THEY had been the team to beat throughout the AFL Central West under 14s season but did the pressure of grand final day get to the Bathurst Giants' minor premier squad?
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Not in the slightest.
Giants started strongly in the decider against the Dubbo Junior AFL Club and never looked back on their path towards an 11-8-74 to 4-4-28 victory.
It was a well earned prize for the Giants squad who had dropped just one game all season on their way to a first place finish.
Their victory was the highlight on a big day for the Bathurst club as they celebrated getting teams into all four junior grand finals for the first time.
Giants under 14s coach Matt Wolfe said his group started every quarter fully energised and keen to make a statement.
"It was a great reward for a full season's effort. We were really pleased," he said.
"We scored a goal within the first minute in three of four quarters, which gave us a great kick start to those quarters. We had a goal within the first minute of the match and that ended up setting the tone for the whole game.
"They've been a consistent group and training has been great. We've had high numbers there the whole year, with no drops off. More numbers at training means you can do more drills and everyone gets involved."
A trio of Giants players - Riley Goodsell, Connor Hobby and Sam Kay - each kicked three goals in the victory.
Captain Ruben Campiao led by example as he picked up the player of the match award.
Giants' other three sides fought hard in their grand final contests against home side Orange Tigers.
Tigers started the day with a 5-7-37 to 1-2-8 win, although Giants' Estelle Nathan-Marsh was named the grand final's best player.
The Giants' under 17s couldn't hold onto their half-time lead in a 6-9-45 to 5-5-35 defeat while the youth girls squad went down 5-3-33 to 2-1-13.
Still, it was historic day for the Giants, and Wolfe said it was a treat to lay eyes on a sea of black and orange across the side of the ground.
"We had a big group come up from Bathurst and we tend to camp ourselves on one of the sidelines, and we had it pretty well covered," he said.
"It's a big ground that Orange one but we managed to fill up a fair section there. The support from our parents, family, friends and the junior Giants association has been fantastic.
"It's a really strong club. With all four teams making the grand final they're really going places."
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