Woodbridge Under 16s coach, Grenfell's Garry Hewen believes his side will need to cut down their error rate if they are to lift the silverware in Sunday Western Women's Tackle competition grand final.
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The under 16's take on Castlereagh Cougars at 11.30am at Waratah Sporting Complex, Orange after they defeated the Orange Vipers in an absolute thriller at Apex Oval, Dubbo last Sunday.
Down 16-14 and with the full-time siren blaring in the background Abbie Grant put through a grubber kick from close to the line that sat up just short of the try line and was pounced on by Taylor Keppie who plunged over for the match winner.
The match was a grinding mistake riddled affair with both teams giving their all but you have to feel for the Vipers girls losing in such a gut wrenching fashion.
This Sunday Woodbridge will come up against a Castlereagh team that were very impressive in disposing of the Dubbo Goannas 38-20 in the other semi-final.
Woodbridge will again be without captain and chief playmaker Lily Holmes as well as strong running centre Chyanne Goolagong.
In other grand finals the Under 14s sees, at 10am Mid West Brumbies meeting Orange Vipers.
At 1.10pm Orange Vipers meet Woodbridge in the under 18s and at 2.50pm Orange Vipers and Dubbo Goannas meet for the first grade title.
Due to COVID restrictions tickets will need to be purchased prior to entering the ground. There will be no cash sales of tickets at the gate and for details on purchasing tickets please refer to the Western Women's Rugby League Facebook site.
Last weekend saw all four Woodbridge teams battling it out for Grand Final spots with the 18s also moving through to the big dance but unfortunately the 14s and Opens bowed out.
UNDER 14s
Jamie O'Loughlin's girls had an early start on Saturday when they had to be at Mudgee by 9am for an 10am start. It was not to be Woodbridge's day as they were outplayed by the Orange Vipers to the tune of 30 nil. Jamie said it was just one of those days but he couldn't be happier with the efforts of the players as they kept trying for the full 50 minutes. Jamie went on to say it was a most enjoyable season and complimented his girls on their behaviour and great attitude at training and on game days. This age group will look forward to season 2021 as the majority of the current squad will be eligible for the under 14s again.
UNDER 18s
Congratulations to Josh Annis-Brown and his girls who knocked off the Dubbo Goannas 22-8 on their home turf to book a Grand Final spot. This was a great result for a hard working team who have been under Josh's guidance for the previous two seasons and at times have struggled for numbers. The match was played in hot conditions and it was very tense until Woodbridge put in the killer blow in the last few minutes. A special mention has to go to Libby Peschka who played a full game in the under 16s and then backed up for the 18s scoring 3 tries. The Orange Vipers will be tough opponents for Woodbridge as shown by their last encounter at Grenfell two weeks ago when Woodbridge led 22-16 at three quarter time only to see the Vipers pile on 26 unanswered points in the final quarter. The Vipers will also have the home ground advantage but this Woodbridge team has been tenacious in recent weeks and the big improvers so best of luck in the decider girls.
FIRST GRADE
The Woodbridge and Dubbo teams ran out in 37 degree heat onto a field that was devoid of grass and had some confusing ground markings on it. A soccer field with bright lines was marked within the Rugby League field however the lines for the Rugby League field were quite light. The conditions may have been different but for Woodbridge the match mirrored their crucial loss to the Vipers the previous week at Grenfell. Dubbo shot out to an 18 nil lead with three converted tries in the opening 20 minutes but Woodbridge fought back with 4 tries of their own after some classy backline movements. Although they had scored 4 tries to 3 Woodbridge were still down 18-16 as their tries were scored in the corners resulting in difficult conversions. Dubbo scored 2 more tries and Woodbridge rounded out the scoring with a late try resulting in a 28-20 win to the Dubbo Goannas. Coach Andrew Pull congratulated his team on a top season and thought it was an enormous effort in going 5 tries each with the might of the Dubbo based Goannas side. It should be a ripper of a Grand Final between the Vipers and the Goannas on Sunday as they have built up quite a rivalry over the last few years.