Tyrone Raveneau pushes of a Group 21 player for under 13s. Photo courtesy of Grant Robertson, NDL.
Tyrone Raveneau, Keenan Duncan and Ryan Kennedy played on the under 13s team, while Dylan Reading, Coen Van Dugteren, Harry McKenzie and Tate O’Neil played for the under 14s team.
The two teams played three games each on Sunday at Tamworth.
The Group 19 under 13s team were matched up with Group 21 for their first game, which ended in a draw at 10 all.
Coach David Willis said it was a tough match, which took a lot out of the players.
“It was a really tough game and it was hard to come back (and keep playing) after that,” Willis said.
Raveneau was awarded players’ player for the first match.
The second game saw Group 19 pitted against Group Four. Group 19 lead the match 12-6 but a late comeback from Group Four saw the score end up 32-18 in their favour.
Duncan was awarded players’ player for the match. Unfortunately, Ryan had a heavy hit to the back of his neck and was taken to hospital. He returned later in the afternoon, but was unable to play for the rest of the day.
The final match was against Group 14, who Group 19 defeated 38 to six.
Willis said all the boys had played well after a tough early match. He particularly congratulated the Moree players on their efforts.
“The team is built around Tyrone, who was hooker, and Keenan, who was five-eighth, and most of the plays came of them.”
The under 14s team also played Group 21 first off, and were defeated 28 to four.
Coach Rodney Reading said the team was affected by the freezing weather and some differences in how the games were played.
“A disadvantage to us was that we’ve been playing the 10-metre rule, where as (at the carnival) they were playing the five-metre rule, so it messed up our plays a bit,” he said.
The second match was against Group Four, who narrowly beat them 24-20.
“It was the best game of the day. It was anyone’s game down to the last minute. What let us down was dropped balls,” Reading said.
Moree’s Harry McKenzie scored one try in the game but Group 19 found their feet and won their final match against Group 14 48-6. Tate O’Neil from Moree managed to find the line twice in the game.
Reading congratulated his players on their efforts across the day.
“Playing representative football helps build their skills and builds camaraderie,” he said.
