David vs Goliath Showdown looms after BRATS close the gap in the Gong

It’s a ‘David vs Goliath’ with less slingshots and more goggles, bikes and runners as we come to the pointy end of the Foragers Sydney Triathlon League 1 series.

With one round to go, Rozelle Pulse, who are the smallest club in League 1, hold a small but potentially crucial lead over one of the NSW’s largest clubs, the Bondi BRATS.

Rozelle Pulse have been the surprise packet in recent seasons, winning Division 2 in 2020 and earning promotion in such an emphatic manner that their collection of points would have made them title contenders in Division 1! Pulse have a stable of athletes that would be the envy of nearly every other club in NSW, including some of NSW’s best up and coming juniors and U23 athletes. History has shown that if they present with their full complement of athletes, they can beat nearly anyone on their day.

But standing in their path to success is Goliath, the Bondi BRATS. One of the largest clubs in NSW, they have been closing the gap steadily on Pulse over the last few round and took a huge team down to Elite Energy’s Wollongong Triathlon Festival, emerging victorious with 11.5 points.  Critical to their victory was Pratten and Brooks.  Something special is building over in Bondi, with growth in the club, great leadership and renewed vigour.

Silver in the Gong was the Coogee Comets, who have had a slow season by their lofty standards. The focus of the Comets at this late stage will be avoiding relegation down to Sydney Triathlon League 2, which seems all but assured, given the gap they’ve opened up over the ACT Dragons and Eastern Suburbs Swans. Coogee have made their intention clear – the TNSW Club Champs is their main push for silverware this season, with just under 40 of their membership toeing the line, matching it with the big gun of the division, Balance and UTS.

A quick check of the ‘Tale of the Tape’ demonstrates the huge difference in terms of the membership size but due to the points system of the ICS, it allows large and small clubs to compete on a level playing field.

With 6 Pulse athletes currently entered to race, despite holding a 5.5 point buffer zone over the BRATS, Rozelle Pulse look unlikely to be able to hold on. They are all but assured at least two Age Group wins at the Club Champs, with Under 23 athletes Jayden and Luke Schofield Twins and the Olsen-Keatings – all of whom are no stranger to the top step of the podium. But the BRATS have talent too and nearly tripe the number of athletes registered to race. Their strength is not in the junior divisions, but in other age groups and if the numbers at Wollongong are anything to go by, there are plenty more to register.

It’s set to be a battle royale, with the main prize on the line being promotion to the illustrious Sydney Triathlon Premier League.  For Rozelle Pulse, it would be a significant moment in their clubs ‘coming of age’ story, being a tiny little club from the Inner West and matching it with the biggest 600 pound gorillas of the Triathlon NSW club landscape including the Warringah Waves and the Hills Red Army. For Bondi BRATS, victory and promotion to the premier league will be the culmination of a resurgence of one of a former powerhouse club, with a long and famous history dating back to the start of the sport of triathlon.

Remember, entries are still on sale: Club Championships Triathlon NSW | Elite Energy