End of year wrap: Junior football
By Alison Zell
The 2012 season saw a growth of 4.5 per cent for the Greater Sydney Juniors (GSJ) competition with 10,266 participants across 66 clubs and 410 teams.
The competition continues to be a breeding ground for elite talent with former juniors Tom Young and Jarrod Witts on AFL lists at the Western Bulldogs and Collingwood respectively, and both expected to see more senior game time in 2013.
The recent 2012 AFL rookie draft also saw three other players from the AFL GSJ system make it onto senior lists, with Craig Moller from Cronulla selected by Fremantle at pick 51 and Daniel Robinson (pictured) from Mosman and Brandon Jack from Westbrook both making it to the Sydney Swans.
Killarney Vale and Cronulla Junior AFL clubs were recognised with the recent announcement of successful applicants in the 2012 JOSS Group and AFL Community Facility Grant Program which sees 10 grants of $10,000 available to community clubs across NSW.
A number of initiatives were developed to drive recruitment including the ‘Bring A Friend’ and ‘Recruit and Win’ drives, with a number of long-serving volunteers also recognised under the AFL GSJ Reward and Recognition Program.
The highlight of the year was the re-establishment of the AFL GSJ Representative Carnival which saw 23 teams and over 500 participants compete in three age groups at the carnival.
The Under-13, Under-14 and Under-16 age groups played in front of QBE Sydney Swans Academy and Slater & Gordon GIANTS Academy staff over three days at Mike Kenny Oval in Cherrybrook.
The AFL Youth Girls competition enjoyed a successful year in the Sydney Harbour region with St Scholastica’s defeated Baulkham Hills in the Grand Final by 14 points.
The Sydney Harbour region had an outstanding year with 12 separate Premiers from 13 Grand Finals with East Sydney the only multiple Premiers, taking out Division 1 and Division 3 in the Under-13s competition.
In the Newcastle competition Nelson Bay claimed an exciting two-point win in the Under-16s Grand Final with Cardiff (Under-14s) and the Newcastle City Blues (Under-12s) easily winning the other Premierships.
Camden took out the Under-16s Grand Final by 45 points in Western Sydney with Penrith defeating the Blue Mountains by six points in the Under-14s Division 1 Grand Final.
On the Central Coast, Gosford made a clean sweep of all three Grand Finals, winning the Under-13, Under-14 and Under-16 Premierships.
And there were winners aplenty in the Sydney South competition with Bangor taking out the Under-16s Premiership, Ramsgate the Under-15s and Under-12s and Penshurst the Under-14s and Under-13s.
2013 sees Junior AFL working towards establishment of the AFL GSJ Club of the Year, launching social media integration and the implementation of an AFL Independent Schools competition run under AFL GSJ in Sydney Harbour region.
Click here for more information about AFL GSJ.
