March 22, 2015
The two “2013 newbie” AFL teams, the South Burnett Saints and the Chinchilla Suns, have been natural rivals since Day 1 and they put that to the test in a friendly pre-season game in Kingaroy on Sunday.
The match was played over five 15-minute quarters (that’s right, five).
South Burnett were minor premiers at the end of the competition rounds last year, while Chinchilla came in 20 points behind them in 5th spot so it should have been a walkover for the Saints.
But the Suns – with a few “loan” players – stretched the local side for most of the game.
The Saints started strongly, winning the first quarter, but the Suns bounced back in the 2nd and 3rd overtaking the South Burnett lead.
At the end of the 4th quarter, the South Burnett had a modest lead: 13.8 (86) to 12.7 (79).
A pep talk from the coach paid dividends: in the 5th “quarter”, South Burnett slotted home five goals and four behinds while keeping the Suns scoreless.
Saints finished 18.12 (120) to 12.7 (79). But more worryingly for local fans, the South Burnett side also ended the game with a couple of casualties, including a shoulder injury to key goal-scorer Ty Snow, who was taken by ambulance to Kingaroy Hospital as a precaution.
