Paul Kelly Cup finals in full swing

By Alison Zell

The Paul Kelly Cup regional finals were held across Sydney Harbour, Sydney South and Northern NSW on Monday May 27 with hundreds of young school kids showcasing their skills in the hopes of reaching the final, to be held on the SCG in two weeks time.

The Paul Kelly Cup is the largest AFL primary school competition in NSW and the ACT and is open to students in Years 5 and 6.

In the Sydney South region, the Lilli Pilli Public School teams were standouts in both the Boys and Girls’ competitions.

Loftus Public School just made it into second place on for-and-against to earn the right to face Lilli Pilli in the Grand Final, with the winner to progress to the zone final on June 19.

Lilli Pilli proved too strong, taking out the 12-a-side game 37 points to 12.

In the Girls’ competition Lilli Pilli played Illawong Public School, with Illawong facing a tough task against last year’s state winners.

The game was a nail-biter with the Illawong girls missing out on a draw due to an unlucky kick at goal – the final score was 6-1 with both Lilli Pilli sides progressing to the zone final.

Local Sydney Swans hero Kieren Jack paid a visit to the Sydney Harbour regional finals in Moore Park with the former Pennant Hills Public School student reflecting on his start in AFL.

“The Paul Kelly Cup, this is where it all started for me,” he said.

“I was an 11, 12 year old, this was my first introduction to the game.

“I didn’t know a thing about it but came out – I think there were about 80 Primary Schools at the time involved in the Cup and now there’s about 1000 so it probably shows how much the game’s grown in that space of time.

“These kids, while they don’t all play AFL, they’re out here just enjoying it and giving it a go and that’s what you want to see.”

On field, the day saw schools from the Sydney City region and Sydney North region come together to compete for two spots in the final.

24 boys teams competed on the day with Newington College – Stanmore, Harbord Public School, Greenwich Public School and Oxford Falls Grammar School all finishing top of their respective pools.

The Semi-Finals proved to be very competitive, with Newington and Harbord going head-to-head in the Grand Final.

While Newington and Harbord had already secured a spot in the final, both teams showed great skill and determination and weren’t going to give up. The game resulted in Newington College defeating Harbord 30-27.

The Girls competition kicked off with 12 teams across three pools. Cherrybrook Public School, Middle Harbour Public School and Lane Cove Public School all came first in their respective pools.

Forestville Public School also qualified for the Semi-Final as the fourth best team after the pool games. The Semi Finals saw Forestville and Lane Cove win their respective games which secured them a place in the upcoming final.

The Grand Final saw Forestville and Lane Cove giving it all they had to win the day.  Both girls teams proved to be evenly matched with the game finishing a nil-all draw.

The Northern NSW finals were held at BCU Stadium in Coffs Harbour with last year’s Boys winners, Kempsey West Public School, the team to beat.

Coffs Harbour Public School and Yamba Public School were very competitive in the pool games while North Haven Public School also showed they had improved significantly from their Gala Day victory.

Eventually it was Kempsey West PS and Yamba PS who went on to play off in the Grand Final.  The game was a tight battle with only a goal separating the teams at half time but Kempsey West ran away with it in the second half to win 27-7.

Yamba  has always fielded strong Paul Kelly Cup sides and this year’s Girls team was always going to be hard to beat. That proved the case and they ran out 40-1 winners over South West Rocks Public School in the Grand Final.

The Paul Kelly Cup Zone Finals will be played on the SCG on June 19.