DARREN MONCRIEFF
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
QUEENSLAND, NSW/ACT and Western Australia have recorded first-round wins on day 1 of the National Indigenous Under-15 Championships on the Gold Coast today.
All matches, which are two 15-minutes halves, are all played at Southport Sharks Oval, which was damp underfoot after rain earlier in the day. There were three games today and there will be six tomorrow and on Friday (see fixtures/results here), with a full four-quarter grand final on Saturday.
Collingwood's NSW scholarship holder, Elijah Edwards, was one of the standouts for NSW/ACT in their 3.1 (19) to 1.4 (10) win over Northern Territory.
Elijah's team held sway for much of the match but the Territorians fought back in the second half, though wayward kicking would prove to be their undoing.
Taren Etto, Daniel Briggs and Abiana Davis were also strong contributors for NSW/ACT.
WA and South Australia put on a high-quality match in dewy conditions, which was won by the Sandgropers 7.1 (43) to 3.2 (20).
The Croweaters' game preparations were hampered by the late cancellation of their direct flight from Adelaide to the Gold Coast. The touring party boarded a hastily arranged alternative flight to Brisbane 80km away and were bussed straight to the ground.
However, they showed great endeavour to fight back in the second half after WA kicked the first three goals, the third coming after terrific link-up play from half-forward on the boundary when Ashley Eades found Brandon Colbung inboard 40m out from goal, after which the left-footer kicked truly.
Jermaine Miller-Lewis and Warrick Wilson showed their class for the Sandgropers; Jermaine's torpedo-goal from outside the 50m arc to open his side's scoring a true highlight.
Queensland opened the tournament with a 7.4 (48) to 3.0 (18) win over Victoria/Tasmania, the hosts' all-round height advantage serving them well.
AboriginalFootball@westnet.com.au
Last Modified on 03/09/2011 21:00