THE Tumut Blues League Tag team picked a great time to beat the Junee Diesels for the first time this year in Saturday’s Elimination Final in Wagga.
The Tumut girls triumphed 16-4 and now face Wagga Kangaroos in the Minor Semi-final this weekend.
Tumut coach Courtney Barrett said the girls went into the game a bit nervous.
“I think sometimes it is good to go in as the underdog,” she said.
“It took us to after half time to kick into gear and get confidence and play the way we can.”
It was lucky for Tumut that they had Sharlie Thomas there.
“She was fantastic for us, especially in attack,” Barrett said.
“She scored two tries and made a lot of try-saving tags at fullback. She has had a brilliant season and this was up there with her best performances. It was probably everyone’s best game of the season; they were brilliant across the park.”
The performance pleased but didn’t totally surprise Barrett.
“I knew they definitely had it in them to win, it was just a matter of how they turned up on the day,” she said.
“We spoke about taking like any other game and not putting too much thought into that it was a final.”
The Blues suffered no injuries during the game, so it was a successful day all round.
“Everyone was over the moon,” Barrettt said.
“You couldn’t wipe the smile off everyone’s faces in the sheds.”
The Blues face a similar situation in Saturday’s game against Kangaroos, not having beaten them this season.
“We lost both times, but if the weekend’s anything to go by, that won’t stop us,” she said.
Tumut are playing great football at an ideal time.
“It’s nice to hit form at the end of the season,” Barrett said.
