In the first game of the afternoon, the Eastern Blues were expected to have a cake walk over the struggling Cougars, but to their credit, the Cougars fielded a full team and in the process unearthed a half dozen new players, albeit too little too late to get them off the bottom of the table. The Blues, on the other hand, have fielded a strong core of committed players throughout the season.
The game started with a sluggish Blues outfit struggling to shake off the inexperienced Cougars. They managed to take a three goal lead into the first break, but a lot of one on one contests were being won by the younger cougars, who let themselves down with too much handball, resulting in costly turnovers. They would have been better off sticking to a simple game plan. The second quarter saw the Cougars starting to believe in themselves and they piled on 4-straight goal, while the Blues kicked an inaccurate 2 goals 7 behinds. At half time, the cougars were within reach. The game remained tight in the third, but tiredness was starting to become a factor for the Cougars, who were without their instrumental mid-fielder Neil de Joux. Team mate and captain Brendan Swift was everywhere and tried his best to bring others into the game with his creative handball.
The last quarter saw the blues slowly pull away, with players like Levi Ingliss and Dan Benny getting plenty of the ball. The brittle Cougars defence was feeling the heat as their midfield failed to man up, allowing too many Blues players to drift into the forward line unopposed. The Blues will be looking forward to next week and the chance to earn the right to play in their second consecutive grand final. The Cougars looked like their season finished a little too early.
Final Scores:
Eastern Blues10 17 77 def Uni Cougars
Best Blues: Sherlock, L Ingliss, Young, Court
Best Cougars: Swift, Risdon, Mountiev, Day
The final game of the regular season saw the top placed Bulldogs take on the third placed Eagles. Numbers were down for the Eagles, with injury and the Labour day weekend taking their toll. Thanks to players loaned from the Bulldogs and Blues, they managed to field a team.
The first half was a massacre, with the Dogs piling on 98-points to the Eagles' paltry 5. The class of the Dogs was evident, with first year star Jarred Percival dominating and versatile big man Todd Andrews winning the ball when going forward. The Eagles had some valiant battlers, with Richie Hazlewood showing why he is sought after by provincial coaches and Josh Robles-McGill collecting plenty of the ball through his gut running.
In the second half, the Dogs put their cue back in the rack, kicking an inaccurate 4 goals and 12 behinds, while to their credit, the Eagles kicked their only two goals for the game. A courageous mark by Chris Lines brought applause and Hazlewood and Robles continued to rack up possessions. The 2014 season was similar to the 2013 season for the Eagles, with injuries to key players and a playing list that was too thin to cover for them. They have never recovered from the loss of Chris Morel, Andy Howison and Steve Howard after the 2012 season.
Final Score:
Christchurch Bulldogs 19 20 134 def Mid-Canterbury Eagles 2 6 18
Best Bulldogs: K Smith, T Foley, Andrews, Percival
Best Eagles: Hazlewood, Robles-McGill, Peters, Lines
Last Modified on 25/10/2014 20:07