The Marrar Bombers have punched their ticket to the Farrer League grand final after a hard-fought 9.3 (57) to 7.8 (50) victory over the CSU Bushpigs at Robertson Oval on Saturday, August 29.
Facing elimination for the third straight week, the fifth-placed Bombers held their nerve in a tight preliminary final to end CSU’s season and set up a showdown with the unbeaten East Wagga-Kooringal Hawks.
CSU started brightly, with Oscar Preston kicking two early goals and Sam Barrow converting a 50-metre penalty to open an 18-point lead after 14 minutes. That proved the biggest margin of the match. Marrar fought back to level the scores by quarter-time at 3.1 apiece.
The Bushpigs edged the second term to stay in front at the main break, but Jacob Knight’s first of two goals from free kicks in the quarter put the Bombers ahead for the first time. Jakob Taylor’s tight-angle goal levelled the scores just before half-time.
Knight, a mid-season recruit who has been a revelation, finished with three goals and provided crucial spark through the midfield. He charged through the centre from a ball-up at the start of the final quarter, linking with Brain and Josh Staines for an important goal that gave Marrar a decisive momentum boost.
When CSU replied quickly through Ollie Wortley, Knight answered again. The Bushpigs created late chances but could not convert, seeing their season end at the preliminary final stage for the second consecutive year.
Taylor kicked two goals for Marrar, with singles to Staines, Matt Rynehart, Brain and Macauley Armstrong. For CSU, Hayden Wooden and Preston each kicked two, with Wortley, Barrow and J. Kerin also on the scoresheet.
Sam Turner from Marrar says their path forward is going to be a challenge as they prepare for their match against the EWK Hawks.
“They’re facing an undefeated team who have beaten them pretty comfortably throughout the year, but we’re playing a much better brand of football at the moment than we were preciously when we played them, and on grand final day, anything can happen,” he says.
Formerly undefeated last year and ultimately losing in the Grand Final, Sam says the Marrar team is hoping to have “lightning strike a second time” to “cause an upset”.
As for the team itself, Sam says they’ve got age on their side.
“If it’s a hot day, we’ve got a very young, fit side,” he says.
“They’ve got a lot of bigger bodies, so hopefully we could use that to our advantage.
“The hotter it is, the better for us, and hopefully we can run them off their feet.”
Marrar’s path to the decider has been remarkable. Their finals berth was not even secured until results fell their way on the final day of the home-and-away season. They have since eliminated The Rock-Yerong Creek, Temora and now CSU.
The Ladies A Grade team have also shot to the Grand Final proving Marrar have well and truly have what it takes to turn the tide.
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