Riverina wins Youth Girls State Cup

Riverina dominated last weekend, as Canberra hosted the inaugural NSW/ACT Under 18 Youth Girls State Cup at Ried Park on Saturday November 17.

More than 100 girls aged 13-18 in six teams from across NSW and the ACT competed in the event, which aimed to provide players of all experiences the opportunity to play against their peers while also serving as a selection trial for the NSW/ACT U18 Development Squad to play at the national championships in Victoria next year.

Competition was fierce among the teams, representing areas including Hay, Albury, Hunter Valley, Sydney Harbour, Illawarra and Wagga Wagga.

The Riverina Cubs (5.3.33) were the eventual winners of the carnival, winning the final in a convincing fashion against the Illawarra (2.3.15). The third and fourth playoff was fought out between Weston Creek and Sydney Harbour, with Sydney Harbour 4.1.25 defeating Weston Creek 0.2.2.

Local sides Tuggeranong and Ainslie played the fifth and sixth, with Ainslie (11.9.75) winning by a large margin against Tuggeranong (2.1.13)/

AFL NSW/ACT Female Football Programs Manager Libby Sadler said she was pleased with the first year of the event.

“The girls were really enthusiastic and played all their games in great spirit,” she said.

“We’re very keen to give girls every opportunity to get involved in footy and progress through our player pathways, and this has been a great chance for us to see girls from all over the state get involved.”

The NSW/ACT Under 18 Development squad to play in the AFL U18 Youth Girls Nationals will be announced later this week.