Western competitive at AFL carnival
This article and picture first appeared in the Parkes Champion-Post
The carnival now host 13 regional or sub-regional teams of 22 players in which Western Region was the latest team to re-join the competition in 2009.
The 2013 carnival was held on the banks of the Murray River, at Barooga with a population of 1200 people and some of the finest golfing courses in the state.
Western Region played very competitive football over the duration of the carnival finishing with two wins and three losses and an overall placing of 11th out of 13.
On day one, Western were defeated by Sydney West 8.4.52 to 3.1.19 and Sydney South West 7.5.47 to 2.1.13.
Day two proved to be successful coming away with their first win against Barrier (Broken Hill) 1.6.12 to1.0.6.
In the second game of day 2, Western were tough going down to Sydney North 8.4.52 to 2.3.15.
On the final day of the carnival Western faced off with Barrier again for 11th position and played some of their finniest football defeating them 4.4.28 to 1.0.6.
The Lachlan Region was well represented at the carnival with a total of six players coming from the Region – Angus and Lachlan Henderson (Forbes Public School), Brendon Trim (Middleton Public School), Mitch Wright, Aaron Wright and Jason Wright (Parkes Public).
They showed that the Lachlan region can produce Western Region players who can mix it with some of the best in the state.
Western Region Coach, Joel Wilson from Dunedoo Central School, said he was very proud of the boys with the commitment they showed to the football and toughness in which they played.
He went on to say that since Western re-joined the carnival in 2009 they had never won any more than one game for the carnival and were yet to defeat Barrier.
Western Manager Mark Ranger (Parkes East Public School), could not wipe the smile off his face after Western had their highest finish to any state AFL carnival.
He congratulated parents and family members for doing such a fine job in organising and preparing the students for such a successful carnival.
This year the National Championships will be held in Darwin in August where 23 players from the state carnival were selected to be a part of the NSW PSSA AFL team.
PSSA AFL has been a successful pathway for many professional AFL Footballers including current Sydney Swans coach John Longmire who played 200 games for the North Melbourne Kangaroos including the 1999 grand final victory over Carlton.
He also coached the Sydney Swans to the 2012 premiership.
Other players to have been through the system include Wayne Carey, Nick Davis, Leo Barry, Jarrad McVeigh, Adam Schneider, Dylan Addison, Ben Matthews and Jason Mooney.
Riverina were the eventual winners of the carnival defeating Mackilop 4.2.26 to 1.2.8.
The 2014 carnival will be held at Macquarie University (Sydney North).
