The Eden women’s roster finished second on the competition ladder and faced the Tathra club in the major semi-final at Lawrence Park. 

The Whalers put on an impressive last-quarter raid to nearly close the gap, but couldn’t get past the competition front-runners, going down 5-7-37 to 3-5-23.

Using their immense speed, the Sea Eagles controlled most of the play in the opening quarter, planting a goal and a handful of behinds, while the Whalers couldn’t get much possession forward. 

The visiting Whalers trailed 10-0 at the break before the hosts extended their lead in the second and third quarters. 

Mel Mitchell was tackling hard through the middle, while Jacqueline Gewn held down the fullback role and blocked as many shots as she could. 

Kate Mitchell set up an accurate pass to Anna Crawrford for Eden’s first goal, but the hosts were ahead 23-6 at the main break. 

Officials said the hosts were dangerous in the centre with good control of central clearances giving them first use of the ball. 

However, the back line of the Whalers stood up to the pressure and made scoring difficult. 

Best and fairest winner for the club Tammy Whiftord was rousing the troops around the ground, but the hosts found an extra goal late in the quarter to set up a controlling lead. 

With the maiden women’s grand final spot on offer, Eden had everything to play for and went to work in the final quarter. 

Possession went to the Whalers from the outset and the ball was moving forward at speed for the forwards to pepper the Tathra goal. 

The ever-reliable Kamilla Grubesic didn’t disappoint Eden fans when she slotted two majors and suddenly had the Whalers chasing the score down. 

Just minutes remained to the siren with Eden piling on scoring pressure as the visitors almost snatched away the victory. 

The Whalers will now have a last-ditch effort to earn a grand final berth when they meet the Panthers in the preliminary final at Narooma on Saturday. 

It will be a must-win scenario, but a club spokesman said the team was in excellent form. 

“They have trained hard all year and the skills have improved through the excellent coaching and commitment from the players,” the spokesman said. 

Best players for Eden were Cara Sheldon, Jacqui Gwen, Tammy Whitford, Mel Mitchell and Chelsea Cassie.

The club wished the team luck for its match against the Panthers. 

“Good luck this week, a place in the grand final awaits,” the spokesman said.

The preliminary finals will be held at Narooma’s Bill Smythe Memorial Oval with women’s play to run from noon on Saturday.