DARREN MONCRIEFF
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
A ROAD trip almost covering the length and breadth of Western Australia has borne fruit for a group of Kimberley junior footballers.
Junior representative team Kimberley Spirit has won the Colts section of the WA country championships in Perth, edging out South West Football League in a thriller, 11.11 (77) to 11.10 (76).
The Kimberley Spirit is an under-19 team which draws its players from the major towns of the Kimberley and its communities.
The Spirit's win in Perth ends the stranglehold the SWFL has had on the Colts section of the championships since its inception.
To add to the Kimberley team's success, Graeme Thomas won the Ken Baxter Medal as the Colts' fairest-and-best overall, and team-mate Waylon Manson was named best-on-ground in the grand final.
In addition, nine of the Spirit's players were selected in the Colts All-Stars team.
But it doesn't end there. The team's coach, Clinton Cox, was selected as the All-Stars coach, capping a memorable weekend for the young team.
The Spirit's All-Stars players (and their clubs) were Kurt Barnes (Port Wyndham Crocs), Levi Copley (Halls Creek Hawks), Barry Long (Kundat Djaru Cats), Waylon Manson (Kururrungku Roos), Vincent Manson (Kururrungku Roos), Kieren Ridley (Wangkatjungka Crows), Jordan Scanlan (Waringarri Crows), Cedric Taylor (Port Wyndham Crocs) and Graeme Thomas (Warmun Eagles).
SPIRITED EFFORT: The Kimberley Spirit team celebrate their WA country championship victory. Picture courtesy William Crabb Photographer
Also selected in the Colts Country All-Stars team was the SWFL's Bernard Jetta (Carey Park) and the GSFL's Michael McGlade (Royals).
SWFL comes up trumps in A Section
THE South West Football League were A Section victors at the WA country championships in Perth at the weekend.
The SWFL dominated its division and totally outclassed Peel in the grand final by 74 points, 17.11 (113) to 6.3 (39).
Both the South West and Peel were undefeated in their qualifying games in their six-team division.
In the B Section, Ongerup defeated Avon while in the C Section, Central Wheatbelt defeated Hills.
AboriginalFootball@westnet.com.au
Last Modified on 27/07/2011 12:00