Last week Harry Keating and Cyrus Ikimouga embarked on a trip to the Gold Coast to play for the AFL South Pacific Academy. They were joined by Henry Russell who travelled with them as a coach.
The AFL Pacific Academy gives the opportunity for talented young players across the Pacific to travel to Australia and experience what it is like to be a high performance AFL player. During the camp, the team stays at the Gold Coast High performance centre, Train and play against the Gold Coast Suns and Brisbane Lions Academies and watch an AFL Training and Game.
Leading into their first game against the Gold Coast Suns Academy at People First Stadium, the Academy were able to watch the Gold Coast Suns train ahead of their Round 1 matchup against the West Coast Eagles. Afterwards they were also treated to an opportunity to take photos members of the team including the Suns star new recruit Christian Petracca.
Their first game against the Gold Coast Suns Academy was a tough one. The first time the Pacific Academy played together as a team, blending different cultures, playing styles and experience with the added difficulty of what was probably the first night game for a majority of the squad, however the team banded together and put on a performance they should be proud of despite what the score board says.
“It was a great trip, I learned a lot and I’m looking forward to the CAFL season later this year” – Harry Keating
Harry Keating’s leadership skills shone through in the first game and was awarded the Captaincy for the Pacific Academies second game against the Brisbane Lions Academy which was a ripper. The boys now a bit more gelled together, they certainly held their own against a formidable side, putting together some outstanding sequences throughout the game. The two sides were seperated by only four points at the Half time break, before the experience and fitness kicked in for the Lions, running away with the game in the 3rd and 4th quarters. Harry Keating’s leadership skills shone through in the first game and was awarded the Captaincy for this clash. Still fairly new to the sport, Cyrus Ikimouga had a great game through the middle and was listed as one of the Pacific Academies best for the game.
“I really enjoyed this campaign, what an experience I was lucky enough to embark on”
“One thing I loved about this campaign was the people and the relationships I built with the players from different origins. It was so fun to discover these people from PNG, Fiji, Nauru, Vanuatu and Tonga and seeing how different they were compared to back home.” – Cyrus Ikimouga
The team finished up an awesome campaign by watching the Gold Coast Suns beat the West Coast Eagles at People First Stadium, before heading back to their accommodation and preparing to head home.
The Pacific Academy continues to provide fantastic opportunities to U16 boys and girls and coaches across the pacific and AFL New Zealand looks forward to continuing to have talented Kiwis experience AFL at a high level.
The pathway from Schools to Youth and the Academy will provide Young Kiwis with the ability to learn and play the AFL at all from grass roots to national representation, with future AFL New Zealand academy groups to return to the U17 Pacific Cup and the U15 Oceania Cup, which will provide selection grounds for more talented kids like Harry and Cyrus with the chance to play in the Pacific Academy
