The annual NAB Under 16 National Championships concluded last Friday at Blacktown Oval in Sydney with a nail biting 2 point win to Victoria Country over South Australia enabling Victoria Country to be crowned National Division 1 Champions for 2013.
Victoria Country opened their campaign on Saturday with a hard fought victory over Western Australia at Blacktown, eventually prevailing by 14 points.
All 25 Squad members participated in the first game with the Murray Bushrangers represented by Josh Schache (Seymour), Michael Reidy (Mooroopna), Mitch King (Wodonga Bulldogs) and Brydon Robins(Wahgunyah). The Goulburn Murray Region was also represented by Aidyn Johnson (Bendigo Pioneers).
Josh Schache scored three goals in the win and was named amongst the best players for Vic Country.
In the second game against Victoria Metro, the Country boys came out breathing fire and slammed on nine goals to two in the first half, Josh Schache contributing five of these first half goals. Mitch King was performing well in the ruck and forward whilst Brydon Robins was proving an effective lead up forward and was marking strongly overhead. Unfortunately, the run and carry of the Country boys disappeared in the second half and a goal to Vic Metro with 20 seconds on the clock resulted in a heartbreaking two point victory to the Metro team.
With Western Australia doing the right thing by Vic Country in defeating Vic Metro in their final game, the match between Vic Country and South Australia effectively became a Grand Final to decide the National Champions for 2013.
Vic Country was fast out of the blocks and had the first three goals on the board before South Australia could record their first major. Josh Schache was playing higher up forward for this game and his marking and quick use of handball was bringing others in to the game. Aidyn Johnson provided some fantastic run off his wing with his electric pace proving hard for the South Australian players to counter. An inspirational contested mark by Michael Reidy late in the game stopped a South Australian surge that could have given them the lead.
When the final siren sounded, the Victorian Country boys were ecstatic with their victory as they held on for a narrow two point win over the competition favourites. Josh Schache again registered a goal and was named amongst the best players to cap off a fantastic carnival for him.
Rhys Mathieson (Geelong) was awarded the Kevin Sheahan Medal as best and fairest player at the championships whilst Sam Skinner (Gippsland) received an award as the MVP for Victoria Country.
"The boys really showed their composure and mettle in the last quarter of the final" commented Vic Country Team Manager, Trevor Mellington. "It was a tight and tough contest that ebbed and flowed all day and when the final siren sounded the boys were as excited as they were exhausted."
"Whilst it’s a great reward to be the National Champions, the development of the players is paramount and their improvement and work ethic really impressed this week. Playing three games in five days is a tough assignment and I was really impressed by the effort and commitment of the players."
"All of the Goulburn Murray players performed admirably throughout the week with Josh Schache and Aidyn Johnson being standouts. I believe all players will be better footballers because of the Carnival and have had a taste of the higher level and the necessary skills and effort required to be successful."
"Personally it was a great experience for me to work with such a talented group of players and it’s a great showcase of the quality skill level and performance of footballers across regional Victoria."
Last Modified on 15/12/2014 13:52