An inconsistent and injury-riddled season has been abruptly ended for the Young Cherrypickers, suffering a 34-6 defeat to Southcity Bulls on Saturday 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.
The Cherrypickers Under 18s and women’s tackle sides will now fly the flag for the club as far as premiership hopes are concerned, with both sides moving through their elimination finals last weekend with the Under 18s defeating Tumut 26-22 and the women’s tackle receiving a forfeit in the match against Temora.
The Under 18s travel to Junee on Saturday to play Wagga Kangaroos in another must-win clash for them, while the same fate awaits the women, who will play for survival against Southcity.
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