Port Macquarie Pirates women have made a valiant but ultimately unsuccessful fightback in their grand final loss to Coffs Harbour Snappers.
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The Pirates went into the match as underdogs against a much more experienced Snappers team at Stuart Park in Port Macquarie on Saturday, September 5.
The home side had previously beaten Snappers in the 2019 grand final and had defeated Southern Cross Marlins in Coffs Harbour, 34 to 24. However the Snappers held all the victories from their games this season.
Coffs Harbour put some early points on the board with a try and kick conversion making the score 7-0 before quarter time. They piled onto the score creating a sizable 34-5 buffer against the Pirates.
Port Macquarie held an inspiring halftime speech to fight back but the Snappers still hung on to the scoreboard late in the game, 31-17.
Snappers led the match from start to finish and took the win 36-17.
Pirates captain Sacha Everingham said she was proud of the team and what they had achieved on game day.
"I was very impressed with our girls for getting 17 points on the board," she said.
"That early try definitely put our heads down but we were hungry to win and we had a good team chat at halftime which pumped everyone up.
"We were just talking to each other and keeping the communication flowing as a good way to support each other.
"We always knew the grand final would be tough because most of the team is all new and some of the girls have come up from younger grades. It was such a short season but we did our best."
Snappers captain Greta Smith said her team had trained hard this season after the defeat last year.
"I think it just proves that if you put in all the hard effort at training and dedication you can make it to the top," she said.
"We have a lot of young girls with a lot of skill coming through and we have our older ladies to lead us through with their experience.
"I think when we get a bit worked up and excited we stress a bit during the game. But we know if we settle and play our game we can play a lot simpler to win."
It was a doubly rough day for the Pirates as their under 18s team were also defeated by the Southern Cross University Marlins, 20-19, on grand final day.
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