RESERVES BLOW FINALS CHANCE

The Western Magpies Reserves wasted several opportunities to get over the line against Surfers Paradise on Saturday, but to no avail.  the 8.13 - 61 to 6.5 - 41 loss sees the faint finals hopes now out of reach for this improving group.

The Pies suffered from basic skill errors and poor decision making with the footy, which likely links to a lack of fitness and irregular training habits for many players.  Unsurprisingly, the players who attend training with regularity are again among the better performed players on the day.

The Pies were also not helped by the loss of Luke De Nys and Joel Workman for long periods, due to injuries early in the match.

Despite dominating possession in the second half, poor disposal ad decision making resulting in frequently missed targets was the undoing of good contested efforts.

Coach Quentin Johnson was disappointed with the result, as it was another loss in a match the Pies showed enough ability to win and could have done so.  This is now the fourth occasion this young side has been in a winning position, but unable to close out victory.

Best players were Redland listed ruck/forward Liam Dwyer, midfielders Bryce Crossley, Matt Mazarolle and Logan Murray and Redland listed Jak Williams.  Key defender, Sean McEvoy also continued his season long rich vein of form in another quality display.  Young U/17 forward Farrell also showed plenty of promise, showing he could be a key player for the Pies in the future.

The Magpies will now turn their attention to Palm Beach next week and will be looking for some positives from a dissapointing season.  the improvement of young players in Logan Murray, Matt Mazarolle, Grant Jennnings, Nathan Morrow, Alex Spasovski, Monty Vine, Brayden Thomas and Lachlan Gaedtke has been excellent, and hopefully they are all lining up for the Pies again in 2016.  Luke De Nys and Joel Workman are also two young players with the ability to play more regular senior football, and Jake Heard has shown weekly improvement as his fitness grows after an injury interrupted season.