Magpies fly past Blues

Yass played well below it's best but were too good for the Blues who now look to the 2013 season. Leading 12-4 at half-time, the Magpies was always in control and did enough to advance to the preliminary final Saturday week.

The Magpies did pay heavily for their win, however, with major injury concerns over five-eighth Tim Warden (ribs) and prop Victor Teofilo (hamstring). Coach Mark Bell is reportedly pleased with the team, which now has the week off.

Yass had to absorb some early pressure from the fired up Blues but the sides' first foray down to the opposite end of the ground resulted in points. Half Scott Naughton sent a long ball to unmarked winger Andrew Swaffield to open the scoring.

The Blues hit back with a try from a bomb that wasn’t cleaned up by the Magpies to trail 6-4. Yass went further ahead at the 22nd minute mark when a towering Warden bomb was left to bounce straight back into the waiting arms of Nathan Merritt for a Magpies try. Warden converted to make it 12-4 and that’s the way it stayed until half-time.

The half-time message was pretty simple, lift the tempo and show more urgency around the rucks. Score first and don’t give them a sniff.

It couldn’t have started any better for Yass, with Chris Rawlinson catching the Blues defence short out wide again with a perfect pass to an unmarked Junior Vatikani on the wing for a Magpie try.

The Blues scored again shortly after through another bomb that took a cruel bounce over Swaffields' head to reduce the margin to 16-8.

Centre Steve Naughton then showed his class with a brilliant individual try that left the Blues defenders clutching at thin air. Rawlinson converted and that was really the game wrapped up with still 25 minutes on the clock.

The Blues did score another try 10 minutes later to send a few murmurs through the Magpies ranks but in the end their defence held firm and they walked away with well-deserved victory.

To be honest though, the top two sides are hardly going to be shaking in their boots about the Magpies performance. The thing to remember is that for most of the side, it was their first ever finals match and there were a few pre-game nerves. It was a game that everybody expected Yass to win which added to the pressure on the side.

They now have nothing to lose when they front up again in a couple of week's time against the loser of the Queanbeyan Roos and Belconnen Scholars major semi-final to be played this Saturday.

Yass Magpies 22 (Swaffield, Merritt, Steve Naughton, Vatikani tries, Warden 2, Rawlinson goals) def Queanbeyan Blues 12