The major and minor semi-finals of the inaugural George Tooke Shield Women’s Touch Football Competition were held last Saturday at Binalong.
In the minor semi-final the Bungendore Tigerettes took on the Harden Hawkettes. The first half saw the Tigerettes jump to an early lead with touchdowns to Megan Brown, Cassie Fisher and Kody-Leigh Hirst. The Hawkettes were able to strike back with a touchdown to Kate Menz to reduce the margin to two with Bungendore taking a 3-1 lead into halftime.
The second half saw both teams come out firing with quick touchdowns to Tigerettes’ player Georgia Buckley and Hawkettes’ Emma Manwaring. With the game in the balance it was Hawkettes speedster and a player of the future, Emma James who was able to cross for two quick touchdowns to bring the Hawkettes level.
In a thrilling last 10 minutes, the Tigerettes were able to take the lead with a touchdown to Courtney Doyle. This was short lived with the Hawkettes striking back with a touchdown to Clare Smith. The game looked like it would go down to a drop off but with only minutes remaining, the Hawkettes were able to get over the score line with Shauny McEvoy scoring a touchdown to see the Hawkettes win 6-5 and progress through to the preliminary final.
With this result, the Bungendore Tigerettes, who have played well under the guidance of Matt Pateman, are eliminated from the finals.
In the major semi-final the Binalong Jersey Girls took on the Yass Girlpies. The first half started very similar to the previous game with the Jersey Girls jumping out to an early lead with touchdowns to Lisa Smith, Jess Howard and Madaline Brayshaw. The Girlpies were able to get on the scorecard with a late touchdown to Casey Edwards which would see the Jersey Girls take a 3-1 lead into half-time.
The second half saw the Jersey Girls turn up the intensity and it wasn’t long before they had jumped away to a convincing lead with a touchdown to Rachel Fisher and two touchdowns to Bronwyn Pollack. The Girlpies were able to withstand pressure from numerous attacks from the Jersey Girls, but unfortunately it was too much with Madaline Brayshaw and Lisa Smith both scoring their second touchdowns.
The Girlpies would not give up though and persistence paid off with a touchdown to Sartu Beck and Casey Edwards scoring her second touchdown. It would not be Yass’s day with Bronwyn Pollack crossing the score line late to notch up her third touchdown for the afternoon and sealing a 9-3 victory for the Jersey Girls.
Speaking with Madaline Brayshaw after the match she mentioned it was all a bit emotional.
“I would never have thought at the beginning of the season that we would be in the GF at the end of the competition. It is great for the girls and the town of Binalong itself.”
With these results, Binalong will progress to the grand final and will wait to verse the winner of Yass Girlpies and Harden Hawkettes who will play in the preliminary final on Saturday in Harden at 2:00pm.
Related Links
- George Tooke Finals
