"Grand finals aren't the be all and end all of everything."
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That's what Goulburn Bulldogs First Grade coach Adam Kyle said after his side's CRRL grand final loss to the Queanbeyan Blues and he wasn't wrong.
After a year marked by exceptional growth and remarkable success, the Goulburn Bulldogs have, perhaps unsurprisingly, claimed the Canberra Region Rugby League 2019 Club Championship.
The award was officially recognised at the Les McIntyre Awards night at the Rex Hotel on Wednesday, August 28.
The Bulldogs finished the year on a total of 297.36 points, 14 clear of the Queanbeyan Blues in second.
The club championship is awarded to the club that has the greatest amount of success across the four grades and each team is awarded with a certain number of points for wins throughout the season.
Heartbreak in grand finals
Goulburn were always going to be hard to beat in that regard, as the club finished third in the first grade competition, second in reserve grade, second in the league tag, and second in the Under 19s at the end of the home and away season.
This strength across the board, Kyle said, was a long-term objective of the club.
"When I started a few years ago, the club were very keen on making sure we were strengthening across all grades," he said.
"To take that out [the Club Championship] in a year and a half has been a great stepping stone for the club."
The Bulldogs and Blues lead the rest of the field by a fair distance in the contest for the championship.
Goulburn prevailed by virtue of a superior record in the league tag competition, where Queanbeyan only managed to finish fifth.
The win, Kyle said, is gratification for the hard graft which the club had to endure in 2018.
"We knew last year was always going to be a really tough year with myself coming in and changing things around the club and across every grade," he said.
"We knew it would take a little bit of time to get going.
"We're all extremely proud of that.
"I had a look at the club championship last year and I think we finished third or fourth last in 2018.
"It's a fantastic achievement across every grade [and] it's a fantastic achievement for our club to win the Club Championship."
The last time that the Bulldogs took out the Club Championship was in 2009, which was also the last time they won the first grade premiership.
We knew last year was always going to be a really tough year with myself coming in and changing things around the club and across every grade.
- Adam Kyle
Before finals began, club president Joe Stephens said he was pleased to see the senior sides find their way back in finals after several years on the outer.
"First grade haven't been in the finals for three years," Stephens said.
"There's belief in the players now, that they can compete.
"The senior grades went through a couple of hard years in the rebuild, but they've all stuck together over a three or four year period.
"Look at them now.
"They're in finals."
There is also a financial incentive for clubs to aim for the championship, as the CRRL rewards the winner with prize money.
But the biggest reward, Stephens said, was watching the club unite throughout the year.
"It's been a big effort from everyone concerned in gaining that award," he said.
"The playing group [and] the coaching staff have been outstanding.
"It was just the collective effort of everyone in the club moving forward to achieve that trophy."
The reserve grade side bowed out of the competition in the preliminary finals stage while the First Grade, u19s and league tag sides all finished runners up.
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