MIXED RESULTS AT FINALS WEEK SEE BLADES FINISH FIFTH

The Queensland Blades, the 2010 AHL Champions, won their fifth place playoff 5-1 against the Tassie Tigers on Saturday.

Goal scorers: Jason Wilson PC 7m, Brent Garske FG 26m, Jason Wilson FG 42m, TAS Geoff Cock PS 44m, Tim Bates FG 64m, Daniel Beale FG 65m

Queensland were beaten on Friday in a must-win encounter with the NSW Waratahs for a berth in the Gold Medal match.

Relegated to the playoffs, a disappointed Queensland Coach, Matt Wells, laments the many lost opportunities at the hands of his team this week.

“Highlights of our week included our defeat of ACT earlier this week.  But that wasn’t enough to carry us through.  We were beaten by SA and NSW and our fortunes could have been so much more positive with even just one more win.

“Whether its injuries, fatigue of format of the competition, it’s a very different feeling to last year and the high of winning the Series in 2010."

For the Tassie Tigers, they were content with their performance today in the face of substantial injuries and forced line-up changes affecting the side.

Coach Glenn Freeman was philosophical in accepting the result today, “Well we didn’t place lower than last year, despite all of our injuries.  Today was purely about player management.

“Highlights of the week included Phil Marshall playing his 100th AHL game.

“Other than that, we had a young line-up that got a thorough taste of this level of competition and we can only continue to develop our program from here.

“Eddie Ockenden continues to provide great leadership and inspiration to the players through his aggressive and positive approach to games.  We all lift when he keeps on trying, no matter what the score line.”