Chapman Valley make history with sixth straight championship

Chapman Valley are etched in GABA history, winning a record sixth consecutive championship.

It was far from their best game of the season, but they got the job done, knocking off an impressive Trades outfit, 71-52.

It caps off a remarkable era in the GABA, where the Valley made their 10th consecutive grand final and have won eight of the past nine grand finals.

Captain-coach Mat Wundenberg led from the front, and was brilliant at both ends of the court.

The Valley at times were mercurial and had the crowd in awe with their magic in offence.

The lead didn’t blow out beyond 17 points, due to Trades’ tenacity, and full credit should be given to the Tigers, who played a ripping game despite losing.

They got the margin down to 12 points with seven minutes remaining — but that was as close as they got in the dying stages.

Many people noted just how good the competition will be next year with Trades youngsters having another season under their belt, and the likes of Stateside coming on.

Aaron Ralph was solid in offence for the Valley and finished with 25 points, and Allan Ehte was also solid for the champions and finished with 15.

Wundenberg said six in a row was a reward for the great effort his boys have put in all year.

“In every respect, this year is the hardest we’ve trained, ” he said.

“We’ve had the most numbers at training. We thought the competition was a lot stronger this year.

“We worked hard and it paid dividends at the end. We managed to have the legs to get over them.”

The Warriors’ leader admitted it was far from their best game of the season, and credited the Tigers for it not being a blowout.

“Finals are always tight, it always comes down to defence and half-court sets, ” he said.

“I thought Trades played really good defence.

“They had their hands in the lanes, double-teamed the post, they did all the things they had to. It just came down to who was hitting shots, and we managed to hit a few. more than they did.”

Wundenberg said the whole group should go on next year, although he said Jarrod Brennan may decide to call it a day.

“Brennan’s talking about retirement, but we’ll get a few beers into him and see if he can hang around, ” he said.

Trades first year coach Mick Surtees can be pleased with his team’s effort, and will be keen to make amends next year, with star players Charles Thurkle and Jack Stone expected to get better.