Junior Grand Finals are ready to go!

The countdown is on to the Junior Grand Finals after yesterday’s Preliminary Finals saw four further teams book their place in the biggest matches of the season.

The Under 11  Grand Final will be an all Port Macquarie affair after the Flyers proved too strong for Nambucca Valley Lions.

The Flyers used the strong breeze at Richardson Park to great effect in the first quarter of the match to lead by 21 at the first break. The Lions weren’t able to replicate this effort with the wind at their backs which left them in a precarious position going into the second half. A further two goals to the Flyers in the third term saw them all but ice the match, which they duly did in the final quarter.

Nambucca Valley Lions wiped away some of the disappointment with a win over Northern Beaches Blues in the Under 13 to progress to the Grand Final.

There were only seven points separating the teams at half time in what had been a griping encounter to that point. A three goal blitz by the Lions in the third quarter put them in control of the contest, and when they kicked the first two goals of the last term against the breeze, the match was as good as theirs.

The rapid rise of the Bellingen Bulldogs Youth Girls team continued as they booked a Grand Final berth in their first season with a gutsy win over Coffs Harbour Breakers.

The Bulldogs were on from the first bounce whereas the Breakers looked nervous. The Dogs held a handy 16 point lead at half time before Breakers launched a spirited comeback in the third quarter to trail by just three at quarter time. With the match on a knife’s edge, Bellingen was able to kick two goals whilst also holding Breakers goalless to claim a classic encounter.

The Under 15 match between Sawtell Toormina Saints and Macleay Valley Eagles was an open, flowing encounter that Sawtell claimed with superior combination play.

Both teams ran freely and moved the ball quickly on the open expanses of Richardson Park. Kicking with the breeze in the first quarter quickly leapt out to a five goal lead before the Eagles landed the last goal of the quarter. The second quarter was much tighter before the match opened up again throughout the second half. The Eagles fought hard throughout and won the last quarter by a solitary point, but Sawtell’s superior scoring in each of the three preceding quarters ensured they would be there on the last day of the season.

The Grand Finals are at C.ex Coffs International Stadium on Sunday 25 August. The match day program is below.

9:30am               Under 11 – Port Macquarie Swoopers v Port Macquarie Flyers

11:10am              Under 13 – Bellingen Bulldogs v Nambucca Valley Lions

12:50pm             Youth Girls – Grafton Tigers v Bellingen Bulldogs

2:30pm               Under 15 – Grafton Tigers v Sawtell Toormina Saints

Entry to the Stadium is by gold coin donation.