The under-14 Giants headed to Wangaratta on Saturday for the semi-final against Centrals. In the previous encounter, the Centrals ran away 100-point winners, so the Giants had pride on the line and something to prove and prove it they did.
The Giants group had evolved since this loss, playing outstanding team football over the last six weeks. Wet conditions were an advantage to the Giants. With the Centrals being a taller team, the game was played at ground level, where the younger Giants shone through with their grit and determination at the contest and working hard to win the ground ball. At half-time the game could have gone either way.
But the third quarter saw the Giants dig deep, taking advantage of every forward advance and rebounding the ball out of defence with confidence and teamwork to give themselves a lead at three-quarter-time.
Carrying two midfield injuries into the last quarter, the boys really worked hard to leave no doubt that they wanted to book a spot in next week’s game, contesting every ball and running hard to the point of exhaustion.
A fantastic team performance by a group with the belief they can achieve it all.
Final Score: Giants 12.3.75 defeated Centrals 6.13.49
Goalkickers: Owain Boyle 5, Max Smyth 3, Josh Hart 2, Cooper Binion 1, Noah Hogan 1.
Best players: Owain Boyle, Xavier Wapling, Josh Hart, Noah Hogan, Logan Hyland, Max Smyth.
