After their narrow loss to UTS last week, the Div 1 Goannas headed back to Henson looking to overturn that result against UNSW/ES and book a rematch with UTS in a preliminary final.
The Goannas got off to a fantastic start, easily having the best of the play early, however the goal kicking woes from last week continued, and they were unable to take full advantage of their dominance. At quarter time the lead was 8 points, and despite continuing to dominate the game the Goannas could just not shake the opposition. A couple of late goals to UNSW gave them a 10 point half time lead and the momentum.
With their season on the line the Goannas came out with plenty of fire in the third term, and an early goal gave them hope to turn things around. This was not to be, as the wastefulness in front of goal continued, compounded by UNSW taking their chances and extending their lead to 20 points at the last change. The Goannas threw caution to the wind in the last, throwing everything they had at it to stay alive, but it was a case of too little too late, and an 18 point loss saw the Goannas season come to an end.
Jack Schwarze was named best on ground with plenty of run all day, topped off with a wonderful hanger to provide a rare highlight. Jordan Pidgeon, Josh Terrey and Bryce Mayne also ran and tried tirelessly right to the very end, Matt Cahill did a wonderful shut down job on the oppositions key forward, and Luke McLeod lead the way as always with plenty of tough footy.
The club expresses a big thank you to Shane Jorgensen and his team for another excellent season for our First Grade team. The team continues to be a big contender in one of the toughest competitions each year, and we can sense that something big is not too far off for this group.
The Under 18 Goannas were in action at Blacktown, squaring off against Manly, and it was all to play for with the winner progressing straight to the Grand Final. The draw in recent weeks have seen the boys not have much footy, and there was evidence of this rust as the Wolves got the early jump in the game, kicking 4 unanswered goals in the first quarter to establish dominance in the game.
The game became a tighter affair in the second and third quarters, with the Goannas being able to keep pace with the Wolves, and at the start of the last quarter trailed by 42 points. It would be a tough comeback from here, but the possibility was there if the boys could produce a big quarter. In the end however, Manly put any thoughts of a comeback out of the question as they ran away with the game in the last quarter to consign the Goannas to a 73 point loss.
Arin Rickett continued his excellent season and was best on ground, with Angad Roy, Mitch Bleesing, Jake Stiles, Jake Hutt and Jackson Strahan all putting in excellent efforts on a tought day for the boys, who now face Macquarie Uni for the chance to get into the Grand Final.
Final Scores:
Div 1 - Goannas 5.17.47 lost to UNSW/ES 9.11.65
U/18's - Goannas 5.7.37 lost to Manly 17.8.110
Last Modified on 28/01/2014 20:21