AFTER being at the top of the ladder all year, the Leeton-Whitton Crows under 17s side were unable to seal a spot in the premiership match against Turvey Park.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The young Crows side successfully won their way through to the preliminary final match, but were defeated by MCUE 36-28.
The team finished the home and away season in second, but were on equal points with the top-placed Turvey Park.
Their preliminary final match against MCUE was a tough one and it ended up being the second time they had match in the finals series, with the Goannas also winning the first encounter by just a solitary goal.
First-time coach Bree McGregor said the team should be proud of what they had achieved this season.
MORE SPORT
"The girls have worked really hard all season," she said.
"I know they were disappointed not to make the grand final, but they should still hold their heads high.
"It was a tough game against Mango.
"I thought both teams played very well, but that's finals.
"We weren't able to get the result we wanted, but I'm still really proud of the girls."
Leeton-Whitton enjoyed an excellent start to the 2019 season, winning their first four matches before going down to Turvey Park.
The Bulldogs will now play MCUE in this weekend's grand final.
From that loss the Crows went on to record six consecutive wins and their next loss was to MCUE, proving how tight the competition was between the three front runners.
McGregor tipped this weekend's grand final to be a close one.
"I'm hoping that Mango get the win ... they are definitely the underdogs," she said.
"It will be an interesting game."
The under 17s will now enjoy a break away from the court before returning in the pre-season for team selection trials and training.
McGregor was hopeful the group would stick with the sport.
"Obviously there's going to be some that will progress onto the senior grades, but hopefully they all stick with it," she said.
"This was my first year coaching, so we had to work on a few things to get that rhythm and make sure we were all on the same page.
"After that it all started to come together.
"There's a lot of talent in the team."
McGregor said she would like to coach again whether it was next year or whenever she was needed.
"I absolutely loved it ... I'd definitely like to do it again if they will have me," she said.
"I actually have such a soft spot for these girls now.
"They were so amazing all season and we've really developed and come a long way since the start of the year."
Under 17s goal shooter Kasey Aliendi also polled third in the league vote count.
Under 17s finals campaign
Qualifying final
- MCUE 50 d Leeton-Whitton 49
Semi-final
- Leeton-Whitton 27 d GGGM 20
Preliminary final
- MCUE 36 d Leeton-Whitton 28
****
While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox every Friday at 6am from The Irrigator. To make sure you're up to date with all news in Leeton sign up here.