Kingston had a double celebration on Saturday when they faced Lucindale. The Saints won a tight contest to win the Wilks Cup, and they celebrated Ben Warner, who played in his 250th game for the club.
The Roos jumped the Saints early in the game as they looked to establish a footing in the contest. The visitors scored the first goal of the game through Luke Kelsh, who gave the Roos an early eight-point lead. Kingston got going and soon had the reply through Ben Warner after George Brice-Marwood did some hard work to get the ball to Connor Nutting, who found Ben Warner for the goal from the goal line. Both teams were now right in the contest. Connor Nutting put Kingston in front with a straight kick at goal. Lucindale's Alexander Pitt replied as the Saints and the Roos were going goal for goal. The Saints led by two points at quarter time. Ben Warner, Jack Harding, Jack Tapfield, and Connor Nutting had started the game well for the Saints. Luke Kelsh, Jack Yates, Tom Fisher, and Tyson Brazel looked lively for the Roos during the opening quarter.
Lucindale again started to attack at the start of the second quarter. The visitors scored a point before the Saints went the length of the field from the kick-in to get the ball to Alex Barns, who kicked the goal. Connor Nutting and Tyler Baker followed up with goals as the Saints opened up a lead of 21 points. The Saints were getting their running game going with players such as Hagan Wright, Ben Warner, Harry Tunkin, Campbell Watts, and Jack Armfield important in several plays. Jack Harding and Hugo Lyon were holding the ruck down for the Saints, which allowed Alex Barns to play deep forward. The Roos hit back as Tyson Brazel and coach Riley McFarlane kicked goals to give the team a boost. The run from Alexander Pitt, Tom Fisher, and Jack Yates was important for the Roos and helped them get back into the contest. Kingston held a nine-point lead at halftime.
Lucindale hit the ground running early in the third quarter when Luke Kelsh was looking strong in attack. Luke kicked the first two goals of the third quarter to help the Roos take the lead by three points. Ryan Kemp worked his way into the game for the Roos, and teammates Tom Fisher, Tyson Brazel, and Jack Yates were giving the team a boost. The Saints hit back after George Brice-Marwood found Alex Barns with a left-foot snap-chip pass, who converted to get the Saints back the lead. Kingston got on a roll again as Ben Warner continued his strong milestone game by kicking a goal, and Alex Barns soon had another goal as the Saints pushed ahead by sixteen points. The Saints were getting their running game going again. Harry Tunkin, Jack Harding, Sam Robertson, Campbell Watts, and Jack Tapfield did some important things during the purple patch of play. Edward Shaw also held down the defence for the Saints with some great intercept marks and some smart spoils. Kingston pushed out to a 22-point lead after Alex Barns had a kick touched, but it rolled 30 metres along the ground to Ben Warner, who roved the ball and snapped a goal. The Saints had done a lot of hard work to establish a commanding lead. The Roos hit back late, but two misses at goal saw them trailing at three quarter time by twenty points.
Kingston was on the back foot at the start of the last quarter as the Roos attacked hard. Ryan Kemp lifted and gave the visitors the first goal of the last quarter. The Roos had two shots in a row but missed them as the Saints made them pay when Alex Barns kicked a goal to push the Saints 18 points clear. Lucindale responded quickly when Alexander Pitt kicked a goal to bring the margin back to twelve points. The Roos were going hard and tough at the Saints players as their defensive style kicked in. Tom Fisher, Tyson Brazel, Ryan Kemp, and Alexander Pitt were giving the Roos a big lift late. The Saints were defending hard, as players such as Campbell Watts, Edward Shaw, Jack Tapfield, and Sam Robertson were doing a lot of good defensive acts. The Roos cut the Saints' lead to three points after Luke Kelsh kicked a goal as he was having a good game. The game was tight, and the players were desperate. Kingston held strong and was able to do enough to hold out the Roos and get the victory. The win was a good one, and in Ben Warner's 250th, the players carried him off to a good crowd's applause.
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