No luck for Magpies in preliminary finals

By Oliver Shedden

Sep 15, 2024

Thomas Naujok was named one of Moama’s best in the under-17s preliminary final. Photos: Aidan Briggs Photo by Aidan Briggs

Moama Football Club had a busy weekend, with multiple sides looking to break through to the grand final of their respective grades.

Under-14s: despite comeback, Magpies miss out

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The league table-toppers came up against a hungry Cobram side, with both teams looking primed and ready to duke it out for a place at the big dance.

The Tigers got off to a flier, drilling 3.3 in the opening quarter and asserting their dominance over the Magpies, who were held scoreless.

The comeback was on, however, as Moama retaliated with 3.3 of its own in the second period. Cobram, now the struggling side after a red-hot start, only converted one goal in the quarter and the Magpies trailed by six at the half.

A scrappy third term saw both sides struggling to get anything going on the attacking end, but Cobram managed to break through to extend its lead.

With a quarter remaining, it was all or nothing for Moama, who, finishing on top of the table, looked in pole position to reach the grand final.

Ruckmen contest a highball. Photo by Aidan Briggs

That, unfortunately, was not the case.

The Tigers could only squeeze out a behind in the final term, but the Magpies mustered just a single goal to end the match, which was not enough to close the 11-point gap entering the quarter.

The final score was Moama 4.4 (28) to Cobram 5.4 (34).

In defeat, there was a shining star in Moama’s ranks, with Ben McRae bagging all four of the Magpies’ goals.

McRae, Archie Frew, Jack Millar, Kaiden Peace, Bodhi Kohn and Fletcher Brown were honoured as Moama’s best in the match.

While the side is bound to be disappointed with being a goal away from a grand final birth, the fledgling Magpies will turn their attention to a flag in 2025.

Max McCarty had a field day in the preliminary final, kicking three goals. Photo by Aidan Briggs

Under-17s: Lions survive swooping Magpies

Another high-flying Moama side had its eyes on the premiership prize but first had to get past Mulwala in the preliminary final.

The first quarter was even-keeled between the table-topping Magpies and the third-placed Lions, who got the jump with the opening goal.

Moama replied with 1.2 before the Lions finished the period with another goal, taking a six-point lead at quarter-time.

The Magpies had a stronger second quarter, kicking a pair of majors and minors while holding Mulwala to just a single goal. But their lead shrank to two by half-time.

Yet, it didn’t stay that way for long. The Lions came out hungry, booting 3.5 to dominate Moama, who remained scoreless in the third term.

Van Kreeck streams away from the pack. Photo by Aidan Briggs

With a quarter to play, the Magpies had to overcome a 21-point deficit to emerge victorious.

For a brief moment, it looked like they could do it.

Storming home down the stretch, Moama kicked two goals to bring it within striking distance, but Mulwala’s four behinds was enough to keep the Magpies at bay.

The final score was Moama 6.4 (40) to Mulwala 6.11 (47).

Max McCarty came up huge for the Magpies, booting three goals.

William Street, Thomas Naujok, Archie Teasdale, Kaydn Mislicki, Zade Maschewski and Liam Edge were named Moama’s best.