Winners galore at junior grand finals
By Michael DiFabrizio
Heathcote Oval and Macquarie University played host to a number of junior Grand Finals over the weekend, with 16 different clubs winning premierships.
Three clubs were successful in doing just that on Sydney South Grand Final day held at Heathcote Oval on Saturday.
Played in front of a strong crowd in fine yet windy conditions, the skill from the best two sides in each age group was evident to all in attendance.
Bangor claimed the Under 16s premiership, while Ramsgate (Under 12s and 15s) and Penshurst (Under 13s and 14s) finished ahead in two age groups.
Simon Wilson, Sydney/Illawarra region manager for AFL NSW/ACT, was pleased with the spread of winners.
“On the day there were multiple winners, so that’s good from our perspective. It was a great way to wrap up the season,” he said.
“This is the sort of day that reminds people why they’re involved in junior sport, where there’s that feel-good atmosphere.”
The Sydney Harbour Grand Finals were played in front of a superb crowd at Macquarie University on Sunday.
All the sides played in fine weather, with an incredible twelve clubs claimed the thirteen premierships on offer. East Sydney were the only club to claim two premierships – both in the Under 13 age group.
“There’s three fields of footy going, basically from 10 o’clock in the morning there would be thousands of people streaming through,” Wilson said of the afternoon.
The performance of St Ignatius College in winning a premiership was one of the noteworthy achievements on the day.
“We’re working fairly hard on the independent schools at the moment, so it’s a good result. It shows that we’re actually making some headway through the school system.”
The full list of results is listed below.
SYDNEY SOUTH
Under 12s
Ramsgate 4.8-32 def. Bankstown 3.1-19
Best on Ground: Tom Baxter
Under 13s
Penshurst 5.3-33 def. Miranda 2.1-13
Best on Ground: Kyle McKellar
Under 14s
Penshurst 11.4-70 def. Cronulla 3.3-21
Best on Ground: Shannon Randell
Under 15s
Ramsgate 10.14-74 def. Miranda 6.12-48
Best on Ground: Andrew Pappas
Under 16s
Bangor 16.12-108 def. Miranda 4.5-29
Best on Ground: Daniel Tomlins
SYDNEY HARBOUR
Under 12s
Division 1- Pittwater def. Willoughby 45-31
Division 2- Hornsby-Berowra def. Kellyville/Rouse Hill 40-30
Division 3- Forest def. Baulkham Hills 64-31
Under 13s
Division 1- East Sydney def. Westbrook 29-21
Division 2- Pennant Hills def. Kellyville/Rouse Hill 78-15
Division 3- East Sydney def. Baulkham Hills 102-8
Under 14s
Division 1- Mosman/Willoughby def. Maroubra 50-49
Division 2- Baulkham Hills def. Newtown 78-47
Division 3- Manly def. East Sydney 30-15
Under 16s
Division 1- Maroubra def. Baulkham Hills 96-57
Division 2- Glebe def. North Ryde 112-70
Division 3- St Ignatius, Riverview def. Pennant Hills 113-15
Youth Girls
St Scholastica’s def. Baulkham Hills 32-18
Under 12 City (played on Saturday at Drummoyne Oval)
East Sydney Hounds def. Drummoyne 69-45
