In the first game on Tamworth's NO.1 Oval the Kangaroos and the Swans both needed to win to get the double chance in the first week of the finals. The first quarter had the Swans score first, a behind, before kicking the first goal of the game. The Kangaroos then answered with their first goal before both teams kicked a number of behinds. The Swans then kicked 3 goals in a row before the Kangaroos closed the quarter out with a goal. The Swans held a 15 point lead at quarter time thanks to good team play and a slight breeze. The Swans started the second quarter with a goal and one could be forgiven thinking the Swans had the game well in hand. After again trading behinds the Kangaroos then kicked two goals courtesy of Pat Walton with a single goal reply from the Swans. The Kangaroos closed out the quarter by taking control of the game and kicking 4 goals to take a 2 goal lead into the main break. The Swans opened the third quarter with two goals after which the Kangaroos kicked the next three goals before the two clubs traded goals and the Kangaroos finished up with a 13 point lead at the final break. The fourth quarter was all set up for a classic finish and it didn't disappoint. The Swans again kicked the first goal for the quarter then the Kangaroos kicked the next three goals giving them the biggest lead of the game, 25 points. But the Swans were not done with yet and they finished the game with another four goals to go down by just 3 points. The Kangaroos named captain, Tim Cotter, as their best player and Pat Walton kicked 4 goals. Fot the Swans they named Andrew Donohue as their best player and Gavin Knee kicked 4 goals.
At the Kennel the Nomads were hoping to finish their season on a high. Unfortunately for them the Bulldogs had other ideas. The first quarter had the Bulldogs showing why they are in the finals and had they kicked straight would have put huge pressure on the Nomads by the first break. As it was the Bulldogs left the door open leading by just 9 points at the break. The second quarter was the reverse with the Nomads taking its turn to kick inaccurately piling on two goals nine behinds for the quarter. At the same time the Bulldogs could only manage one goal, three behinds and the Nomads had a 3 point lead at the main break. The third quarter was again close with both teams kicking two goals apiece and the nomads lead was cut to just 1 point at the last break. Both teams had their chances to win in the last quarter kicking three goals each but it was the Bulldogs five behinds to the Nomads three behinds that was the difference giving the bulldogs a 1 point win. The Bulldogs named John Woolaston as their best player with Shane Higgins kicking 4 goals. For the Nomads named Adam Wright as their best player and Caleb Dobos kicked 5 goals to add to his late season good form in front of goal.
In the last game at NO.1 Oval the Saints faced off against the Cats. In the Cats final game of the year they were hoping to take it right up to the Saints but unfortunately for them the Saints had second spot on the ladder firmly in their sights. The Saints attacked the start of the game with fierce desire kicking ten goals, six to Mick Viney, before the Cats got their only goal of the quarter. This gave the Saints a 56 point lead. The second quarter saw the Cats slow the Saints scoring right down. It took 5 minutes before the Saints scored its first goal of the quarter. The Cats did well in this quarter but the Saints still took a 62 point lead into the long break. The Saints should have kicked away in the third quarter but their kicking at goal let them down. They kicked four goals eight behinds to the Cats two goals two behinds and took a healthy 80 point lead into the last break. In the last quarter the Saints kicked another seven goals and could have had more. The cats did get another two goals but their long season finally came to an end with a 116 point loss. The Saints best player was Mick Viney with 14 goals, setting a new club record for most goals in a game. The Cats named Adam Warner as their best player and had the ever reliable Stuart McAdam chip in with 4 goals.
So next week in the first week of the finals we will have a double header in Tamworth with the Swans playing the Bulldogs in the minor semi final at 12.30pm. The major semi final will be between the Kangaroos and the Saints at 3pm.
Last Modified on 22/08/2009 23:52