Saints Go Marching Into Grand Final
Sawtell Toormina Saints love the big stage and they proved that again with a gritty win over Coffs Breakers to become the first team through to the 2017 Senior Grand Final.
Breakers had been the form side for most of the season and were the favourites to take out the Qualifying Semi Final but the Sawtell line-up was as strong as it has been all season following the return from injury of several key players.
A four goal breeze at the Stadium meant that teams needed to take advantage with it at their backs but neither side was able to in the first half. Breakers started the match slowly and looked to be off the pace for much of the first half, by which time Sawtell had moved comfortably to a five goal lead. Just as things were starting to look bleak for the Breakers they managed to boot the last two goals of the quarter through Fraser Duryea and Nick Stanlan-Velt to cut Sawtell’s lead to 16 points at the long break.
Mckinlay Pearce kicked the first goal of the third term and the Breakers crowd started to come into the game, but the reply from Jim Angel, his third of the day, restored the Saints lead. The third term was a real arm wrestle with neither side able to exert any significant advantage which kept scoring opportunities to a minimum. With only two goals posted for the quarter Sawtell headed into the final term clinging tightly to a 14 point advantage but Breakers would come with the wind.
Sawtell’s Mitch Napier was well held by Nic von Schill in the first half but had more impact on the match the longer it went. His early goal gave the Saints a handy buffer and with further goals from Malcolm Trotter and Jed Ellis-Cluff cancelling out Breakers’ efforts by Duryea and Stanlan-Velt the Saints held on for a solid 19 point win.
Luke Matthews was the usual ball magnet for Sawtell, whilst Hamish Bird and Danniel Johnson gave the team plenty of run and penetration from out wide. Jim Angel lead the scoring with 3 goals and got good support from Mitch Napier with 2.
The Saints now have a week off before the Grand Final where they will look to make it four premierships in a row.
Chris Frangos and Fraser Duryea battled hard all day for Coffs Breakers but the overall team performance was down on recent weeks. Breakers need to re-group ahead of next week’s Preliminary Final against Port Macquarie Magpies if they want a shot at redemption against Sawtell on Grand Final day.
Sawtell Toormina Saints 11.10.76 defeated Coffs Breakers 8.9.57
Grafton Tigers Under 18s became the first team from Tigerland to progress to a Grand Final since 2012 with a quality win over Coffs Breakers.
The young Tigers’ play was characterised by flowing moves and strong finishing that was as good as any on display across the three grades. Grafton were out to two goal lead by quarter time and were able to stretch that lead at every break to rack up a convincing 40 point victory.
Lachie Glover led the way for the Tigers with six goals, whilst state representative Hamish Ellem booted four. These two players got great service and support from Kade Bagnall, Dan Breward (2 goals), Ronan Leslie, Kieran Francis (2 goals), and Jarrod Richards (2 goals), whilst Clancy O’Neill marshalled the back line beautifully.
The loss was Breakers’ first to Grafton this season and was far from their best performance of the season. Aiden Wallace offered plenty of run, Lachlan Lloyd set up plenty of attack from half back, and Damian Dickson was as elusive as always when he got his hands on the ball.
Grafton Tigers 13.10.88 defeated Coffs Breakers 7.6.48
The news wasn’t all bad for Coffs Breakers with their Reserves providing the silver lining to an otherwise bleak day with victory over Sawtell Toormina Saints.
This match was tight in the first quarter with Breakers holding a slender 7 point lead at the first break, but their ability to hold Sawtell to just two goals for the remainder of the match, whilst posting 5 of their own was the key to the match.
Ryan Turner led the way with four goals for Breakers, Josh Lansdowne added two, whilst Tim Heather and Glen Golsby-Smith contributed one apiece.
Sawtell were unable to find a multiple goal kicker and could only contribute singles through Mike Zucker, Andy Ellis, Khane Chidester, and Curtis Smith.
The four goal win sees Breakers’ Reserves in prime position to become the club’s first open age team to take out a flag.
Coffs Breakers 8.5.53 defeated Sawtell Toormina Saints 4.3.27
Next week’s Preliminary Finals are the last chance for teams to keep their premiership dream alive. Coffs Breakers will be in action in both matches, facing off against Port Macquarie Magpies in the Seniors and Sawtell Toormina Saints in Under 18. Both matches are at C.ex Coffs International Stadium with action getting underway at 12:30pm.