Sport
25 June, 2026
Brilliant Hinch runs around Danes
An Alex Hinch hat trick has helped move the Oakey Bears’ men within touching distance of the top five as they head to second-placed Dalby this Saturday night.
A GRADE
Oakey 50 (Alex Hinch 3, Curtly Hammond 2, Harrison Burns, Simi Ata, Dylan Chown, Gus Taylor, Joey Alberts tries; Dwayne Duncan 5 goals); Pittsworth 16 (Laurie Jocumsen, Cooper Bowyer, Patrick Quinn tries; Matty Butler 2 goals)
Oakey’s lethal left edge put paid to any hopes of a even contest. The Bears quickly established a 16-0 lead, and were quite simply “bigger and stronger than us”, as Pittsworth halfback Laurie Jocumsen admitted while trying to rev up his side in the in-goal area.
A six-minute patch of brilliance just before and after half time saw Hinch rack up three tries.
The Oakey fullback, named Player of the Match, was ably assisted by Joey Alberts, who scored a try of his own, and makeshift lock James Tutuila, who played big minutes.
After losing close games against Wattles away, and Valleys at home in the wet, the Bears now move up to sixth spot, behind the Warriors, only on for and against.
Hinch says his side was hungry for a win.
“That two weeks off we spoke a lot about our couple of losses coming into the game,” he said.
“We wanted to make up for that and I think we did today.”
The Bears fullback said he was relishing the chance to combine with fast-moving centre Joey Alberts.
“(Joey) does it week-in, week-out, give him the ball and he’ll score from anywhere,” Hinch said.
Bears coach Ash Taylor said his side was capable of scoring against any team in the league.
“Credit to Pittsworth, they stuck it to us, but our boys were too classy today,” he told Power FM’s Andrew O’Brien post-match.
Taylor said Saturday’s match against the Diehards would be an important marker to see where his side stands in the pecking order.
“Hopefully the boys rock up to training this week and we put in a great performance against Dalby to really cement our position,” he said.
“We’re sitting in the middle of the ladder so if we can start pushing our way up and pushing these top teams, the world’s our oyster.”
OPEN WOMEN
Pittsworth 32 (Natayla Franklin 2, Alexandra Harber 2, Tavannah McGee, Emma Facer, Bronte Gibbs tries; Natalya Franklin 2 goals); Oakey 4 (Emmie Creevey try)
Pittsworth humbled the Oakey Bears at their home patch on Sunday morning to maintain their grip on top spot of the TRL ladder.
Emmie Creevey was the only name on the score sheet for the Lady Bears, who will be looking for a confidence boosting win against bottom-placed Dalby away this Saturday afternoon.
Hit hard by injuries, the clunky Bears were forced to shift players around and it showed.
Lock Chontelle Orcher, who had to play in the halves, said she was disappointed in her side’s performance.
“We weren’t at our best,” she told Power FM’s Neville Cherry.
“(We had a) few players out (and) no one knew what they were doing.
“(We need players) to get to training. Everyone’s got to be on the same page.”
Pittsworth captain Alex Harber said the Bears were a harder opponent than was shown on the scoreboard.
“Highfields is always going to be our hardest game,” she said.
“They’ve just got it all, through the forwards, through the backs, always going to be our hardest games.
“But today, Oakey, the scoreboard doesn’t reflect (the fact) that was a tough games.”
RESERVE GRADE
Pittsworth 22 (Luke Hill, Mikey Cross, Lachlan Thompson, Kareese Brown tries; Mikey Cross 3 goals); Oakey 16 (Jordon Anderson, Kane Caldwell, Cruz Williamson tries; Cruz Williamson, Joseph Eising goals)
Bottom of the table Oakey came close to scoring an upset, but were denied by a consistent Pittsworth reserves outfit.
Danes front-rower Elliot Smith said his side was slow to start the game.
“We started off a bit low with the energy,” he said.
“It probably took us 15-20 minutes just to get into the game there.
“Credit to the boys, because once we did start getting that energy about ourselves, that’s when we started defending well and actually playing as a team together.”
THIS WEEK
Dalby Diehards vs. Oakey Bears at Dalby Leagues Club, Dalby
Saturday, June 27th
Open Women: 3pm
Reserve Grade: 4.30pm
A Grade: 6pm
