The Eastern Stingrays and the Central Scorpions finished the minor rounds as the best performed teams of the TFSA League making the finals in all three divisions.
Two Stingrays team will head directly into Sunday’s grand final after taking out the minor premiership in contrasting fashions. The mixed team have been dominant; lead by Rick Wilkinson and Tim Phillips, the addition of the speed of Adam Bethell and the growth of a group of players now in their third year of TFSA League has led to a transformation that has seen the team, winless two years ago, being only a round six draw against the Central Scorpions away from a perfect minor season.
The Stingrays Men’s team are attempting to overcome two seasons of disappointment. Full of talent they dominated the 2020 and 2021 only to fall at the final hurdle. This year has been different. The team has built from a slow start which saw them lose two of their first three matches, to grab top spot in the final minor round game on Sunday, when they made the other teams take notice with a strong 10-6 win over the Central Scorpions.
The Scorpions always well represented on finals day, finished second in every division and will be confident of being represented by three teams when the grand finals are played at the Adelaide University Graduates Oval on Sunday.
However, it is the South West Wolves who are the favourites to take out the Women’s competition. With two wins on the double header day the Wolves remained a win ahead of the Scorpions on the battle for top spot. Lead by Gemma Mongahan and Mim Potter who have each scored 10 tires in the minor rounds they will be looking at victory as a completion of the rejuvenation of the Wolves Womens team in the last few seasons.
The minor round finished last weekend with a Sunday double header at Waite Oval. The day started disappointedly with the Wolves Men’s not being able to field a team against the Eastern Stingrays in the first timeslot. While the Stingrays enjoyed a rest, the Central Scorpions easily accounted for an undermanned Northern Vipers. Ferghus Kernahan was dominant for the winners, the 12-4 victory meaning the Scorpions versus Stingrays match in the afternoon would decide top spot for the season.
The second round of Men’s matches began with what was almost the upset of the season. After failing to field a team in the morning and still with limited numbers, the Wolves ran the Vipers all the way to the wire in an 8-5 result. Scoring first the Wolves had the score at 3-3 midway through the first half, the Vipers frustration visible as they were unable to shake off the competitions cellar dwellers.
The Wolves resistance continued in the second half and the Vipers would be thankful to Josh Dobie for saving their blushes. One of the best players in the competition this season, Dobie produced a dominant four try performance that single-handedly ensured that his team went into the semi-finals with a win.
In another dominant performance by an individual player, Ned Morcom was pivotal in the Stingrays 10-6 win over the Central Scorpions that ensured the Stingrays top spot. Playing his first game for the season, Morcom went over twice in each half, to give his side a path straight through to Sunday’s final.
The Women’s competition began with the South West Wolves all but ensuring top spot by overcoming the Eastern Stingrays 7-6 in a highly spirited affair. With the Central Scorpions easily accounting for the Northern Vipers, the afternoon game between the Scorpions and the Stingrays became a virtually semi-final preview.
With both teams wanting to assert their dominance before Friday night’s sudden death match, the game became an aggressive affair, dominated by strong defence by both teams. However, the Scorpions seemed the better side throughout, conceding just once in a 4-1 victory.
Looking a consolation win to finish the season, the Vipers were in the contest scoring two early trys against a Wolves team needing a win to ensure the minor premiership. With Mim Potter coming into the game, the Wolves put the foot down in the second half, finishing with a 14-4 win.
The Stingrays Mixed team needed just a draw from the final two matches to ensure direct passage to Sunday, but kept up the pressure on the competition with two dominant performances. Reinforced by the addition of Jack Pettit, they breached the double figure barrier for the second time this season, Pettit scoring twice from full field runs in the 11-7 victory.
More impressive was the win against the Central Scorpions in the second match of the day. The Scorpions are the only team who have challenged the Stingrays this season, but on Sunday they were never in the contest, the Stingrays running out 8-4 winners. In the other game, the Wolves warmed up for the semi-final with a 9-2 win over the Vipers, Justin Neave, Megan Elliott and Darren Williams each crossing over twice for the winners.
The finals begin with the Women’s match between the Scorpions and the Stingrays at 6:30pm, and continue with the Men’s at 7:25 pm and the Mixed at 8:20pm. Sunday’s grand finals at the Adelaide University Graduate Oval begin at 9:30am.
