Soward raced away for the Wagga representative team in the 4-2 grand final triumph, turning the tables on the Wollongong Devils, who won the preliminary round clash 5-3. 

It helped secured Wagga the overall club championship trophy at the Country titles at Dalton Park. 

Wollongong were also overpowered by Central Coast rivals Doyalson Dragons 5-4 in the marquee open men’s division on Sunday. 

Doyalson, one of the powerhouse associations in NSW, led 5-2, before the Devils responded with two late tries, including one on the final siren. 

Still, Wollongong walked away with a measure of success, including a dominant 10-3 victory in the women’s open division decider against Canberra’s Tuggeranong Vikings.

Wollongong touch vice-president Tim Robinson said the association would use the country titles as a launching pad for NSW Championships success at Port Macquarie later this year. 

“We’re hopeful our women’s team can really push towards the state championships finals from here,” he said. “They were close last year and we’ve done a lot of work on our patterns during the country championships.”

The Devils’ mixed team now face a do-or-die mission in Friday night’s Vawdon Cup preliminary final against Canterbury, with the winner to meet defending champions Easts. And the Illawarra Premier League competition will return on Monday week after recent washouts. 

Finals at Dalton Park

Open men’s: DOYALSON 5 d WOLLONGONG 4

Open women’s: WOLLONGONG 10 d TUGGERANONG 3

Men’s over 30s: WAGGA 4 d WOLLONGONG 2

Women’s over 30s: WAGGA 5 d JERRABOMBERRA 3 

Girls youth league: WAGGA 10 d MILTON-ULLADULLA 2

Men’s over 40s: JERRABOMBERRA 9 d NELSON BAY 4

Mixed open: PORT MACQUARIE 7 d JERRABOMBERA 6