Labrador are into their third Grand Final in as many years, and are in the box seat to go back-to-back thanks to a win over the Magpies today.
Check out what we learnt, the coaches thoughts, and how it all unfolded below.
What we learnt:
- The Tigers do their best work in a pressure cooker: The way they hunted black and white, especially in their forward line, was next level today.
- Retzlaff is a one grab player: Whether it’s in the air, on the deck, or bouncing towards him, Retzy is as clean as a whistle getting the ball.
- Good luck stopping Goldsmith in the air: In the last quarter today, after Persouse started to cramp, Goldsmith took three huge contested grabs on the wing. He didn’t have the best day in the forward line, but was unstoppable when he got on his bike.
- The Magpies just hang around: Even when things aren’t going their way, they are never out of it. They have got a lot of players with a lot of ticker. To beat them, you have to be on all afternoon, because if you ease off, they will pounce.
- Matt Davis probably won’t be going back to the tape: A couple of turnovers that resulted in Labrador goals in the back 50, as well as a miss from the top of the goal square early in the forth, meant it wasn’t the best day at the office for him. Needs to put it behind him and bounce back next week.
Coaches thoughts:
Perry Meka – Labrador
Nathan Clarke – Western Magpies
“Today was one that got away. Labrador definitely deserved to win though, and were the better team all day.
“We were beaten around the stoppages all afternoon, which was disappointing.
“We just didn’t play that well to put it simply, but we have just got to butter up, see who we are playing next week, and learn from today.
“I think our forward line needs to be re-wired; it just hasn’t fully clicked into gear for probably a month.
“It’s business as usual though. We gave ourselves every opportunity leading up to it, we just had a few too many players not playing well enough.”
RECAP
By Andrew Wiles
Follow @andrewjwiles
