TFNT was lucky enough to send 5 teams away to this year’s DOORDASH NATIONAL YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP, 12 Boys & Girls, 14 Girls, 18 Boys & Girls
We had players representing the Northern Territory from the following regions Darwin, Palmerston & Rural, Katherine, Nhulunbuy (Gove) & Alice Springs
12 Boys
The 12 boys were coached by Christopher McEvoy (Macca), the side was very new to the National stage as there wasn’t nationals for them in the past year due to COVID. The side was definitely the most energised vocal team on and especially off the field which kept Macca on his feet all day! The boys ended the tournament really well with a hard-fought loss to Tasmania in a drop off 4 -5, this was a great improvement for the boys as they played Tas first day of the tournament & went down 4 – 8.
Players Player – Riggs White (Palmerston & Rural)
MVP – Ethan McCourt (Palmerston & Rural)
Final position – 10th / 10
12 Girls
The 12 Girls had a new coach this year Laura Luchetti, this was her first experience at coaching & did an amazing job. She set personal goals for each player each game & created a very positive environment for the girls. This truly showed throughout the duration of the tournament the girls played Tasmania Day 1 of the tournament & went down 1 – 4, they played again on the last day in a play off game this was a very intense game where they girls wanted to show what they had, full time score was 4 – 4 the game went into a drop off. The NT Girls ended up scoring 2 times in the 2 mins to win the game 6 – 4
Players Player – Alexis Daley (Katherine)
MVP – Lakhyah Hill (Darwin)
Final position – 9th / 10
14 Girls
The 14 Girls had none other than super coach Tim East, Tim has been involved with coaching for some time now & does a great job every time. This team looked likely to be one of the stronger sides even though they only went away with 12 players. This team had a great training camp prior to the event they ended playing against the 18 Girls side and won. The girls were very competitive throughout the whole tournament with finishing the event with a draw during the round games & winning the play off game against Tasmania 2 – 1
Players Player – Kiannah Bryant (Katherine)
MVP – Charli McWhirter (Katherine)
Final position – 9th / 10
18 Boys
The 18 Boys was coached by the Current NT Mixed Open captain Caleb Smith. This was Caleb’s first National event as coach since last attending this event back in 2017 as a player. The team was a very young and new side to the national stage as they had a 13 and 14 year old take the field (Joel Munnich & Jayden Mick). The side had to overcome so adversities with players withdrawing just prior to leaving and a few injuries didn’t help this case. Majority of this team will be able to play next year which makes this a building block for the future.
Players Player – Ciaran Moran (Brisbane)
MVP – Tuakura (Tui) Schwalger (Alice Springs)
Final position – 8th / 8
18 Girls
The 18 Girls had the very vocal brother and sister combo of Christopher & Taylah Lakerdis (they’re actually triplets but didn’t invite their other brother!) as coaches and they weren’t afraid to express their feelings. The girls went into the tournament with a very young and inexperienced side with majority of them having never played at this event before, the team play with everything that they had but couldn’t match the pace and skills of their opposition. This was a great learning experience for them all. 14 out of the 16 players will be able to represent the NT next year in this division and I know they will definitely be ready for the competition.
Players Player – Ava Milkins (Darwin)
MVP – Brylee Kerrin (Alice Springs)
Final position – 7th / 7
TFNT also had the following referees represent at this event, they all did an amazing job, even though they did sustain a few injuries.
Mikayla McDonald (Darwin)
Lachlan Campbell (Darwin)
Jordan McDonald (Darwin)
Danny Dong (Darwin)
TFNT would like to thank everyone that helped to make this event such a success & we will see you all out on the field.