SAM Anderson and his Milton-Ulladulla Bulldogs under 18s girls tackle side are just one win away from completing a dream debut season.
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In their first season in the Illawarra competition, the Bulldogs claimed the minor premiership, with an 11-1 record.
“As a whole, the regular season was very good, despite it being a little frustrating at time with forfeits by other teams,” Anderson said.
“The only game we lost all season was to Berkeley, which we lost 34-4.
“But since then, despite us losing both Hannah England and Dakotah Mannering to season ending injuries, we have taken our games to the next level – in a sense it was a wake-up call for the girls.”
To combat the lose of those two Illawarra Steelers Tarsha Gale players, Anderson added another two, Taneisha Roberts and Rhiannon Brown, to his squad – seeing them qualify for the major semi-final with Berkeley last Saturday.
“We raced out to a 8-nil lead, thanks to two tries from Taneisha Roberts before Berkeley hit back, to close the margin to 8-6,” Anderson said.
“But tries to Rhiannon Brown and Keele Browne before half-time put us on top.”
The Bulldogs lead of 16-8 at the break was quickly extended in the second half, when Emily France, Brown and Browne scored – as the Bulldogs raced out 32-18 winners.
This sees Anderson’s side qualify for the grand final on Saturday, September 1 at Collegians Sporting Complex, where they will play the winner of Berkeley or Helensburgh from 11.10am.
”This year, my first coaching a girls side, has been my most enjoyable to date,” Anderson said.
“They’ve been easier to coach than boys, as they are all eager to learn and prove they belong on the field.
“To win the grand final in our first year would be amazing and mean the world to everyone at the club.”
Squad: Rhiannon Brown, Hannah Koglin, Alivia Heath, Keele Browne, Chelsea Rowley, Meg Buchanan, Abbey Montgomery, Georgie Fitzpatrick, Ella Conlon, Ally England, Kaitlin Murray, Taneisha Roberts, Brittany Peters, Christina Fascianelli, Shania Puglisi, Emily France and Chantelle Newman.