Joe Davidson
The Byron Coopers Magpies didn’t finish the season as planned on Saturday when they were defeated by reigning premiers, the Tweed Tigers.
Byron went down fighting in an afternoon of footy interrupted by light showers at Ballina. The ball seemed to bounce to the advantage of the Tigers time and time again, leaving Byron struggling to get ahead and the goals were not flowing early. The scores at quarter time were Byron 1.1.7 to Tweed 2.5.17.
The second quarter saw the ball again land in Tweed’s hands. Byron’s midfielders scrapped to win the ball but the team didn’t make the most of their scoring opportunities. The half time score was Tweed 5.3.33 to Byron 3.5.23.
Byron surged in the third quarter and the team’s confidence built as they hit the lead by the smallest of margins with scores at 6.5.41 to 6.4.40 at three-quarter time.
The fourth quarter looked set to go Byron’s way with an early goal, but Tweed hit back with repeated goals to kick ahead. Byron’s defence was undone by strong marking by Tweed’s forwards. The Tigers couldn’t miss in front of goal and pushed ahead on the scoreboard.
Final scores Tweed 9.5.59 to Byron 6.6.42. A disappointing Grand Final for Byron, who will no doubt learn from their loss. Congratulations to Tweed, who were the better side on the day.
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