Whilst the first grade side’s season is over, the Griffith Blacks second grade team is still kicking along in the Southern Inland Rugby Union competition.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Griffith will host the first week of finals on Saturday with both the qualifying and elimination finals being played at the Exies Oval.
The game that Griffith will be focused is the second grade qualifying final between the Blacks and the Wagga Waratahs.
The two sides will bring totally different playing styles into the game and Blacks president Andrew Scott believes Griffith has the goods to get over the line.
“Our guys can score from 70 metres out,” Scott said.
“That’s really hard to defend against but in saying that, the Waratahs have a lot of structure.
“Our forwards are pretty strong with guys like Chris Tomi and Lafa Lale.
“They are pretty good at the breakdown.
“If the forwards do their job, we have a lot of pacey players out wide who can break through.”
The Waratahs have the wood over Griffith so far this year.
The two times the teams met, the Wagga outfit came away wins on both occasions.
However, the two games were close – by four and 11 points.
Also, the Blacks do have form on their side with a last round 52-12 win over Albury last week.
Despite scoring a comfortable win in that game, the players tended to stray from their structures.
Scott said this is an area the second grade side would have to improve on.
“When they stick to their structures and their game plan, they’re a pretty fantastic side,” Scott said.
“They just need to learn to keep to the structures and not try to score off every play.
“It’s good to try and score when your 20 out but not if you get caught and isolated on your own.”
The second grade Blacks aren’t the only Griffith side left standing.
The third grade Griffith side will start its finals campaign next week.
Week one finals schedule
11.45am: Tumut v Wagga Waratahs (women's elimination final) on Exies No. 2
12.30pm: Tumut v Wagga Ag (second grade elimination final) on Exies No. 2
1pm: Wagga City v CSU (women's qualifying final) on Exies No. 1
1.45pm: Waratahs v Griffith (second grade qualifying final) on Exies No. 1
1.55pm: Wagga City v Wagga Ag (first grade elimination final) on Exies No. 2
3.15pm: Leeton v Tumut (first grade qualifying final) on Exies No. 1