AFL Canberra: Queanbeyan Tigers cement grand final spot with 18-point win over Belconnen Magpies

The minor premiers ran away with an 18-point win at the final buzzer, claiming a 11.6 (72) to 8.6 (55) victory over the Belconnen Magpies.

The Tigers showed why they led the competition during the first quarter of the qualifying final, with a 2.3 (15) to 1.2 (8) scoreline over the visitors.

In the second quarter, however, it was all about Belconnen. The Magpies capitalised on what seemed to be a rattled Tigers by kicking five goals, only conceding two and taking a 10-point lead.

At half-time at Aulich Park it seemed destined to be the Magpies' game, with the scores set 6.2 (38) to 4.4 (28) in their favour.

Magpies player-coach James Bennett praised his side's efforts in the first half.

"We were up at half-time which was really important, we played well the first half and then just dropped away in the second half," he said.

"[The Tigers] got their hands on the ball, on the contest and through stoppages, and really put us under the pump.

"The wind picked up in that third quarter, and we were kicking into the breeze and that made the game a bit hard for us. And we didn't respond or get our hands on the ball, so we put our backline under pressure."

It was the scoreline, paired with a half-time debrief, that seemed to kick Queanbeyan into gear as the Tigers kept their opponents to a one-point quarter in the third, and kicked three goals to take a 20-point lead heading into the fourth.

A 9.5 (59) to 6.3 (39) scoreline was what greeted the players for the final quarter. Despite the deficit, the visitors kept applying the pressure and brought the game within a 12-point margin at one point.

They did not let up and were making it a tough battle in muddy conditions for the Tigers' defence, as only two goals separated the two. But the home side kept their cool and soon, a goal from Isaac Edgar gave them even more breathing room to work with.

Queanbeyan walked away with an 18-point win at the buzzer, and Tigers coach Kade Klemke praised his side's response in the second half.

"The message at halftime was let's not be reactive, actually go and win the footy, play your footy. I think we were too worried about them," he said.

"So we just talked a lot about winning the contest. As we had a few guys kind of switching off at bad times, but structurally we were fine."

The Tigers will get a rest week before the grand final in two weeks, but Klemke said they would not be taking their foot off the pedal at training as they prepare for it.

As it was a battle between the top two sides, Belconnen have another shot at the grand final next weekend. Their second chance will be against the winner of the elimination final on Sunday between Ainslie Tricolours and Eastlake Demons.

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