Tasmania loses men’s and women’s rep game thrillers to Sydney-Canberra at North Hobart Oval
Sydney-Canberra dished up double trouble for Tasmania in their rep games in Hobart on Saturday. How the Blues pulled off their successful raid.
Local Sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Local Sport. Followed categories will be added to My News.
It was the one that got away for Tasmania’s senior academy Devils at North Hobart Oval on Saturday as a powerful AFL Sydney-Canberra combination staged a second-half comeback that saw the Blues walk away a 10-point win.
The boys in the “Map” lived up to their reputation as a hard-hitting, hard-tackling team in the first half to lead by 18 points at half-time.
But a disastrous third term by the Tasmanians, held scoreless by Sydney-Canberra on the back of the top-shelf defence of Jack Nunn and Christian Loone, saw the Blues take a six-point lead into the final change.
Despite a late charge, Tasmania fell short, much to the chagrin of coach Jeromey Webberley.
“You look at scoring shots and then look at the actual game, we were plus 20 at stoppage, plus 10 or 12 inside 50s, and we lose the game,” Webberley said.
Super Sam Siggins was set for a blinder when he kicked three goals for Tasmania in the opening term, all within a seven-minute rampage.
The rain came down hard at quarter-time and changed the nature of the game.
Tasmania’s run-and-stun dissolved and it became slippery-ball warfare
“We struggled to get aerial dominance after quarter-time in our front half and then when we did get it on the ground we just couldn’t pin the ball in there and we couldn’t generate easy score,” Webberley said.
“A lot of the stuff we needed to get right, we got right.
“But we just weren’t efficient enough when we went inside 50.”
Andrew Phillips was a powerhouse in the ruck for Tasmania, which earned him the medal as Tassie’s best, while hard-running Kale Galiba won the medal as Sydney-Canberra’s best.
Blues coach Ryan O’Keefe said they got what they expected from Tasmania.
“We knew it was going to be a fierce contest,” O’Keefe said.
“Tassie came out and really tested us and at half-time they were harder than us, better at the contest and playing much better footy.
“I had to challenge our boys to start doing the basics well and we really stepped up the contest part of our game and that’s what got us back into it.”
Cooper Kilpatrick and Zachary Youlten were Sydney-Canberra’s leading goal-kickers with two each, while Alex Witherden and Josh Bruce managed one apiece.
The combined outfit was selected from 16 State League teams between the Sydney and Canberra competitions.
“Footy up out way is really strong,” O’Keefe said.
“There’s so much talent and so much passion, and all of these players just love playing this game.
“In terms of state-of-origin footy, if there was like a state league-state-of-origin, I reckon that would be awesome.
“These players they love it, they need it, and that would be something special for them.”
TASMANIA v SYDNEY-CANBERRA
WOMEN
Tasmania came home like a steam train but its 11th challenge fell agonisingly short and Sydney-Canberra achieved its goal of a “rampage” in Hobart on Saturday.
A blistering first term set up the Blues and despite not kicking a goal in the second half, they fell in by four points.
Sydney-Canberra coach Kristie Whittard said her team was determined to make it back to back wins over Tasmania.
“We came here to play good footy and rampage through Tassie and show them what NSW footy is about,” she said.
“The girls worked all day, their pressure was right up there and they showed the different dimensions of footy they can play.”
Tasmania was led boldly by gun onballer Sarah Skinner, who won the medal as Tassie’s best player.
For Tasmanian coach Deb Reynolds it was a matter of so close but yet so far.
“Who would have thought four points would feel so insignificant and so significant at the same time,” she said.
“I’m just extremely proud of how much the girls have grown and developed as individuals and as a team.”
Kicking with a four-goal breeze, Sydney-Canberra had the Tasmanian backline under siege in the opening quarter.
The locals met the challenge until midway through the term when the women in blue kicked three goals in three minutes, off the boots of Michelle Foscarini, Kenya Fahey and Zoe Allen.
It took Tasmania 30 seconds to get its first goal on the board kicking with the wind in the second, when ruck Jas Freestone drove the ball deep into attack from the opening bounce where Molly Mitchell kicked the major.
The game levelled off to a ground battle in the midfield and the only time a forward line was successfully breached was when key forward Lauren Bourgeois kicked Sydney-Canberra’s fourth, and final, goal for an 18-point lead at the long break.
Sydney-Canberra scored only a behind in the second half, while Tasmania kicked three straight majors to fall just short.
Sydney-Canberra captain Aimee Whelan won the medal as her team’s best team, right before she lifted the cup with Whittard.
|”They worked together as a team, they connected very well, competed and celebrated, and that’s all we ask,” Whittard said.”
Originally published as Tasmania loses men’s and women’s rep game thrillers to Sydney-Canberra at North Hobart Oval
‘Very clinical’: Mercy rule invoked in Group 2 rout
One side has surged into the top four after a crucial local derby win while another bounced back from disappointment in emphatic fashion in Group 2.
Netball NSW Premier League players to watch in the finals
The best of the best are heading to finals, and these 20+ players are leading the charge. These are the U23s and Opens players to watch in the Netball NSW Premier League finals.