Sport
12 September, 2024
Brave effort
The Flamin’ Galahs left nothing out on the paddock after a very brave effort against a classy opponent
In one of the most gallant and gutsy performances all year the Flamin’ Galahs went down 22-12 to Nyngan’s Bogan Bulls in the Tri Tag Western Plains Ladies grand final in Walgett on Saturday, September 7.
In the 31-degree midday heat, the Flamin’ Galahs left nothing out on the paddock after a very brave effort against a classy opponent in the Bogan Bulls ladies' team.
The match started defensively very well for the Flamin’ Galahs and they held their more fancied opponents in the first ten minutes of the first quarter.
The Flamin’ Galahs began attacking well and good backline plays were starting to form. Just when things were looking positive, against the run of play the Flamin’ Galah defence became compressed.
The Nyngan ladies quickly took full advantage of this and cut through the right edge defence of the Flamin’ Galahs for two quick tries that saw the Flamin’ Galahs down 12-0 at quarter time.
The second quarter in the stifling spring heat saw the Flamin’ Galahs begin to take control and the Flamin’ Galah backline was coming into its own.
The Nyngan ladies were starting to feel the pressure with drop balls, and it was not long before a nice left-side backline movement saw Newcastle Uni import Heidi Ferguson score for the Flamin’ Galahs.
The score at halftime was 12-5 and the Flamin’ Galahs could feel the tide of momentum shifting back to them as the Bogan Bulls ladies from Nyngan began to feel the heat and pressure.
In the third quarter, the Flamin’ Galahs were still dominating the Nyngan ladies in attack and defence and were winning the field position.
Cracks were starting to appear in the defensive line of the Bulls.
In what was unfortunately probably the turning point of the match a physical altercation between a Flamin’ Galahs player and Nyngan player saw the Flamin’ Galahs player sin-binned for her part in the incident that reduced the Flamin’ Galahs to nine players for the next eight minutes.
The Bulls player involved in the altercation remained on the field as did a further Bulls player who attempted to become involved in the altercation that she had no involvement in.
The Nyngan-based team took full advantage of this.
For the next eight minutes, the nine-person Flamin’ Galahs team were gallant in holding out wave after wave of attack on the Flamin’ Galah line by the Bogan Bulls.
All the Flamin’ Galahs were defending their hearts out in the sweltering and oppressive conditions for this time of the year.
The Bogan Bulls finally broke the defensive line of the Flamin’ Galahs with their player advantage to score and a short time later after a drop ball from the Flamin’ Galahs Nyngan swooped on a loose ball and was over to score again.
With the Flamin’ Galahs now back to their full ten-player complement the score at three-quarter time was 22-5 to the Nyngan-based team.
In the final quarter, the Flamin’ Galahs were again dominating the Bogan Bulls’ team and were continually attacking the Bulls’ line.
To Nyngan’s credit, they held the attack from the Flamin’ Galahs.
Eventually, the Flamin’ Galahs broke the line of the Nyngan team and from a smart set play from Heidi Ferguson, dynamic fullback Paige Wilson broke through and scored under the post.
The clock, unfortunately, became the Flamin’ Galahs worst enemy and even though they had the better of the play the full-time siren went, and the Bogan Bulls ladies' team became premiers for 2024 defeating the courageous and lion-hearted Flamin’ Galahs by 10 points
It would not be right to just mention a few player's names who stood out on this day because every single Flamin’ Galah on this day gave their all and came off that field absolutely busted, gutted and worn out.
These ladies were asked by the coaching staff to leave nothing out on that field on Saturday and that is exactly what they did.
A marvellous effort by all of the squad and one that they should be very proud of.
In the presentations, after the match our very own Paige Wilson was awarded the Western Plains Female Player of the Year.
This was a very well-deserved recognition for an outstanding and consistent year from Paige.
The squad for the grand final match was as follows- Abigail Phillips, Heidi Ferguson, Sarah Chandler, Makaila Gordon (Captain), Peta Bradley, Teagan Watt, Caitlynn King, Sharna Steedman, Kelsey Hutchison, Chelsea Broom, Paige Wilson, Clemintine McIntosh, Alanna Clark, Lucy Irish, Stef Alchin, Abbie Semmler and Abigail Dobson.
It has been a great fun and rewarding year for all the players and coaching staff of the Flamin’ Galahs.
Coach Mills and fitness coach King could not be prouder of how the ladies have developed into a remarkable and capable team but also as a very close-knit social team.
The attention will now turn to Saturday, September 21 when the Flamin’ Galahs make their way to Sydney to the Olympic Stadium.
The Flamin’ Galahs will be the halftime entertainment in a promotional game of women's tri-tag rugby at the request of Mark Gasnier and NSW Rugby in the first Bledisloe Cup match between the Wallabies and All Blacks.
From playing in front of crowds of a couple hundred people each week the Flamin’ Galahs will be playing on Accor Stadium in front of 80,000-plus people.
It will be a wonderful weekend experience for all the players and the Gulargambone Rugby Union Club.
