On Saturday 11 June 2011 an enthusiastic 12 Years Darling Downs AFL team and 3 officials set off for the State Championship in Sandgate, Brisbane.
The first day kicked off with an opening ceremony welcoming all the regions to the championships. Our captains: Brendan Shelton, Brock Aston and Tom Matthews proudly led the team out onto the Sandgate AFC field. It was a cold and windy day in Brisbane and the regions from Northern Queensland looked very uncomfortable. It was obvious to see that the Downs boys had a height advantage over the other country teams and we were looking forward to our first match.
The boys came out pumped and dominated Northern from the opening ball up. Kale Ross’ awesome attack on the ball earned him many possessions. He was awarded Player’s Player and the Coach’s Award for his impressive display of both run and skill. Northern fought back in the second half but DD had a comfortable win (6.11.47 to 4.4.28). Kale Ross booted 3 goals, with 2 to Nathan Cherry and 1 to Bailey Salisbury. Harry Skinner and Andrew Bani-Freeman both showed discipline in their positions and earned encouragement awards.
Early on the second morning, on a dewy field, our team entered the arena again warmed up and ready to go. Capricornia held us off in the first quarter before the flood gates opened up and DD scored a series of quick goals (11.10.76 to 1.0.6). Tom Matthews (Coach’s Award) was mercurial up forward kicking 8 majors with one each to Nathan Cherry, Ryan Cherry and Matt Ryan. Our midfield dominated the game with Ryan Cherry voted the Player’s Player and Egan Siggs (Encouragement Award) tapping the ball to their advantage. Bailey Salibury (Encouragement Award) was a rock in defence, repelling any forward thrust.
Our third game against a disciplined Peninsula team was a nail biter. Neither team made the most of their opportunities kicking with the breeze and it came down to the last five minutes to determine the winner. It was Peninsula who handled the pressure the best and came out with the win (4.7.31 to 4.5.29). They were now the only undefeated team and were going to be hard to beat. Goals were shared by Ben Southey, Matt Ryan, Brendan Shelton and Tom Matthews. Bailey Salisbury’s determination earned him the Player’s Player medallion and Captain Brendan Shelton (Coach’s Award) never gave up and dominated the clearances. It was the match of the day and we were very proud of the disciplined effort that our boys produced.
Our fourth game was against the Crusaders, the indigenous boys and girls from the Cape and Torres Strait Islands. It was a bit of a scrappy game and the DD boys were feeling flat after the close loss the previous afternoon. Finn Collison (Player’s Player) was lively up forward kicking 2 goals and assisting in others. Tom Matthews chipped in with another 3 goals and Braden Hess and Tom Clark kicked one each. Brock Aston (Coach’s Award) led all over the ground and showed his ability to evade opponents and carry the ball. Reece Power and Ben Southey (Encouragement Awards) tackled well and created the forward pressure we needed. We tried players in a variety of different position and still came away with the win (7.6.48 to 2.1.13).
It came down to the final day, we had to beat Wide Bay and the Crusaders needed to knock over Peninsula. DD were playing for the Keenan Barr Shield, the annual trophy awarded to the winner of the DD and Wide bay games, named after the long serving officials Paul Keenan (DD) and Wayne Barr (Wide Bay). Our bigger and stronger midfield stood up, with great performances from Brock Aston (Coach’s Award) and Brendan Shelton, we kept our chances alive (4.8.32 to 2.2.14) and came away with the shield. Egan Siggs dominated in the middle, staying a kick behind play, they never looked like getting it past him. Tom Mathews booted another 3 and Ben Southey 1. Tom finished with an impressive 18 goals for the 5 games. Eric Rattray (Encouragement Award) found the ball and used it well. Jacob Sheath was solid in defence and earned the other encouragement award.
After our match we all headed over to the game between the Crusaders and Peninsula. It was 3 quarter time and scores were level. We were in with a sniff as we had the better percentage. The result came down to the final minute with Peninsula kicking a goal and winning the game by 6 points. They were the Country Pool winners. DD came a close second, a result that reflected the great teamwork that the 22 players displayed over the carnival.
Five of our players made the Queensland Country team (Kale Ross, Nathan Cherry, Ryan Cherry, Bailey Salisbury and Brendan Shelton) and they all had good performances in Qld Country’s win of 6.5.41 to 2.2.14 over Met North.
The winner of Pool A was the Metropolitan West Region. Congratulations to Brendan Shelton (DD), who was selected in the Queensland team. Each team had to select their Most Valuable Player of the carnival and this year the winner was BJ (Shelton), who led out on the field and performed consistently over the five days.
This year we had two student umpires travel with us to Brisbane, Joshua Moloney and Ryan Colclough. They both did an outstanding job and learned from the experience.
A well organised carnival by Jo Price from the Metropolitan North region and an excellent job done by Coach Mountford-Vale and Trainer O’Donoghue. Big thanks to all the parents for their help and support.
Andrew Wickes
DD Manager
Last Modified on 22/08/2011 09:36