National Wheelchair Championships Wrap

The ACT Wheelchair Rugby League finished third in the country at the Wheelchair National Championships on the Gold Coast last weekend. 

After entering the tournament as defending premiers, the ACT were the team to beat and produced a solid performance across the three days to finish on the podium for the second consecutive year. 

A strong 48-0 victory against Victoria in the opening game kick started the campaign in impressive fashion, with Jai Coomber and Brad Burns scoring four and three tries respectively. 

The following two games of the tournament came against the eventual finalists, who proved too tough to handle for the ACT side, with NSW securing a 34-4 victory on Friday afternoon before North Queensland claimed a 38-4 win on Saturday morning. 

Another loss against South East Queensland left the ACT with a 1-3 record and needing to win their final two games to feature in the third place play off. 

A tight ten-point victory against the New Zealand side, courtesy of tries from Coomber, Popple and Burns provided the side with confidence which they took into their next match against the AFS and a 44-14 win saw them book their spot in the playoff. 

A rematch against South East Queensland awaited in the third place play off, with this time the ACT claiming the victory in a tight 18-6 affair and ensuring a top three finish for the second straight year. 

Player of the tournament for the ACT was awarded to Jai Coomber who starred on debut with eight tries in his debut tournament, whilst Captain Coach Toby Popple joined the Australian Wheelaroos World Cup squad and will face off against teammate Mitch Stone who was selected in the NZ Wheel Kiwis.