Canterbury can be proud of the way our boys took on the larger provincial teams at the inaugural under-20 Championship. After 3-months of solid training, they welded into a team with plenty of spirit. Admirably coached by Lachlan Keating, with gun assistants in Jason Lanyon and James Bowden, the players were primed for this landmark event.
The first game saw the Cobras take on Auckland, who boasted a wealth of talent. The Cobras were right in the contest until the last few minutes when the wind assisted Auckland in pulling away to score a 45-point win. Rushton, Fanning and Swift each scored 1-goal.
The first game against Wellington was an even contest, with the Cobras unable to hold on against a wind-assisted Wellington, losing by a gutsy 10-points. Matthew Rushton kicked 2-goals and Simon Carden and Mitch Harding chimed in with one goal each. Captain Carden was awarded 2-votes by th umpires.
The return match against Wellington on the Sunday morning was a nail biter. This time the Cobras held on to win by just 2-points. Brendon Swifty kicked 2-goals, aided by Mitch Harding and Brad Flemming who kicked one each. Newcomers Jason Henry and Zach Williams caught the umpire's eye, gaining 4 and 1-votes respectively.
The last hit out saw the Cobras take on the eventual champions, Auckland. This was a tighter contest than the day before. Ethan Harding was resolute in defence and continually repelled the advancing ball. Auckland ran away to win by 32-points. Jason Henry picked up more votes from the umpires and also kicked a goal. Other goal contributors were Swifty with 2 and Flemming with one.
Overall this was a learning curve for our boys, who had played little match football up until the weekend. The mid-field of Blackler, Balchin, Carden and Henry was as good as any in the competition. There were 6-players selected for the national team, a testament to home grown talent.
Last Modified on 21/03/2009 10:35