The sun was shining in both Wellington and Auckland for week 3 of the AFLNZ Youth competition where close games seemed to be the trend in both regions.
Auckland:
U13
| Team: | Goals: | Behinds: | Total: |
 | 9 | 5 | 59 |
 | 7 | 5 | 53 |
Goals:
Bulldogs: Joel Hetherington 2, Callum Maloyd 2, Dennis Koro 2, Luke Buckley 1, Logan Butterworth 1, Ronan Morling 1
Suns: Wade McNabb 6, Logan Ganalofa 2
Player of the day:
Bulldogs: Ronan Morling
Suns: Wade McNabb
The Bulldogs and Suns were at it once again, displaying some very nice skills on the footy field. The Suns got out to an early lead thanks to goal kicking sensation Wade McNabb, but the Bulldogs fought back strongly with a solid team effort to win the game by 6 points. Notable performances went to Callum Maloyd of Whangaparaoa College and Ronan Morling of Rosehill College.
U17 Girls
| Team: | Goals: | Behinds: | Total: |
 | 9 | 5 | 59 |
| 7 | 5 | 53 |
Goals:
Saints: Setareh Brown 6 and Brooke Harris 6
Suns: Kayla Paniora 3, Kara Hotere 2, Misialofa Saamu 1, Jade Maloyd 1
Player of the day:
Suns: Kara Hotere
Saints: Brooke Harris
In a high scoring U17 Girls game, Setareh Brown (Whangarei Girls High) and Brooke Harris (Mt Albert Grammar) kicked 6 goals each to down the Suns. The Suns did bring their kicking boots though, as they kicked 7 straight goals without missing.. Brooke Harris was the standout for the Saints whilst Kara Hotere from St Dominic’s College had a strong game for the Suns and was rewarded with the Player of the day.
U17 Boys
| Team: | Goals: | Behinds: | Total: |
 | 8 | 15 | 63 |
 | 6 | 7 | 43 |
Goals:
Magpies: Maxwell Hicks 2, Levi Boyd 2, Lachlan Kennedy 1, Jackson Rolleston 1, Connor Lawson 1, Jacob Tucker 1
Tigers: Sebastian Serrano 2, Felix Maclarn 2 Joseph Alesich-Tamariki 1, Zeon McNabb 1
Player of the day:
Magpies: Blake Nahu
Tigers: James Dakin
Strong marks and fast paced football was the theme in the U17’s game. Both the Tigers and Magpies went goal for goal throughout the match, but it wasn’t until the last quarter when the Magpies had the extra fitness to slot 2 late goals and take the win. Player of the day Blake Nahu from Western Heights High School in Rotorua travels up to Auckland every weekend to be involved in the Youth competition and had an outstanding game in the midfield to show he has what it takes to step up to the next level.
Wellington:
U13
| Team: | Goals: | Behinds: | Total: |
 | 6 | 3 | 39 |
 | 5 | 3 | 33 |
Goals:
Crows: Douglas McJorrow 2, George Hopkins 2, Beaudean Parkes
Giants: Munro Short 3, Ryan Awatere 2, Lukah Chadwick
Player of the day:
Crows: Bailee Laurenson
Giants: Lukah Chadwick
The Crows made a strong start start to the kicking 4 goals with the wind in the first quarter. But the Giants managed to snatch a late goal to keep within touching distance early on. The second quarter was a complete role reversal with the Giants piling on 3 quick goals early on with the Crows adding a late goal to stay ahead at half time.
The teams then had a grind out second half with the Giants defence holding strong and keeping the Crows goalless after half-time, while managing to sneak ahead in the last quarter to win by one goal.
All players are continuing to improve and develop their skills but will be important for the players to keep working on their kicking and fitness over the week off due to North Island AFL Secondary School Championships.
Special mention to Lukah Chadwick and Beaudean Parkes on their first ever AFL goals!
U17
| Team: | Goals: | Behinds: | Total: |
 | 8 | 4 | 54 |
| 7 | 5 | 47 |
Goals:
Lions: Shaun Hanning 2, Sam Green 2, Mau Kuonga, Misilifi Jr (Richard) Faimalo, Cahon Holden, Lewis Gill
Saints: Peter Allott 2, James Watkins 2, Iraia Tuhiwai, Alex Awatere, Joshua Morgan-Ranui
Player of the day:
Lions: Mau Kuonga
Saints: Peter Allott
Another close game for the U17’s that went down to the wire. Much like the U13s in Wellington, the team with the wind in the first quarter got off to a flyer with the Saints kicking 4.1 to the Lions 1.0. A strong defence effort from the Lions in the second quarter held the Saints to just a solitary point, but they could only kick 2 goals to be down 8 points at half time. A huge 3rd quarter saw the Lions kick 3 goals into the wind setting them up for a big last quarter with it. The Saints were having now of that and were going tit for tat. Something had to break, and with less than a minute left and only one point in it the Saints coughed up the ball in the goal square with Cahon Holden managing to kick the goal to push the Lions out beyond a goal.
Great effort from all players and especially those new to the game. Both Player of the days were new players and it was great to see them showcasing their skills that are rapidly developing through the Youth Competition.
Related Stories:
Auckland Regional Hawks Cup results
Youth Competition moves into Week 2
