Photo: 2025 Ahrens Cup Premiers the Coonamble Rams women’s Tri-Tag team, with coaching staff and Ahrens representatives, celebrating their Grand Final win in Walgett on Saturday 23 August.
They’ve done it.
After one of the most gripping grand finals in memory, the Coonamble Rams walked out of Walgett winners, beating the undefeated Gulargambone Flamin Galahs 15-12.
No win could ever be sweeter than finally taking down Gulargambone on the biggest stage of them all to ruin their perfect season.
After getting the wood over Coonamble all year, Gulargambone had to get the job done just once more to win it all.
But Coonamble brought physicality and mongrel, and they didn’t give them an inch of space.
A simple tactic, and Gulargambone absolutely hated it.
First Half
As per the plan, no space was given, and every tag came with some GST, which roughed up the Flamin Galahs.
They forced the Galahs into an absolute shambles of a first set, starting and finishing on their own twenty-metre line.
But despite their early struggles in attack, the Galah defence stood tall, facing set after set of pressure.
But perhaps they relaxed too much when finally clearing the ball after ten minutes and failed to put pressure on the kick return.
As a result, Imogen Pawley found herself ball in hand and far too much room to move.
She ran all the way left to right, creating the overlap down the wing, and after using up centre Jacinta Murray as an option, she broke the line.
Imogen passed the ball off to “the very tall Rams player” Amy Ibbott, who streamed down the right sideline for the opening score in the eleventh minute.
A narrowly missed kick on Rachael Sefton’s unfavoured side kept the score at 5-0.
And despite having no momentum, the Galahs showed why they went undefeated.
Kayla Beaton tore off for a monster 60-metre runaway to even the score.
The kick was converted to lead 7-5.
Despite the pressure, The Flamin’ Galahs were rewarded for keeping their heads down when Coonamble teetered too far on the side of tackle over tag and conceded a penalty with minutes left in the half.
Two lines breaks from Kayla Beaton and Kelsey Hutchinson were narrowly snuffed out by Coonamble, but the defence was left in shambles, and Paige Wilson went to work, grabbing the quick ball and crossing over with a minute to go before the break.
She couldn’t convert her try, leaving the score at 12-5.
Gulargambone looked to have the advantage going into the break, but on the final play of the half, Imogen Pawley would score the try of the day.
She drifted around the pursuing dummy half and broke the line down the left with just one to beat, the ever-reliable Paige Wilson.
But Imogen was just that good on Saturday and danced around the star fullback to score.
The kick narrowly missed the right upright, and Gular led at the break 12-10.
Second Half
Thirty minutes separated one of these two teams from their crowning glory.
For such an even matchup so far, it would come down to who wanted it more.
Gulargambone came out firing, with three repeat sets to open the half.
But the pressure was too much, and yet another pass went wayward.
And who else picked it up but Imogen Pawley.
She was chased down twenty out from the try line, but momentum was shifted.
Just minutes earlier, Tracey Baker-Holmes had come on, and with the situation set up perfectly to orchestrate an attacking set of six, she went to work.
The ball was pushed right, dragging Gulargambone’s tired defence with it.
One more settling play down the right side, and Tracy called it out left.
Gulargambone were busted, caught jogging and out of position.
Coonamble pounced.
They shifted the ball once, twice, and thrice until Gemma Fitzgerald scored the easiest try she’s scored all year to retake the lead with twenty minutes to go.
Coonamble almost doubled down just minutes later after centre Ana Newstead charged down the right side only to be tagged by Paige Wilson.
Some strong territorial kicking from Rachael Sefton kept the ball down Gulargambone’s end, and it looked as though they would hold on with ten minutes to go.
If not for a cruel twist of fate.
A routine kick return from Gemma Fitzgerald went awry after she knocked the ball on, and the Gulargambone crowd went berserk.
And the response from the Flamin’ Galah players was just as emphatic.
It felt like destiny for Gulargambone.
Years of trying, years of falling at the final hurdle.
They now had Coonamble pinned on their line late in the game.
And the crowd was going mental.
But, cutting through all the noise was the voice of Rams enforcer Jacinta Murray, and as the Rams packed into the scrum, you could hear her clear as day, “They don’t want it Rams.”
Neither team had the legs left in them; it was all heart now, who wanted the game more.
Gulargambone had the opportunity and gave it to their golden goose – Paige Wilson.
The quick shift out left for Paige had been a sure thing all year.
But she kept drifting and never straightened, and Ana Newstead charged up to make a great tag.
All good, though, the Galahs reset and readied for a shift right.
But Jacinta was right. They didn’t want it. Not like the Rams.
They coughed up the pill, and the Rams let them know about it.
Tempers flared, and a repeat of last year’s grand final biff looked sure to repeat.
But Coonamble were never giving in to that; they had a game to win.
Gulargambone did enough to keep the pressure on and drew two offside penalties to get the ball back on the Rams’ tryline.
With one minute and thirty to go, Gulargambone stacked the ball left.
They looked set to score, but playmaker Caitlynn Mills bit off more than she could chew, throwing an optimistic cut-out ball all the way over the left edge before it dribbled over the sideline for a Coonamble lineout.
And with all the pressure on them, it was the Rams’ best lineout of the year.
They tried to end the game after that, but the clock was still on Gulargambone’s side, and with 22 seconds left, they had one final chance.
Gular had the numbers out right, and despite dropping them all day, they nailed that final pass to cross over and score the winner.
But as the tricolours celebrated, all eyes instead were glued to Rams winger Kathryn Alchin, whose hand was high in the air after making the tag just milliseconds before the ball was put down.
They wanted it more.
The ball was taken back, and with one final play, it was in Paige Wilson’s hands.
A repeat of last year’s preliminary final, she had the chance to sink Coonamble one more time, this time for all the bikkies.
But she passed it off, and it didn’t hit the target.
The ball fell to the ground, and both Paige and Ana Newstead dived for it.
And Ana came up trumps.
Coonamble 15, Gulargambone 12.
What a win for the girls in green and white.
A special game where every player on the pitch had their moment, pushing to make that tag or to get up in Gular’s face, it was a true team effort.
And off the back of her brilliant game, including one try, one try assist, seven line breaks, and two penalties for roughness, the best on ground was awarded to Rams forward Imogen Pawley.
Taking a step back, the win is absolutely deserved.
It’s the story of consistently building and getting better under coaches Josh Wrench and Aaron West.
Once a side always good for a spot in finals and never an easy beat on their day, they could beat the rest, but never the best.
But at the start of the tri-tag competition, they really hit their stride.
Getting better every game, they created a brand of football built on a bruising defence and smart attack.
And in 2025, they stand alone.
Premiers – and well deserved ones at that.
Well done to the Coonamble Rams, what a year, what a team.