Overcoming a mid-season slump, Gundagai were back to their best with a 48-4 thumping of Young in the Group Nine qualifying final.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Giving their premiership credentials a massive push, last year’s grand finalists looked in a different league at Anzac Park on Saturday.
The Tigers got off to the perfect start and never really gave the Cherrypickers a chance to start the finals with a bang. They scored after six minutes and keep their foot on the pedal throughout the nine tries to one hammering.
It took 76 minutes for Young to finally score and they needed a clever kick from captain-coach James Woolford to do so. His grubber kick was perfectly weighted for Matt Murray to score, but it was just a mere consolation for the Pickers, who will now be fighting for their season against Tumut at Alfred Park on Saturday.
Captain-coach James Smart was pleased by how his team stepped up.
“Obviously semi-finals is a different ball game and it is something we spoke about during the week,” Smart said. “We knew we had a quality team and it was just a matter of turning up with the right energy.”
Damian Willis got things rolling for the Tigers we he and winger Dylan Cole combined for the first try after six minutes.
Cole then had his own four-pointer when he was on the receiving end from a lovely pass from Dane O’Hehir.
Young looked a good chance to hit back before Tyron Gorman intercepted a Woolford pass on his own goal line before the Tigers worked up the field with 13 minutes in the half.
O’Hehir then put Luke Berkrey under the posts before Brock Dunn scored with six minutes left in the half to hand the Tigers a 22-0 lead at half-time.
Any hopes of a Young recovery were soon extingushed as Smart scored three minutes into the second half.
He had his second seven minutes later before O’Hehir crossed for any easy try.
The tries kept on coming.
Berkrey then made a big bust up the middle to put O’Hehir over before Willis iced the win with a sublime flick pass to put Dylan Cole over.
While Young scored right at the end, Smart was thrilled with his team’s defensive effort and how well they scrambled for each other.
Despite the big win, the Tigers aren’t getting too far ahead of themselves as a clash with Southcity approaches.
With a place in the grand final up for grabs, Smart is looking for the team to continue their strong form.
“That is only week one down,” he said.
“There is plenty more to do.
“(Southcity) will be fresh and ready to go, as they always are.
“It is a huge challenge next week.”
