The under 12 and under 14 Orange/Forbes Swamp Tigers won their grand final matches on Sunday in Bathurst. This is the under 14 team with their medals and trophy.
The Orange/Forbes Swamp Tigers claimed the 2022 AFL Central West under 12 and 14 junior premierships in front of a big crowd at Bathurst on Sunday.
The two teams beat Dubbo Junior AFL and the Bathurst Giants respectively in two nail-biting matches.
The under 14’s won a thriller thanks to Cayden Metzeling. He kicked the match-winner from 30m out on an angle just seconds out from the final siren to beat the Bathurst Giants by five points.
Orange/Forbes and Bathurst took turns leading through the match. The fourth quarter was tightly contested and with just under a minute left in the game, the Swamp Tigers surged forward and put the ball into their attacking 50. While contesting for the ball Cayden Metzeling was taken high in a bump by a defending Giants player and was awarded a free kick. Metzeling had the game on his boot and he kicked the only goal of the last quarter to take the lead with seconds remaining. The final score was Orange/Forbes 6.7 (43) to Bathurst Giants 5.8 (38).
Orange/Forbes had just a little too much class for an incredibly gutsy Dubbo, winning the under 12s grand final by 14 points.
Dubbo had by far the better of the early exchanges, but neither team were able to score a goal in the first quarter with Dubbo leading by one point, while Orange/Forbes led by five points at half time.
Dubbo wrestled back control in the third term with one point lead 8 9. In the final term the Swamp Tigers were leading by 20 points, but Dubbo refused to die and scored a goal to close the gap to fourteen. Final score Orange/Forbes 4.5 (29), Dubbo 2.3 (15).
The FJAFL would like to congratulate its players on their success and thank everyone for their involvement.
By Alex Milsom