Sport
2 September, 2026
Flamin’ Galahs Premiers
Gulargambone are the 2026 Ahrens Cup Tri Tag Premiers
By The Pink Parrot
They said "the Flamin Galahs only make grand finals — they don’t win them”.
They said "you haven’t beaten Coonamble all year, so why will this game be any different?”
They said "the Coonamble Rams have already got their name engraved on the cup”.
They said "the girls have had a good year, but unfortunately, they’re just not quite at the Coonamble standard”.
Well, well, well…
DING DONG, THE WITCH IS DEAD!
On their fifth successive attempt to win the Ahrens Women’s Western Plains Tri Tag Rugby Competition, the Flamin’ Galahs have finally put all their critics and knockers to bed with a stunning come-from-behind victory in Nyngan on Saturday, defeating the more fancied, odds-on favourites, the Coonamble Rams, 19–7.
In a Lazarus-like effort, the Flamin’ Galahs put the Coonamble Rams to the sword with a dominant and suffocating second-half display.
Such was the domination of the match by the Flamin’ Galahs that the 19–7 scoreline almost flattered their more fancied opponents.
A familiar start - but a very different finish
The game started in very similar fashion to so many Flamin’ Galahs games.
In the fifth minute, the Coonamble Rams split through the Flamin’ Galahs backline and crossed the line to open proceedings.
The try was duly converted, and the Rams were on their way with a 7–nil lead.
Little did they know, that would be all the points Coonamble would score for the remainder of the 2026 Grand Final.
From that point on, the Flamin’ Galahs slowly began to take control of the momentum through unheralded defence and attack.
Time after time, in attack, the Galahs found their opponents offside as Coonamble simply could not match them for speed around the ruck and play-the-ball.
In the 12th minute, the Coonamble Rams were penalised close to their try line for deliberately knocking the ball on between passes by the Flamin’ Galahs.
The Galahs went to work.
They shifted the ball to their right side for a couple of sets, and smart work by scrum-half Sarah Chandler saw that the blind side was not covered.
Chandler scurried to her right and delivered a beautiful cut-out pass to fullback Ash Carlow, who crossed for the Flamin’ Galahs' first try.
The try went unconverted, and suddenly the scoreboard read 7–5 to Coonamble.
From there until half-time, the sustained pressure from the Galahs was slowly taking its toll on their more fancied rivals.
Cracks were beginning to appear in the Coonamble armour.
Relentless surges from the Flamin’ Galahs forwards repeatedly had the Coonamble defence in sixes and sevens.
And defensively, the Galahs were sensational.
They came up in one line - a formation the squad calls: “The Line of Integrity.”
Try as Coonamble might, it was simply impenetrable.
The lineout plays by the Flamin’ Galahs were also something to behold, with rovers Lucy Irish and Peta Bradley having their lineout throws on a string to their jumpers and lifters.
The forwards were ruthless in attack and kept the Galahs on the front foot throughout the contest.
Chels Broom and Jess Fleming were particularly impressive, making valuable metres and hitting the Coonamble line hard and with plenty of force.
At half-time, the Rams still held a slender 7–5 lead.
But the Flamin’ Galahs could sense something wasn't right with their opponents.
They could smell blood in the water.
The second-half surge
The opening 17 minutes of the second half was good old-fashioned tri-tag rugby between two old foes going toe-to-toe.
But slowly, almost imperceptibly, the momentum was shifting.
It felt as though the Flamin’ Galahs simply wanted it more.
Then, on the last play of an attacking set from 40 metres out, an inspired clearing kick from on-fire fly-half Caitlynn Mills turned the game on its head.
Mills launched a towering kick downfield.
Outside centre Grace “Po Po” Lummis, displaying all the never-say-die spirit she has become known for, chased after it with the gusto of a rabid junkyard dog chasing its prey.
And she chased.
And chased.
She put enormous pressure on the Coonamble defender, who was desperately hoping and praying the ball would roll dead.
