Match Report – Grand Final: U23s v Stingrays
U23s taking on the Stingrays under the bright lights of Ken Rosewall Arena
On Saturday night IMB South Coast Blaze U23s took on the Sutherland Stingrays under the bright lights of Ken Rosewall Arena for the Origin Energy Premier League U23s Grand Final.
Heading into the game, we expected a strong, physical match against the Stingrays and that’s exactly what was delivered! A nervous start from the Blaze saw the Stingrays capitalise early to take the quarter time lead by 6 and extended it to 8 goals at half time. Despite some nice passages of play from Blaze in attack and some clever ballwork into the shooting circle, the devastating loss of Centre Bronnee Loy to an achilles injury on Thursday night appeared to show as Blaze struggled to generate their usual level of attacking momentum.
A lot of whistle in the defensive end saw Blaze defenders slow to adjust. Despite excellent contesting of the ball and some solid defensive rebounds, it wasn’t enough to slow the Stingrays momentum as they upped the ante and pulled away in the third. A near flawless performance from the Stingrays shooting and defense ends saw them seal the Grand Final victory 59 goals to 42 and come away deserved winners.
