Junior Grand Finals are locked and loaded

There’s only days to go until the Grand Finals of the Junior Competition, and the teams are ready and raring to go!

Of the ten clubs in the Junior competition, six have teams that have qualified for the Grand Finals. Add to this a seventh club that had a team play in a Preliminary Final and it’s a great sign that not only are numbers on a positive upward spiral, but that all clubs are becoming more competitive and the standard is rising.

In Sunday’s Preliminary Final match Northern Beaches Blues overcame Coffs Breakers in the Under 11 competition to seal their place in the Grand Final. Two seasons ago the Blues were unable to field a team in the Under 11 age group so qualifying for a Grand Final in such a short space of time is an incredible feat.

Northern Beaches Blues went through the regular season undefeated but lost to Port Macquarie Magpies Black in the Major Semi Final. These two teams will face off in Sunday’s Grand Final in what will be a match of contrasting styles. Northern Beaches love to keep the ball in close where their contested ball game is extremely strong, whereas Port play a much more expansive game, spreading the ball wide and kicking to their tall marking options.

The Under 13 Grand Final will see Sawtell Toormina Saints taking on the Macleay Valley Eagles. These two teams have been the standouts all season in this age group and will provide a fitting finale to the season. Between them they only lost three matches for the season, a combined total that is less than any other single club managed in 2017.

These two were combatants a fortnight ago in the Major Semi Final where Sawtell came out on top. Macleay Valley Eagles were understrength as a result of several players being involved in the State Finals of the Paul Kelly Cup in Sydney and had to earn their place in the Grand Final with a win in tough conditions against Bellingen Bulldogs.

Just five weeks ago the Grafton Tigers were languishing in fourth place on the Youth Girls ladder, now they’re into a Grand Final. The remarkable upturn in fortunes has been the result of getting a settled line-up on the park, and was sealed on a Sunday with a quality Preliminary Final win over the Macleay Valley Eagles. Grafton showed their competitiveness by pushing hard into the strong wind and nullifying any advantage that it might have given to the Eagles.

The Tigers will now be up against Coffs Breakers as both teams go in search of a slice of history as the first ever Youth Girls premiers on the North Coast. Breakers have been the form side of the season with their only loss coming in the opening round.

Sawtell Toormina Saints won through to the Under 15.5 Grand Final with a local derby victory over Coffs Breakers. Sawtell set up the win with good scoring first and third quarters with the wind at their backs, and through an outstanding defensive effort in the second when they limited Breakers to just one goal. Breakers kicked several late goals to add respectability to the scoreline, but the Saints were deserving winners on the day.

Port Macquarie Magpies await Sawtell in the Grand Final and represent a huge challenge. The Magpies are undefeated this season and have inflicted Sawtell’s only two defeats upon them. Sawtell will be hoping that Port start slowly after their week off so that they can apply early scoreboard pressure which will see the Magpies in uncharted territory.

All Grand Finals are on this Sunday (27 August) at C.ex Coffs International Stadium. The match day schedule is:

8:30am                 Auskick

9:30am                 Under 11 – Port Macquarie Magpies v Northern Beaches Blues

11:00am               Under 13 – Sawtell Toormina Saints v Macleay Valley Eagles

12:40pm               Youth Girls – Coffs Breakers v Grafton Tigers

2:15pm                 Under 15.5 – Port Macquarie Magpies v Sawtell Toormina Saints

Presentations, including end of season awards, will follow each age group.

Entry to the Stadium is by gold coin donation.