THEY fought hard until the siren, but the Bathurst Giants went down 9-3-57 to 3-7-25 to a much improved Orange Tigers in Sunday's under 17 Central West AFL grand final.
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While the Giants held the edge in the head-to-head battles during the season, the Tigers were simply too good in the decider at George Park 1.
Though disappointed not to defend the under 17s premiership they won last year, Giants coach Jason Molkentin was still proud of how his team performed.
"I'm proud of the team, we played at a consistent level all season," he said. "It was a hard fought game played under good conditions. The Tigers have really improved throughout the season and I think the final results are an indication of that."
Due to the Bathurst Bushrangers - the 2018 runners-up - withdrawing earlier in the season and the absence of other clubs, the competition turned into a battle of two.
The Giants began the season strongly, winning their first two games against the Tigers easily.
But as the season continued the Tigers' performances improved and they were able to defeat the Giants on two occasions, one of them being the lead up to the final.
With the Giants playing consistently all season and the Tigers peaking at the right time, Sunday's decider was set to be a competitive game of football.
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Molkentin admitted the Giants "struggled in the goals department" early on, not being able to fully capitalise on their inside 50 entries.
It meant the Tigers led 18-8 at the end of the first quarter.
The Giants reduced that margin to eight during the second quarter, the contest still wide open at half-time as the Tigers held an 5-0-30 to 3-4-22 advantage.
However, Tigers were able to pull clear from there - booting three majors while the Giants added just three behinds - and went on to win by 32 points.
"Both teams really wanted to win and you could see that during the game. The Tigers were just too strong on the day," Molkentin admitted.
"I told my boys that we can't control the fact that there were no other teams and that it was up to them to still give their best, which they did."
