Reserves Lose First Match in Finals Campaign!

The Tigers Reserve Grade winning streak came to an end last Saturday with Ainslie inflicting a second semi final defeat on the reigning premiers. At one stage early in the match they were five goals in arrears only to claw their way back to a break even point by half time.

It was goal for goal, for the remainder of the match until the Tricolours asserted their authority late in the final quarter to eventually kick away to win by 21 points. There will be some nervous lads at training this week in preparation for the preliminary final this Saturday at Manuka Oval. A number of players went missing last weekend and their positions are now up for grabs.

With injured players Liam Wilkinson, Casey Walsh and Michael Hardy all available this week, there will be plenty of pressure for some to retain their spots. Mitch May was unavailable. Add Hayden Kelly and Taylor Lee to those that missed out and the selectors have plenty of ammunition to bring back into the team if required.

One shining light was the performance of Ryan Price. He dominated proceeding once out on the paddock and never gave an inch throughout the match. Paul Franchi was another who used every bit of his pace to evade opposition players and was a constant during the game. Veteran Jon Elias and seasoned grand finalist – Daniel McGavin both stood tall in the backline on some quality opponents. Other players of note were Brett Ormston and Jackson Brooker both of whom gained heaps of possession around the ground.

It was probably one of their poorest performances of the year with a quality line up. They will certainly need to up the intensity this week if they are to go through to a sixth successive grand final in this grade and ninth in eleven years.

QUEANBEYAN 1 1 7 2 9 3 10 6 (66) AINSLIE 5 1 7 2 10 4 13 9 (87)QUEANBEYAN Goal Kickers: J. DANIEL 2, P. Franchi 2, J. Manie 2, B. WATTS , D. CORCORAN , R. Price , B. WARD Best Players: R. Price, P. Franchi, J. ELIAS, D. McGavin, J. Brooker, B. ORMSTON AINSLIE Goal Kickers: A. GROZINGER 3, C. Baxter 2, K. Morris , L. O”NEILL , N. ROBERTSON , C. HAINING , S. CAMPBELL , B. PERRY , M. ABLETT , L. Crook Best Players: A. OLSON, S. CAMPBELL, J. Cuzner, M. Johnston, J. Kew, L. O”NEILL