AFL –
It was a neighbour versus neighbour affair in Round 7 of the Hunter Central Coast AFL’s Black Diamond Cup Competitions, with the Wyong Magpies hosting the Gosford Tigers in their First Grade bout and the Lady Pies welcoming the Killarney Vale Bombers in theirs.
With the Pies and the Tigers sharing a similar mix of experience and fresh talent, a tight tussle was the result throughout much of the match, with the Tigers making better use of their chances in the first quarter to carve out a 30-9 lead.
Keen to equalise, the Pies found their rhythm in the second quarter, piling on the points to bring the scoreline to just 40-35 the Tigers’ way, heading into halftime.
Despite more excellent footy from the Pies in the third quarter, they were still trailing just behind the Tigers on the scoreboard, and with the scores at 71-62 heading into the final quarter it was do or die for Wyong.
“The final term was not one for the faint hearted and tested players, coaches and sidelines with a nail-biting finish,” said Pies’ President, Simon Wood.
“Gosford tried to pull away many times on the board, but Wyong replied every time and was not giving up on this one, which is another vast improvement on previous weeks.
“With five minutes to go, Wyong were down with Gosford pulling away by 14 points.
“Then the mood picked up with the home crowd very vocal and that resulted in a big finish from the Pies.
“The boys reacted, with Mitch Ede kicking a big goal from around 50m with four minutes to go.
“Samuel Jabour then kicked one in the dying stages to bring the score 102-104 the Tigers’ way.
“Two points in it and they were heading back to the centre bounce and on a roll.
“Unfortunately, on their trip back for the bounce, the siren sounded leaving the boys agonizingly two points down,” Wood said.
Despite the result, Wood said that coaching staff were very pleased with the Pies’ efforts.
“We should be very proud of the group for never giving up even when the opposition looked as though they were getting away, the boys rallied and got themselves back in it over and over again,” Wood said.
The Lady Pies had a much harder time in their fixture, with the Bombers showing why they’re the competition front runners.
The Pies were in fine form in the first quarter, with strong defence and even better teamwork not only keeping the Bombers to just two goals but also seeing the Pies keep the scoreline relatively even at 7-15 the Bombers’ way.
The second quarter saw the Bombers find the form that’s propelled them to the top of the pack this season, breaking through the Pies’ solid defensive line to ramp up their lead.
Undeterred, the Pies continued to find chances to chip away at the Bombers’ defence and to bolster their own, with Rach Bade sneaking across the line to bring the scoreline to 13-57 at halftime.
The third quarter was the best of the game for the Pies, with Chloe Laska hitting the scoreboard for her debut goal and the defenders holding strong to keep the Bombers to a one goal quarter.
A full team effort in the fourth saw the Bombers drive it home, racking up more goals, to ultimately take the match 19-89.
Wood said the scoreboard was not reflective of the effort put in by the Pies, giving praise to defenders who made the Bombers work for every one of their points.
“In a rebuilding year, the coaching staff could not have been prouder of what the girls did on Saturday and wouldn’t swap out a single player that represented the club on the weekend,” Wood said.
Dilon Luke