It was a battle of third versus fifth, of favourites versus underdogs, of reigning champs versus hot contenders, and finally the Yass Magpies managed to come away from a clash with the Queanbeyan Blues with a highly coveted victory.
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The two most recent matches between the two teams – in the first round of 2018 and last year’s preliminary final – saw the Blues come away with comfortable wins.
Saturday’s match was a different story, and the Blues were greeted by a determined Yass outfit and equally vociferous Walker Park crowd who were determined to let the visitors know what they thought.
The entire day was a dreary affair weather-wise, and much of the first grade game was made treacherous by constant rain and freezing winds.
However, Magpies coach Jarrad Teka was grateful for the inclement weather and said that his team were able to turn it to their advantage.
“Obviously Queanbeyan love to move the ball to the side, and with the conditions like this it didn’t allow for that sort of stuff,” Teka said.
“It played a lot into our hands, and the boys did what was required to take advantage of that and it’s a very good feeling.”
The Magpies, who took to the field in pink jerseys for their annual Charity Day in support of the Garner and Luckie families, drew first blood thanks to a penalty goal from Shaun Davis.
This indicated the Magpies’ intent early on in the piece; Yass was aware that the weather and calibre of their opponents would likely make it a low-scoring affair and thus decided to take the lead as early as possible.
The gambit soon paid off when Will Peace crossed for the first try of the afternoon, which put the Magpies up 6-0, and that soon became 8-0 following an incredible 40 metre penalty goal by Davis.
The Blues rebounded quickly, and a try and a conversion took the score to 8-6.
However, the second half saw a second try for the Magpies, courtesy of Jai Smith, take the score to 14-6 following another Davis conversion.
This essentially sealed the game as the rain intensified and ball control became nigh on impossible.
Despite a last-minute try to the Blues, which wasn’t converted, taking the score to 14-10, they were unable to bridge the gap in the dying minutes.
A large factor in the win, Teka said, was the Magpies’ successful ploy of shutting down key players such as Queanbeyan’s captain-coach Terry Campese.
“Obviously we know we’ve gotta work hard from the inside out and cover and work hard for each other,” he said.
“It comes down to where we play for the ball and dictate where we give it to them and we did that for most of the game.
“We kicked the corners and jammed them in there and anytime they got the ball it was coming out of their half.
“That’s how you nullify Terry Campese and those sort of quality players, when they have to role their sleeves up and play yardage footy.”
The result consolidates the Magpies’ position at number five on the ladder, while it sees the Blues drop to fourth following their second consecutive loss, and third of the season.
Although the Magpies still sit mid-table, teams from third to fifth on the ladder all have six wins and three losses, meaning that the positions have been decided on point differentials and that it is still anyone’s bet as to who will make the finals.
Next week will see Yass travel to Canberra to take on the Belconnen United Sharks, who are currently in last place. The match will begin at 3:00pm on Saturday June 23 at O’Connor.
