PRIOR to Sunday’s Central West AFL youth girls grand final, the Bathurst Giants had never found themselves behind on the scoreboard.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It looked as if that would remain the case, but in the final minute of the decider at George Park 1, the Orange Tigers kicked the match-winning goal. The visitors beat the Giants 2-7-19 to 2-2-14.
“There was an injury that stopped the game for about half an hour when there was about four minutes to go,” Giants coach Steve Mann explained.
“We led until less than a minute to go. When the ball went back to the centre we had 40 seconds to try and score, get that goal.
“I don’t think we were behind in any game for the year except for the last 40 seconds of the last game.”
Though it was a tough way to lose, Mann could not fault the effort of his side in their inaugural season. Prior to 2018, a bulk of his squad had never before played Australian rules.
READ MORE: Giants youth girls are chasing glory
READ MORE: Attention is now on the finals for Giants
Keep up to date with the latest sports news by clicking here
“We didn’t even dream to play in a grand final from the start. I said if we won a few games along the way and everyone learned how to play football and enjoyed it, then everyone would be a winner,” Mann said.
“To make the grand final was just the icing on the cake.
“They played absolutely fantastic, they’ve had a great year, they’ve really worked hard. That was our first wet weather game, so trying to teach them how to play wet weather football in a grand final was tricky.”
There was some consolation for the Giants as Molly Mann, who spent time on the wing as well as on the ball, was named the best on ground for the decider.
It was another honour in an already bumper season which has seen her play in the Giants’ senior side and for the Western Region Academy of Sport.
“It really was a team effort, but young Molly was named best on ground in a losing grand final side, which is a fairly big thing to do,” the coach said.
“Normally that type of award goes to the winning team, she played outstanding.
“I know she’s my daughter but she had a great game, she had a really great season to be honest.”
