Magpies’ grand final dream mauled by clutch Cats

Finley was first on the board, kicking a goal within the first five minutes to make its intentions clear. It followed up with two behinds and another goal inside the first 20 minutes to impose its will on Moama.

Despite not making the most of their first three legitimate scoring chances, the Magpies responded in kind and got the ball rolling, finishing the quarter with 1.3 and trailing the Cats by six points.

Off the back of that momentum, the Magpies soared in the second, kicking a 2.3 while containing the Cats to a sole goal to get their nose in front by a point at half-time.

Finley roared back into the lead throughout the third term, dominating attacking possessions and booting three goals to one.

Moama needed a special effort to overcome a 15-point deficit in the final term.

Like all the great teams, the Magpies rallied down the stretch and put on a fourth-quarter clinic to bring the contest to a thrilling conclusion.

Three late goals gave Moama a four-point lead at the 23-minute mark. Its prey looked to be dead and buried.

But looks can be deceiving.

In the dying moments of the match, Finley’s Charlie Lang took a mark that was pressured by a Moama player, who ultimately gave away a 50m penalty that Lang drilled, giving Finley a two-point lead with no time left.

And that, as they say, was all she wrote.

The final score was Moama 7.5 (47) to Finley 7.7 (49).

Despite the soul-crushing loss, there were some high-flying Magpies in the preliminary final, such as Thomas Holman and highly-touted AFL draft prospect Jobe Shanahan, who kicked two goals each.

They were joined by Mitchell Lake, Zac Stovell, Mitchell Bell and Jack Sheldon in Moama’s best.

The defeat swiftly ended Moama’s 2024 campaign and brought its premiership prospects to a close for another season.