It didn't.
The ball stopped just short of the dead-ball line.
When the Coonamble player attempted to kick it out, she missed.
And there was Grace.
“Thank you very much - I'll take a try!”
Lummis grounded the ball between the legs of the Coonamble defender to score a brilliant and opportunistic try.
The conversion was successful, and suddenly the Flamin’ Galahs were in front 12–7.
Chandler seals the deal
Five minutes later, fullback Ash Carlow recovered a clearing kick from Coonamble approximately 10 metres from her own try line.
The ever-present and scintillating replacement centre Kayla Beaton was Johnny-on-the-spot.
Beaton broke through down the left blind side and raced approximately 70 metres upfield, leaving the Coonamble defence scrambling to get back.
With the Rams struggling to reorganise in defence, cue star scrum-half Sarah Chandler.
Chandler stood up the Coonamble fullback and darted some 30 metres to score untouched down the left side of the field.
The Flamin’ Galahs' crowd and supporters were in raptures.
They could see what was unfolding.
The conversion was duly added, and the Galahs now held a commanding 19–7 lead over the minor premiers.
Seven minutes that felt like an eternity
The next seven minutes for Flamin’ Galah supporters felt like an eternity.
Coonamble threw wave after wave of attack at the Galahs, but the response was relentless.
Tag after tag.
Defensive effort after defensive effort.
The team was led superbly all day by captain Heidi Ferguson, who directed proceedings with calmness and authority.
The Flamin’ Galahs were diving to make tags, throwing their bodies into everything and refusing to let the Coonamble line be breached.
Then came the sound every Galah supporter had been waiting for.
THE FINAL WHISTLE.
The 2026 Ahrens Women's Western Plains Tri Tag Rugby Competition Grand Final belonged to the Flamin’ Galahs.
They had achieved what they always knew they were capable of doing - but what very few outside their tight-knit group truly believed was possible.
They believed in themselves.
They believed in each other.
And on Saturday, that belief paid off.
The rewards for belief
All 17 players in the Flamin’ Galahs squad played themselves to a standstill.
Every single one contributed.
Every single one earned the right to call themselves a 2026 premiership player.
The reward was worth every drop of sweat.
The deserved player of the match award went to the never-say-die scrum-half Sarah Chandler, whose performance was nothing short of outstanding.
And while she was unable to take the field, injured player Paige Wilson was named player of the year for the third consecutive year — an incredible achievement.
Paige has been sidelined for the best part of the last three rounds, as well as the entire finals series, and will shortly undergo ACL surgery.
What an achievement.
What a player.
To the supporters - thank you
The Flamin’ Galahs could not have done this without the incredible support and cheering from what appeared to be a mass of family, friends and supporters from the Gulargambone Rugby Union family.
The girls said that all they could hear throughout the game was the roar of support for their team.
And it lifted them.
Again and again.
Thank you. So, so much.
The people behind the Galahs
A huge thank you must go to coach Greg King, who always believed in this team and never lost focus on what could be achieved.
To the assistant coaches and staff Rowan Chandler, Hayden Whiteman and Paige Wilson - thank you so much for all your efforts.
To our one-of-a-kind President Benn Jenkins, who gives up his valuable time and is always willing to assist in any way he can - thank you, so, so much.
And finally, to the Flamin’ Galahs squad.
You are a tight-knit group of wonderful women who clearly have the time of your lives - not just on the field, but off it as well.
You have stuck together.
You have believed.
You have laughed.
You have battled.
And now you have conquered.
Congratulations, ladies.
You are the 2026 Ahren Women's Western Plains Tri Tag Rugby Competition Premiers.
The critics can talk no more.
The doubters have been silenced.
The cup has a new home.
And as for those who said the Flamin’ Galahs only make grand finals and don't win them?
Well… DING DONG, THE WITCH IS DEAD!
From the Pink Parrott, thank you all for your incredible support.
We’ll do it all again next year — bigger, better and brighter than ever.
