In a nail biting finish Souths held on for a 13.18 (96) to 12.17. (89) victory after a second half fight back from the Cougars. The Bombers now face the Toowoomba Tigers in this Saturdays Allied Pickfords Grand Final which is the first time these clubs have met in a grand final since 1979 when the Pinkies overcame the Longhorns by 42 points.
Souths started the better of the 2 teams in Saturdays Preliminary Final getting out to a nine point lead at quarter time. That turned into a 20 point advantage at the main break before University went into the final change down by 4 straight goals.
In stark contrast to last week’s major semi final loss to the Tigers, the Cougars finished the stronger of the two teams as they kicked 4 goals to 1 in the final term to fall just 7 points short of Souths.
Souths coach Peter Howard has admitted to being a little worried about how his team faded in the final quarter, although he is adamant another strong week on the training track will rectify any problems there. “I suppose that is the only concern after the week, that we didn’t run it out. It’s a good feeling to be in the Grand Final again but we still have a few things to work on”, Howard stated after the match.
Souths full forward Keith Webb booted 5 goals in the victory, with midfielder Jeremy Crow booting 4 in a strong performance. Matt Englart and Trent Saxelby were also impressive for the Bombers, while Ashley Harley, Jarryd McCarthy and Regan Neilan shone in a beaten University side. McCarthy kicked 3 goals in the last quarter and almost snatched the game single handidly from the Bombers who had lead all day.
University coach Geoff Bolton gave his side a mark of eight out of ten for their season, but laments a slow start on Saturday proved costly, with the Cougars going out of the finals in straight sets following a 10 match winning streak heading into the finals.
The Tigers will meet the bombers in the AFL Darling Downs Grand Final this Saturday at Rockville Park at 2:30pm after the minor premiers come back from a week’s rest.
Last Modified on 29/09/2010 12:10