THE Katherine Camels under-16 line-up managed to overcome a spirited Jilkminggan Souths when the teams went head to head at Nitmiluk Oval on Saturday afternoon.
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In a must-win elimination final, both teams took a while to settle before Souths’ forward line fired to take a five-point lead into quarter time.
In the second quarter, Souths extended their lead when poor checking by the Camels’ back men allowed them to goal early.
This was their only goal leading into half-time, with the Camels finally getting their running game working.
Mat Jackson was a standout for the Camels, scoring the first of his goals, while his running, marking and strength at ground level picked him up kicks all over the field.
At half-time, the Camels led by four points before an even third period produced three goals for each side.
Although Souths only had 15 fit players, the boys never stopped trying and trailed by only two points at three-quarter time.
Leslie Joshua marked with an opportunity to put his team in front in the final quarter but kick went out on the full before the Camels booted a steady stream of goals to claim a 19-point win.
Jackson was best on ground, while Felix Pritchard, Justin Holt, Sam Whiting, Joel Buderick, Rory Daylight, Ossie Daylight, Tremaine Daylight and Joshua impressed.
The greatly-anticipated second game was between the undefeated Eastside Football Club and the Kalano Bombers.
It was a very entertaining affair, with Eastside only claiming victory after assuming dominance from half-time onwards.
The Eastside unit started well via a goal to Jade Hamilton but the Bombers responded with a nice mark and major from just in front of the big sticks.
The Bombers’ running game and focus on winning the ball had them dominate possession and lead by six points at quarter time.
The second quarter was even, with Hamilton again goaling within the first minute.
Warren Rankine picked up countless kicks for the double blues, while Jarrod Isaac was a tower of strength in the back line.
For the quarter, the Bombers had good contributions from Henry Ford, Abraham Henry, Waylon Miller and Marty Shields to lead by three points at the main break.
Eastside dominated the game when play resumed and kicked seven goals to three in a one-sided half.
Both sides had several notable players but Hamilton was heads and shoulders above the pack as he picked up seven majors.
Eastside move into the grand final undefeated while the Camels and Bombers will do battle this weekend in what is shaping up as a thrilling preliminary final at Nitmiluk Oval.
The first bounce is at 5pm.