The Australian Football boys and girls teams have just returned from yet another successful School Sport Australia 15 Years and Under Australian Football Championships. South Australia hosted the championships that saw eight states and territories enter teams.
This championship was particularly special, because it was the first time that School Sport Victoria entered a second girls' team. The demand was there and the opportunity presented itself, which saw 54 girls, 29 boys and eight umpires selected to make their way over to South Australia ready to defend their title.
The boys' team played well in each game, with their confidence growing as the championship progressed. The pressure built when the boys' team made the grand final, competing against the home state South Australia. Team Vic knew it wouldn't be easy against a strong home crowd advantage of the reds. South Australia gave their all, but it wasn't enough to topple the strong navy blue. The final score was Team Vic 11.6 = 72 defeated South Australia 6.3 = 39. This was a particularly proud performance by the coaching staff Sean Kavanagh, Craig Kelly, and Duncan Ireland pictured below, because not only was this the third time they had defeated SA in the grand final, but more importantly this was the fifth time the boys had bought home the Australian title and gold medal. This feat was cause for a huge celebration when the final siren sounded.
You can find the full list of boys selected via the SSV website.
All the photos SSV has received can be found on the SSV Facebook page. See all girls teams photos.
The eight umpires that were selected proudly represented the state making unbiased decisions in every game they umpired in. You can find the full list of umpires selected via the SSV website.
Traditionally at the end of the championships the All Australian team is selected, this year seven talented boys were selected for this prestigious team. Pictured below, their names are (from left to right); number 3 – Connor McDonald, number 12 - Ben Hobbs, number 25 - Justin Davies, number 2 – Josh Ward, number 23 – Charlie Molan, number 5 – Michael Ktona, and number 15 Indy Parish.
The huge team of 54 girls headed to South Australia at the same time. This was as successful as other years where the girls bonded and forged friendships with both their other team mates and girls from other states. If the score line of the games was any reflection, it showed the strength and intensity of both girls' teams.
The Team Vic Girls' team 2 defeated ACT by a huge margin, 105 points, the final score was Team Vic 112 vs ACT 5. It was then time for the Team Vic team 1 to take to the field for the grand final. Who would take home the gold? The strongest on the field would clearly win. Team Vic entered the ground hungry for a win against NSW. Three quarter time arrived and with the score 32 to 17 in favor of Team Vic, there was little doubt who was going to win. Mid way through the last turn NSW were outperforming Team Vic, but in the end Team Vic was too strong for the light blue's, holding them off to win the grand final by a thrilling nine points and bringing home the gold. You can see a full list of both girls team's via the SSV website.
You can see all the photos SSV have received on SSV Facebook page. See all girls teams photos.
SSV are confident that you will see some of these boys and girls again as they continue on their sporting journey.
