Two touchdowns to captain Emily Reed has helped QSST beat NSWCHS in the 18’s Girls final at the X-Blades National Youth Championships in Coffs Harbour.
Reed scored one touch down in each half to lead her team to a 6-2 win at BCU International Stadium.
QSST and NSWCHS were worthy of their places in the final, being seeded 1 and 2 respectively in the tournament.
Leading into the game, both teams had set the benchmark in attack and defence, with QSST only letting through 8 touchdowns in the carnival and NSWCHS only letting through 10.
NSWCHS started the game off strong, with Melissa Peters scoring in her first set of six.
QSST retaliated and were on the scorecard within the next set of six, scoring through Reed.
The opening exchanges were intense, with plenty of ground being made by both teams. However, there was a lot of dropped ball early and QSST gave away several penalties, giving NSWCHS a great opportunity.
Despite having several sets of six close to their line in the early stages of the game, NSWCHS were unable to capitalise and QSST pounced.
QSST’s Alika Bedford put her team in front for the first time in the 13th minute, scoring in the corner to give the Queensland girls a 2-1 lead.
Kirsty Quince scored for QSST 3 minutes later, on the back of a penalty from the NSW team. NSWCHS fought back quickly to score through Rachel Beck in the next set of six.
Desperate defence from NSWCHS player, Jordan McGregor in the 19 minute, stopped the score from blowing out and QSST went to the halftime break leading 3-2.
Reed was in again for QSST in the opening set of the second half, scoring her second touchdown. Betty Mareko scored 3 minutes later, blowing the score out to 5-2.
After a Latisha Gary intercept in the 5th minute of the second half, NSWCHS’ Eliza Naseby was sin binned after an attempt to chase her down.
Although NSWCHS had many opportunities in the second half, they were unable to convert these opportunities into points, despite back to back sets of six and ample time close to their line.
QSST’s Latisha Gary intercepted the ball in the closing minutes of the game, to put the game beyond doubt for the Queensland girls, with QSST winning by 4 touchdowns.
Kirsty Quince was named player of the match, and Alicia Quirk was named 18's Girls player of the championships.
