By Matthew Mazzier Bautista for the Griffith Journal

27 August 2026

The Griffith Dragons have continued their title hunt with a 32-6 win over the QUT Trouts on Wednesday night.

With this win, the Griffith Dragons earned a spot in next week’s Grand Final against UniSC, leaving them one win away from claiming the premiership.

It was a high intensity clash, with both teams’ forward packs throwing themselves at the defence across the entire duration of the game.

The Griffith defence was strong from the kick-off, pinning QUT in their own half, granting them the early territory advantage.

However, the Dragons weren’t able to capitalise on the field positioning being forced to defend their line on two separate occasions. 

QUT then bailed them out with back-to-back illegal ball strip penalties.

Griffith worked with what they were given and in the 8^th minute Jack Day and Terence Kane combined to shift the ball to the right edge, allowing Ethan Lawrence score in the right corner.

With the score at 4-0, QUT elected for a short restart, but Griffith defused the attempt granting them excellent field position to start their set.

QUT held the Dragons out but then knocked the ball on moments after. 

Followed by a QUT offside penalty, Jessie Osborne passed the ball to Alex Samuel at first receiver for a crash play, making the score 10-0 in the 14^th minute.

QUT then restarted the game with another short kick-off, but this time failing to clear the 10-metre line.

The Trouts were penalised with an incorrect restart but kept Griffith out.

Errors began to plague the game, with fatigue beginning to set in.

In the 31^st minute, a QUT player was sent to the sin bin following repeat infringements.

Griffith took advantage of the situation, with Jessie Osborne shifting the ball right to Emmanuel Tupigo, giving Ethan Lawrence his second try for the contest.

The scores stood at 16-0 as the teams went into the half-time break.

Coming out of the half, the teams started slow, with errors creeping in again.

In the 40^th minute, the Griffith defence dug in to keep QUT in their own half, giving them the advantage in territory.

Just seconds later, Warao Kaeok scooted out of dummy half from the halfway line, breaking the QUT defence to score underneath the post.

With the scores at 22-0, QUT tried another short restart, this time claiming possession.

Griffith’s defence struggled to combat the sudden shift in momentum, conceding a try in the 44^th minute, making the score 22-6.

The Dragons were determined to regain control over the game, but their short kick-off attempt went out on the full, allowing QUT to start their set from halfway.

With QUT knocking on the door every trip down the field, the Dragons intercepted the ball on two separate occasions and continued with their game management.

The contest began to turn into an arm wrestle with both teams going set for set.

In the 60^th minute, Jessie Osborne put in a chip over the QUT defence, breaking the line.

Emmanuel Tupigo supported the run and collected the ball to score in the right corner, increasing the lead 26-6.

Six minutes later, Warao Kaeok collected the ball from the scrum feed and sidestepped through the QUT defence, capping off an excellent solo try from the 40-metre line.

With the scores at 32-6 QUT tried one last stab with the short kick-off, but the Dragons defused the kick and closed out the game.

Coach Rob Lewis was pleased with the performance and acknowledged the pressure surrounding their matchup with QUT, given the record that the Dragons put forward this regular season.

“Tonight, there was a lot of pressure.

“We finished the season only losing one game.

“They (QUT) only won one game.

“If they would’ve won tonight, we go home.

“The guys knew that.

“The pressure was on; we are the team to beat.

“Tonight we had to come and do the job.

“And thankfully, the boys were up to the task, and we came away with the win.”

UniSC will meet Griffith in the finals having won their Semi-Final fixture, defeating the UQ Hounds 22-12.

The blockbuster Grand Final is set to take place next Thursday at Davies Park in West End.

Details for the fixture are still yet to be finalised, so be sure to keep an eye on the Dragons’ social media for the latest.

Keep up to date with the latest on the Dragons’ Instagram page: @griffithdragonsrlc