Young’s Under 18 Cherrypickers travelled to Gundagai to take on the Tumut Blues in their opening semi-final match on Sunday.
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Young got off to a slow start and let Tumut get away to a 14-nil lead in the first 30 minutes.
Young defended the best they could but some bad errors and penalties cost the side and they struggled to keep up with the pace Tumut were playing.
It wasn’t until the ‘Pickers let the ball go through the hands of the back line that Kye Tiederman finished off with a try in the corner to kick them back into the game.
Young’s forwards – Jake Walker, Will Canellis and Jonah Potts – started to make some good meters up the middle, paving the way for Young. Half back Woody Norton weaved his way through to score next to the post right on half time, 10-14.
Coaches Steve Woolford and Stuart Norton were happy with the way the boys finished off the first half and told them to take that energy and intensity out for the second half, stay with Tumut for the first 10 minutes and they would come home with a win.
Despite this it was Tumut who scored first in second half, leading 20-10, but Young were far from finished and dug their heels in and defended everything Tumut threw at them.
When their next chance with the ball came Jake Walker scored off a great set move. Jesse Corcoran converted and the Young side were down 20-16.
With about 10 minutes remaining Young finally hit the lead with a Nick Boland converted try seeing Young go in front, 22-20.
The game was still anyone’s as the ball went from end to end before Tumut scored again to get back in front 24-22.
With only minutes left on the clock Young put themselves back in front with a try to Jonah Potts and converted by Jesse Corcoran.
The eventual outcome was 28-24 in what was an absolute nail-biting last two minutes with Tumut once again throwing everything they had at Young, but to the credit of the ‘Pickers they showed a lot of character and determination to hold Tumut back and go on to win the game.
Young will now play a red hot South City side in Wagga on Sunday and the winner of that game will advance through to the Group Nine Grand Final in a few weeks’ time.
Be sure to come over to Wagga on Sunday morning and cheer on the Under 18s as they continue to impress in this competition.
