Three of the initial eight teams belonged to the Young Cherrypickers - First Grade, Under 18s and Under 16s - who played in the Group Nine semi-finals.

First Grade took on South City Bulls at Harris Park on Saturday in what was a disappointing end to the season for the team who were given a surprising second shot at the finals.

After leading 16-nil at halftime, the Bulls blew Young off the park with a 28 point comeback.

Outgoing captain-coach Luke Branighan was disappointed they didn’t make the grand final, but praised his boys for fighting back after a mid-season injury crisis.

“I thought once we snuck into the semis we’d be pretty hard to beat, but we just didn’t turn up on the day and South City were too good for us,” he said.

“All-in-all this season it wasn’t a bad finish - obviously making the semi-finals is a good achievement.

“Like anything in life you always would like to finish on top, but we just couldn’t capitalise on the opportunity.”

The Under 18s also suffered a season-ending blow on Saturday as they went down to the Cootamundra Bulldogs, 22-35.

According to coach, Dean Bedford, Jake Walker and Jesse Corcoran were standouts on a day the team didn’t play to their full potential.

“Cootamundra didn’t really beat us, we lost it for ourselves,” he said.

“Semi-final footy is much tougher than a normal competition game and the boys just didn’t step up.

“It’s something they might have to work on in the future when they continue to play footy.”

He said it has been an up and down season with a squad which has struggled for numbers, but will no doubt benefit the club as players step into more senior roles.

“Me and Alf enjoyed coaching them, there’s a lot of good kids in the team and if they decide to hang around, in a few years time I reckon first and reserve grades will benefit from them,” he said.

It seems a semi-final losing trend was set in stone for the ‘Pickers, as the Under 16s felt the full force of South City Bulls in a 20-nil defeat at Gundagai on Sunday.

The Bulls took six early points from the Young side who were peppered with injuries and sickness. But the ‘Pickers stayed strong to hold the opposition out until the final 10 minutes, and that’s where things went sour.

South City started their points earning spree with a penalty goal, followed by two quick tries in the final five minutes.

“The game was a lot closer than the score reflected,” team manager Steve McIllhatton said.

“We’re very proud of their efforts considering half the team played with the flu and two played with injuries - if it wasn’t a semi-final they wouldn’t have played,” he said.

The Under 16s have one more chance at the grand final berth as they take on Temora at Alfred Oval on Sunday, in front of what they hope to be a big home crowd.

“As for me being involved with the team, and I think I can speak for Mick, Buck and Ted, it has been a good year,” McIllhatton said.

“We have a team with loads of ability and they really work hard at training and on game day.

“It's been a great experience, a lot of fun and definitely a bit stressful, but it's all been worth it as they are a great bunch of fellas and I hope we can show just how good we can be, get to that grand final and win it.”

It was a similar story for the Young Yabbies Rugby Union Club who had their hopes of securing a premiership title crushed on the weekend.

The first grade Yabbies lost to Temora 17-37 in the elimination semi-final at Wagga.

According to player Tom Wills, it has been a hard year for the Yabbies who have struggled with player numbers.

“The boys have always put in as much as they could, we’ve got a really good core group,” he said.

“They were competitive against every team, it just didn’t fall our way, Temora wanted the win more on the day.”

Standouts on the day were Sam Bunny and Rory Sheard who put in their typical hard game.

On the AFL front the Saints continue to march into the finals after a convincing win in Reserve Grade and a second chance for the Under 18s.

Despite falling victim to niggling tactics from the opposition, reserve grade took a 76-42 win over the Orange Tigers in the elimination final on Saturday.

“It was a good win but a very scrappy performance,” player Geoff Harmer said.

“We fell into the trap in second and third quarter - we weren’t switched on.

“It was a typical Saints performance in a last quarter blitz where we pulled ourself out of the poo really.”

Young take on Bathurst at Bathurst on Saturday for the right to meet Parkes in the grand final.

“We’re one-on-one with Bathurst this year and we know they’ll be fielding a strong team,” Harmer said.

“But we’ve got all the confidence we can beat them because we’ve done it before.”

The Under 18s also have their eyes on the prize despite going down to the Bathurst Bushrangers 29-130 on Saturday.

Due to their top two position the boys will be given a second chance, and will head to Bathurst to take on Orange on Saturday, for the right to play Bathurst in the grand final.

“As a club I think it’s the first time we’ve had two teams play on preliminary final day,” harmer said.

“It’s one to look forward to, to have both teams playing Saturday. 

“The perfect result would be two wins, to have two grades play on grand final day would be a fantastic result for us.”

As for the Lions there were mixed results on Sunday as both grades took on South Wagga at Hall Brothers Oval.

The women’s grade had a good start to the day as they took their first win from a side who has troubled them this season.

But nothing could stop the Young side from stamping a 4-2 victory on Wagga as they smash their way through to the finals.

Coach Brett Humphreys was pleased with the outcome.

“We went in with a set game plan and were able to stick to it,” Humphreys said.

“Early goals then slowed the pace in the second half to frustrate Wagga out of the game.”

But he knows there are areas which need strengthening as they tackle Junee in the first round of finals at Wagga this week.

Special mention this week goes to Players Player Tammi Brewer and Coaches Award recipient Katie Trompp who both had standout games in defence.

In a disappointing end to the weekend for the Lions, the first grade men’s side went down in a 1-nil loss to South Wagga.

According to coach Mark Mellish the side - who were missing key players - didn’t take advantage of their strengths which was the ticket to winning the match.

“We knew where we had to exploit them, but we didn’t,” Mellish said.

“It wasn’t the best performance which I’m disappointed with considering we needed a win.”

The loss puts the men’s side in sixth position on the ladder, and while missing out on the Pascoe Cup, they remain strong contenders for the plate finals consisting of teams ranging from fifth to eighth on the ladder.

They will play their preliminary final on Sunday against Tolland.