – we’ll put the same energy into it.”

Around the Grounds

Elsewhere in the competition, Wests notched their tenth straight victory with a dominant 62–12 win over GPS at home, further stamping their credentials as current premiership favourites.

“I thought the rain might have helped GPS and evened it up a bit because they’ve got a good maul and line-out,” McCormack said.

“But wow – Wests are hard to stop at the moment. They’re putting 50 or 60 points on every team they play.”

Souths edged UQ 27–24 at home to stay in touch with the top four, but Bond’s 33–31 win over Sunnybank may prove to be the decisive result in the finals race.

With Bond and Souths now sitting on 42 and 40 points respectively, the Bull Sharks appear favourites to secure the final playoff spot. 

Not only do they hold a narrow ladder advantage, they also have a game in hand with fixtures remaining against GPS and Norths – two sides outside the top four.

Norths had the bye.