The Crusaders’ Waratah Youth League teams had their post-season hopes dashed in the final quarters of play in their respective semi-final match-ups on August 26.
The Youth Women got things underway at 9.30am on the day when they travelled to Sutherland to take on the Norths Bears.
The match saw the teams trading the lead back and forth until deep into the second half when the Crusaders broke away with some momentum.
Co-Captain Bronte Moore did her part to ensure her team stayed on top of things with a heroic effort on both sides of the ball.
But things turned sour for the Crusaders as they headed into the fourth quarter, despite big centre Kasey Quigley keeping things alive with a personal score of 19 points.
Defensive effort was lacking in the final period of play with the Crusaders allowing 17 points to their 10.
The Norths Bears ran away with the match 65-56, going on to down Manly Sea-Eagles in the final the following day.
The Youth Men travelled to Bankstown to take on the Hills Hornets at 3.30pm.
It was a shaky start for both teams as they took turns turning over the ball and trading the lead, with the first quarter seeing the Hornets with a 17-15 lead.
The final few minutes of the second half saw Crusaders veterans Jamal Shoaib and captain Alex Bailey tip the momentum with the Crusaders enjoying an 8-point lead going into half-time.
The Hornets clawed their way back in the third quarter, with the score locked at 52-52 going into the final period.
The Hornets pulled away in the last quarter and came away with a 77-61 win, only to be defeated by the Maitland Mustangs in the final the next day.
While it was a disappointing end to the season for the Crusaders youth squads, their consistent top four finishes year after year haven’t gone unnoticed.
Captain of the Youth Men Alex Bailey and fellow veteran Jamal Shoaib were selected for the Waratah Youth League Men’s All-Star Five this year – another award for Bailey on top of his impressive 500-point season.
Youth Men’s defensive anchor Isaac Wooller was named Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive year and the Youth Women’s coach Losalini Katia was named Coach of the Year in her debut year in the head coach role.
Stefan Kataric