We will never know if West Tamworth's "good vibe" train would have been derailed in the grand final by Old Boys.
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The washed-out finale left Wests captain Shaun Stevenson "devastated", "shattered" and also feeling like "rubbish". It left Old Boys captain Ben Middlebrook feeling "a bit hollow", after his side were awarded the title due to their minor premiership status.
But Middlebrook was delighted that Old Boys regrouped so well after South Tamworth snapped their four-season premiership reign last year.
Starting the season with a few new faces in the side (including talent teens Adam McGuirk and Landan Price) but mostly armed with the same core of players who won them premierships, Old Boys overcame a sluggish start to 2018-19 to claim the minor premiership by more and 35 points.
They rode a nine-round unbeaten run into the grand final.
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Last on the ladder in early January, West Tamworth were unbeaten over six rounds heading into the grand final. Stevenson was "backing" his side "all the way" to win the finale. They were, however, the underdogs.
Middlebrook praised the way his new players and his old guard gelled this season.
"You know, we had four new players this year," he said. "It took us a month or two to get into it. But once we got into it, we played some really good cricket."
Middlebrook said that while allrounder Aaron Hazlewood's destructive form, especially with the ball (he took 37 wickets in seven innings after returning from injury) garnered headlines, "our six, seven batters all make contributions every other week".
"And our bowlers all chip in," he added. "They did the job before Aaron came back.
"We've just got a good group. And hopefully we can keep the majority of the guys here for next season and go for two in a row."
