In a see-sawing battle between two of the most talented youth teams on show here this week, it was the ACT Raiders who claimed the last-gasp victory over their inter-state rivals the Storm boys from Victoria in the Alliance State Boys Final.
Locked at 7-all with 10 minutes left it was a gripping contest that swung from end-to-end and in the balance till game’s end.
No doubt inspired by the strains of the ‘bad and mean green machine’ soundtrack booming through the stadium speakers pre-game that their Raiders brethren will follow tonight at GIO Stadium, it was the men in green (and blue, white and yellow) that saluted in the end prevailing against the Vic boys with a late clincher to seal the win.
It took a late charge behind the line by Reece Chin to pick up Sherrard ‘Doug’ Warnock in the number 4 jersey to ultimately break the deadlock and nail the win.
Such was the tight affair, the ACT boys tried to hold up the ball basketball style for what seemed an eternity and play out time and through to the welcome sound of the siren.
Ex-TFA staffer and ACT Coach, Damien Prendegast was jubilant following the 8-7 win along with his exhausted ACT boys.
“I’m really over the moon for the boys getting the win; both Chris (Tarlinton) and I are very proud of them,†he said.
“A lot of these guys have been playing together since under 11’s. It’s such a credit to them, they stuck at it and it’s awesome to see them finish off and get the job done,†he added.
Among a host of stars according to the coach, two particularly stood-out for the coach.
“Hamish Dawson was fantastic throughout the tournament and Reece Chin was outstanding as well, but they all contributed right till the end.â€
In the earlier girls final it was the SA heat that proved a little too hot for their inter-state sisters in the west, WA Tigers.
Led by a stunning four-try effort by Jaimee Wittervan, the SA girls were too strong for the WA girls out-lasting them 11 tries to 5 holding on to an unassailable 8-1 lead at half-time. Kudos though to the WA girls winning the second-half four tries to three.
Leading Alliance state: SA Heat
Leading Region: NSWTA Development
Leading School System: QSST
The full list of MVP Winners across teams follows:
ACT- Hamish Dawson & Kahu Kapea
Cobras - Reilly Te Amo & Emma Sykes
CQ Bulls B - Tremaine Tairawhiti & Laura Guley
CQ Bulls A – Connor Harvey
NQ Cyclones – Kyall Davern & Talylah Tillett
NSW Dev - Floyd Tighe & Amy Dufour
NSW CCC - Chris Elbitar & Mia Wood
NSW CHS - Jesse Curtis & Milly Hughes
NSW CIS - Adam Boumelham & Tatum Bird
NT - Jordy Carriera & Libby Taylor
QSST - Blake Moore & Sabine Masters
SA - Alex Lim & Kelsey Zafirdis
SQ Sharks - Darnell Tawhiamopooye & Brittney Donovan
SWQ Swans - Hayden Bartlett & Chloe Watt
SC Pineapples - Sean Andrews & Melanie Wills
TAS - Max Neville & Alice Robinson
VIC - Kalin Ropata
WA - Tyla Love & Turiti Galiki
Related Links
- Under 18's Alliance Cup
