Young South East footballers recognised at SANFL Intrastate Youth championships

15 Country Dscn3629  TBW Newsgroup

17 Youth Dscn3634 TBW Newsgroup
STATE CHAMPIONS: The Under 17 Glenelg side dominated the 2019 SANFL Intrastate competition and went undefeated on its way to glory in the Crows Division with the help of 16 South East players last week.

A NUMBER of South East football players impressed for Glenelg at the SANFL Intrastate Youth Football Championships in Adelaide last week.

The region’s top junior talent helped the Tigers finish top in the Under 17 and runners-up in the Under 15 categories.

Both sides produced strong results in the Crows Division competitions, with their ability to make a severe impact on the scoreboard a stand out.

Glenelg Football Club talent manager Kieron Hicks said he was impressed with the output from both Tigers sides at the state competition.

“The boys played really well,” Hicks said.

“The Under 15 boys were right up there with the best from the other country zones and the Under 17 country boys performed strongly with a mix of city and metro boys.”

Glenelg’s Under 17 squad defended its 2018 triumph in stunning fashion and went undefeated after three crushing wins over North Adelaide, Central District and Sturt by an average margin of 58 points.

The opponents were no match for the Tigers who sat proudly on top of the ladder with a remarkable percentage of 330.26.

Robe’s Harry Bigmore shone brightly to receive the player of the carnival honour with consistent performances in all three games and two goals.

Padthaway product Tom Moyle-Read enjoyed his time on the representative stage with mentions in the best players in each match, while Naracoorte pair William and Zachary Walker booted the

most goals with six and five respectively and Millicent star Frazer Bradley also played a couple strong games.

Hicks said the greatest strength of the Under 17 side was how it played so well as a team despite limited preparation.

“The biggest thing was the way they gelled quickly with each other,” he said.

“A lot of them have never met each other, let alone play together, so one of the group’s strongest attributes was just gelling and working together.

“They allowed their natural football instincts to take control and worked well together as a group.

“All players were consistent performers each day and were strong in the contests.

“They never had any quiet periods of play.”

Hicks said the Under 17’s latest victory in the Crows Division is another chapter in a remarkable hot streak.

“I am pretty confident our Under 17’s have not dropped a game in the last three years at least,” he said.

“We have a very strong group who are willing to put their hand up to come and play.”

The Under 15 country squad was packed with South East talent and narrowly missed the chance to play in the grand final.

In the Tigers’ opening pool match against eventual premier North Adelaide, Glenelg was up by 11 points at the final break, but a late charge from the Roosters stole the game.

However, Glenelg recovered and showed its class after two thumping wins over Central District and Sturt by 93 and 64 points respectively.

The goal-scoring ability and skills of South Gambier’s Jake Walker saw him snatch the player of the carnival honour, while fellow Demons Mitchell and Noah Sims found plenty of the ball.

The Penola flag was waved proudly by Brock Summerhayes with six majors and Aaron Zerk with a best-on-ground mention each game.

Despite failing to reach the decider, Hicks said he was pleased with how the country Under 15 team stood up at state level.

“They were a super strong team and a good group of kids,” he said.

“The team put on quite a dominant display in all the games with lots of good performances across the board.”

Hicks said this year’s crop of young South East talent was another successful addition to the region’s proud history at Glenelg.

“The South East has a strong history with producing many good footballers who are really competitive at these competitions,” he said.

“It is a strong group of kids coming through in both metro and country, with many represented by the South East.

“We will look to get a few of those boys to potentially play in Under 18 competitions or trial for the Under 16 carnival next year at SANFL level.”