The Young Cherrypickers’ remaining finals hopes have come to an end, with both their Under 18s and women’s tackle sides suffering losses in their respective minor semi-finals at Laurie Daley Oval on Saturday.
After Young’s first grade side bowed out of the finals in an elimination final the previous weekend, the club’s final two remaining teams were unable to keep their seasons alive.
The Under 18s were first to take the field, facing a tough task against the Wagga Kangaroos.
The Kangaroos proved too strong throughout the contest, eventually running out 34-0 winners to bring the Cherrypickers’ campaign to an end.
Young’s women’s tackle side then faced Southcity later in the day, with the Cherrypickers unable to conjure victory in their long awaited return to the field, as the Bulls secured a 22-8 victory.
The result brought an end to another promising campaign for the Young side, who had progressed through to the finals and were hoping to keep their season alive for another week.
With both teams now eliminated, Young will turn its attention towards 2027 after a disappointing weekend for the club.
While the Cherrypickers will be left to reflect on what could have been, the experience gained by both sides throughout their respective campaigns will provide plenty to build on heading into next season.
Cherrypickers season ended by red-hot Bulls
An inconsistent and injury-riddled season has been abruptly ended for the Young Cherrypickers, suffering a 34-6 defeat to Southcity Bulls on Saturday August 29th at Alfred Oval.
Hosting the elimination final after finishing the regular season in fourth place, the Cherrypickers found themselves behind early on in the match, after Josh Siegwalt dived over from acting-half for the Bulls.
Young were next to strike though through halfback Kane Ball, and it looked as though the two sides would go into half-time at six-all.
Nathan Rose had other ideas, and only minutes prior to the break sliced through the middle of the Pickers’ defence and gave Southcity a lead they would not relinquish.
A bad mixture of fatigue and lack of combinations then made for tough going in the second half for the Cherrypickers, as Rose claimed his second consecutive four-try performance.
For the fourth straight week the Cherrypickers failed to fire a shot in the second half of their matches and an inexperienced line-up could only helplessly watch on as the Bulls ran riot to secure at least another week of finals footy.
No doubt disappointed in the way a potentially promising season concluded, Young will take solace in the fact they were able to blood no less than nine local debutants throughout 2026, which shows the future is bright for Cherrypickers.
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