Queanbeyan Kangaroos 32 defeated Queanbeyan Blues 12
The Queanbeyan Kangaroos have torn apart local rivals Queanbeyan Blues’ premiership hat-trick aspirations, downing the side in last Sunday’s Canberra Raiders Cup major semi-final.
The 32-12 victory sees the Kangaroos notch their 16th straight win whilst earning a one-week break ahead of the grand final.
Kangaroos player-coach Aaron Gorrell was pleased his side had cemented a place in the final but admitted they must still be ready for the winner of next week’s preliminary final between the Blues and Warriors.
“We can't get too carried away, we've done everything we've needed to, but come a fortnight's time it all means nothing,” Gorrell said.
“It comes down to 80-plus minutes and we know they're [the Blues] going to be better for that if it's them or Westies.
“They're both quality sides and they've been close games every time we've played.
"Sometimes it can work against you, you've got a week off and they've got a bit of momentum."
Blues coach Simon Woolford conceded that his side struggled to come back after early pressure from the Kangaroos, but they’ll be better for it heading into next week’s preliminary.
“Both teams turned up ready to go, that first half hour was pretty brutal and they broke our back with two or three tries off kicks and we didn't really bounce back," Woolford said.
"In the second half they had a lot more ball than us and it told on us in the end. They had 40 sets to our 25, or something like that, so they thoroughly deserve that win and we have to regroup now.
"You would certainly like to be the first one in to the grand final, I'm not going to deny that, but we have to regroup now, so we'll get ready for West Belconnen next week."
West Belconnen 22 defeated Gungahlin Bulls 16
West Belconnen have defeated the Gungahlin Bulls on the back of goal-kicker Bobby Roberts in the Canberra Raiders Cup elimination final.
Roberts’ three goals were the deciding factor in West Belconnen’s 22-16 win, with the Bulls unable to add conversion points to any of their four tries.
West Belconnen coach Troy Thompson was glad his side had managed the win, but admitted they’ll have to refine their play to come away with the win in next week’s preliminary final against the Queanbeyan Blues.
“That was one of our worst performances, to be honest," Thompson said.
"Bulls played really good footy, they played structure, they probably completed 90 per cent of the sets. We didn't, we kept turning the ball over but they [West Belconnen] stuck in and got the win.
"Every time we were down in their half we just seemed to want to score a try off every set. We've just got to complete the sets, which is what we've been doing all year — just doing enough to win the games."
Bulls coach Lincoln Withers cited his side being constantly pressed in defence as the reason for the loss, but said he’s looking forward to future seasons as his young side is given more time to grow.
“"The effort's always there, it's been there all year. We just weren't as clinical today," Withers said.
"Both our teams, first grade and second grade, they're all kids. Only one or two are over 24, so it shows good stead for the future if they can hang in there and back up next year.
"We scored the same amount of tries, they just had a lot of the ball, and defending took a lot of the petrol out of us."
West Belconnen must now face the Queanbeyan Blues in next week’s preliminary and coach Troy Thompson admits after their scrappy win, his side will have to tidy up their game to make the grand final.
Preliminary Final
| Preliminary 3:15 PM Sun 4 Sep Seiffert Oval (Map) |
Queanbeyan United Firsts | vs | West Belconnen Firsts | MATCH CENTRE |
