The AFL New Zealand Youth competition was back in full swing in Auckland and Wellington over the weekend after taking a break over the Labour Day long weekend.
Auckland:
North Harbour Stadium was enveloped with AFL Youth once again for the Auckland Youth competition. St Kilda Football Club Recruiting and list Manager Tony Elshaug was on hand to cast his eye over talented youngsters throughout the day and was very impressed with the skills during the girls game. AFL New Zealand National Youth manager Mick Coultard was also very impressed with the development of the players. “It’s a pleasure to watch the players growing in their understanding and ability to execute the fundamentals of AFL each time they take the field”
U13 Boys:
Bulldogs 13.9: 81 vs Suns 6.3: 39
Goalscorers:
Bulldogs: Wade McNabb 4, Luke Buckley 3, Callum Maloyd 2, Joel Hetherington 2, Ronan Morling 2
Suns: Alvin Grant 3, Jacob Angell 2, Benjamin Rayner 1
Best Players:
Bulldogs: Ronan Morling
Suns: Alvin Grant
U17 Boys:
Saints 11.3: 69 vs Magpies 4.3: 27
Goalscorers:
Saints: Bonawai Baledrokadroka 3, Zeon McNabb 2, Isaac Piper 2, Lachland Kennedy 2, Felix Maclarn 1, Joel Brown 1
Magpies: Lewis Barrow-Young 2, Jacob Tucker 1, Hoani Rogers-Brown 1
Best Players:
Saints: Felix Maclarn
Magpies: Alistair Maisey
Girls:
Suns 8.4: 52 vs Saints 8.2: 50
Goalscorers:
Suns: Kayla Paniora 4: Buell Verkade 2: Jade Maloyd 2
Saints: Setareh Brown 3, Brooke Harris 2, O’Shea Macmillan 1, Charlie Green 1, Misialofa Saiamu 1
Best Players:
Suns: Kayla Paniora
Saints: O’Shea Macmillan
Wellington:
With all the games now moved to Hutt Park in Seaview. Wellington turned on a nice day for the Youth to get involved with footy.
With not much wind around, the players could showcase their ever-increasing skill level. “All the players have shown a lot of improvement after only 1 week and they are now starting to understand the game and put their skills into action. Can’t wait for week 3” Wellington Youth Manager Sam Mckenzie has seen a big difference from week 1.
U13 Boys:
Giants 14.11.95 vs Saints 2.0.12
Goalscorers:
Giants: Beren Goodwin (4), Douglas McJorrow (3), George Hopkins (2), Munro Short (2), Hari Below, Thomas Woodward, Logan Biggans
Saints: Ryan Awatere (2)
Best Players:
Saints: Douglas McJorrow
Giants: Lane Schreurs
U17 Boys:
Crows 10.4: 64 beat Lions: 8.6: 54
Goalscorers:
Crows: Joshua Morgan-Ranui 5, Junior Time Taotua 2, Shaun Hanning 2
Lions: Misilifi Jr (Richard) Faimalo 2, Sam Green 2, Cahon Holden 2, James Watkins, Sam Isbister
Best Players:
Crows: Joshua Morgan-Ranui
Lions: Cahon Holden
The roaring Lions streaked ahead at the start of the U17’s game to be leading by four goals at half time with U16 NZ Hawks superstar Sam Green leading the way. The Crows started strong in the second half as the new players to the game started to show a real hunger for the ball. This lead them to kicking 6 goals in the final quarter to pip the Lions by 10 points.
Notable performance from Joshua Morgan Ranui (Crows) kicking 3 goals in the final quarter – showing an eye for goal and an accurate boot.
