Last week South Australia Heat sent away three teams to the 2024 National Youth Championship. All teams played in high spirits throughout the week. Unfortunately the weather did not allow our teams to complete the tournament.
Teams:
2024 was the first time the South Australian Heat has ever sent an under 16 girls team. This was an amazing opportunity to get more players to experience touch football at this level. For many players this was their first time playing on the national stage. The under 16’s were coached by Mick Gray.
Under 16 Girls Results:
Round 1 versus SC Pineapples we were defeated 16-1
Round 2 we went down 0-15 against the BNE Cobras
Round 3 against NQ cyclones we were defeated 0-24
Round 4 was a tight game against WA Tigers where we lost 2-0
Round 5 the SRN Rebels won 12-2.
The under 18 boys, coached by Grant Richards and Craig Barnett was the first time South Australia has sent an 18 boys team since 2019. With 4 boys coming back from our under 16 program last year and 9 Heat debutants.
Under 18 Boys Results:
Round 1 versus BNE Cobras we went down 11 – 1
Round 2 was against QRSS we lost 19 – 0
Round 3 verse HW Hornets we went down 14 – 2
Round 4 NSWCIS was a tough game and we were down 23 – 0. This team won the overall competition
Under 18s Girls Results:
Our under 18 girls led by Joel Nolan and Zahli Clarke came out strong. In their pool they played the top teams to begin the tournament, they worked hard and never gave up in any of their games.
They began the tournament with a tight game against Tasmania Thunder where they won 3-5!
Round 2 they played SYD Scorpions, an extremely skilful team who beat the heat 12-1
Round 3 QRSS took the win with the score being 21-1 at full time
Round 4 was played against NSWCIS who won 14-1
Try Scorers:
Over the duration of the tournament these were our try scorers:
Jasmin Thirlwell (U18 Girls) – 2
Bella Browning (U18 Girls) – 2
Millie Curkpatrick (U18 Girls) – 2
Cooper Power (U18 Boys) – 1
Darcey Timmis (U16 Girls) – 1
Mathilda Barrett (U16 Girls) – 1
Jorja Beck (U16 Girls) – 1
Maurice Beasy (U18 Boys) – 1
Alfie Chambers (U18 Boys) – 1
Aizure Clarke (U18 Girls) – 1
Alice Inat (U18 Girls) – 1
Awards:
At the end of each tour each team presents awards to the Most Valuable Player, the Players Player and a Coaches Award. Congratulations to the following award winners:
Under 18 Girls
Most Valuable Player: Simone Logan
Player’s Player: Aizure Clarke
Coaches Award: Ella Timmis
Under 18 Boys
Most Valuable Player: Maurice Beasy
Player’s Player: Oscar Leeson
Coaches Award: Cohen Hansen
Under 16 Girls
Most Valuable Player: Darcey Timmis
Player’s Player: Matilda Barrett
Coaches Award: Alessia Giglio
Technical Space:
This tournament we had Amanda Sheeky attend as a referee coach. Amanda has mounds of knowledge as a referee that she was able to pass on. She is seen to be the leading female referee in touch football, winning this award at The Championship and at the 2024 FIT World Cup in Nottingham. It was great to have Amanda attend the 2024 DoorDash National Youth Championship in the technical space.
Siblings:
On this tour we had many siblings participating over various teams and roles.
The siblings on tour were:
Zahli Clarke (U18 Girls Assistant Coach), Aizure Clarke (U18 Girls), Torran Clarke (U18 Boys)
Eliza Beck (U16 Girls), Jorja Beck (U16 Girls)
Ella Timmis (U18 Girls) Darcey Timmis (U16 Girls)
Molly O’Halloran (U18 Girls), Rosie O’Halloran (U16 Girls)
Alliance State Players:
To send away the Under 18’s boys team we recruited three players from interstate. It has been great working with alliance states to ensure that players from various locations still get the opportunity to compete at nationals. We had Cooper Power and Oscar Leeson from the Australian Capital Territory as well as Callum Backwell from the Northern Territory. A big thank you to all three boys to their contributions to the team over the course of the week.
