Firestorm's Javian "Bokkle" Bryan (File Photo)
Feb 7, 2024
KINGSTON Jamaica- Rugby League Jamaica successfully concluded its 9th National Division 2 competition on at the UWI Mona Bowl. The 8-team competition once more saw cross town rivals Duhaney Park Firestorm and Washington Blvd Bulls battle for supremacy after previously getting past Liguanea Dragons and Mona Pelicans in the semi-finals the week before.
The Firestorm emerged champions with a narrow 16-10 win. The final was a defensive quagmire throughout as both teams found it difficult to get points. With one minute to go and the score locked at 10 all, it was a massive defensive stop by the Firestorm that earned them victory.
Bulls was in possession and threatening to score, however, Oshane Edie was bundled into touch. At the restart, Javian Bryan broke free for the Firestorm and sprinted 80 meters to score under the posts to seal the win for the champs.
Other try scorers for the Firestorm were Akel Johnson and Akeem Murray, while Kemoy Whyte kicked two goals. For the Bulls, tries came from Racheed Pencle and Shawayne Collins, while Shamoy Stewart kicked a goal.
Winning coach Andrew Smith, "I am really proud of the effort we put into the season. Getting the win made it all worth it. For many of the youngsters, this was there first trophy so this will motivate them and hopefully push them on the winning more."
His counterpart Oshane Edie was satisfied despite the defeat," The campaign was excellent, we have about 8 youngsters who were the backbone of the season and we are pleased with their growth. It was a hard game against Firestorm, they got the best of us on the day but I'm pleased with the fight we put up. We achieved all objectives set for the season except taking home the trophy, so no complaints."
Meanwhile Director of Rugby Romeo Monteith is pleased with the competitive of the games, “It was a great competition, one of the most competitive to date with very close scores in most of games. The Firestorm have proven their resilience once more and congrats to them.
One of the highlights for us is the high number of players aged between 18-23 that participated. This is really our target audience for this Division, and we see some fantastic athletes coming through.”
Teams
Firestorm
Mark Edwards, Weston Williams, Leontay Brown, Kenneth Walker,Akel Johnson, Jade Harrison, Javian Bryan, Luke Elliott, Akeem Murray, Jevaughn Ellis, Amouri Abendigo, Steven Blair, Daniel Braham, O'Neil Williams, Chaundra Vassel, Adrian Thomas, Kemoy Whyte, Shaquiel Pollack
Coach: Andrew Smith
Bulls
Linval Green, Chevaun Smith, Oshane Edie, Mckand, Jelani Dixon, Raceed Pencle, ShamarWalker, Mohenjo Thompson, Dean Griffiths, Carl Thompson, Timarri Johnson, Kishony Campbell, Shaquille Drummond, Alex Chong, Shawayne Collins, Orlando , Shamoy Stewart, Sean Reid, Mathew Craig, Christopher Bascuine
Coach: Oshane Edie
Referee: Rajiv Haughton, Touch Judges: Nickoli Christy and Adrian Hall