Two Gunnedah touch teams compete at Coffs Harbour

The Gunnedah Goannas fielded 10s boys and 16s girls teams at the Northern Eagles junior touch football championships at the Coffs Harbour-based International Stadium last weekend.

The boys reached the quarter-finals, as it was the first time in many years that Gunnedah took part in this tournament.

In their first ‘serious’ carnival, the boys began with a 6-3 loss to a Port Macquarie team which had plenty of touch football representative experience.

In their second fixture, the Goannas 10s showed they could match it with some of the biggest clubs in the region as they defeated Ballina 3-1.

Goannas coach Will Dowe later said the subsequent 6-1 loss to Forster Tuncurry showed “we still have a lot to learn when it comes to rep touch”, before the Gunnedah team won its final round-robin game 2-0 against Barraba.

Gunnedah’s 10s went down 6-1 to an experienced Taree team in the quarter-final, with the coach later saying “it was a very successful carnival” for the boys.

“Each and every player learnt valuable lesson(s) over the weekend and improved their game,” he said.

“The players bonded well as a team and enjoyed each other’s company.”

16s girls Goannas. Tilly Gleeson, Macey Carlyon, Katie Spinks, Lenni Frey, Tahni Bush, Lola Brady, Imogen Torrens, Audrey Hannaford, Danika Jones, Jazmin Hobden, Georgia Dowe, Lara Torrens, Sarah McInerney, Tyla Hinchcliffe, Shiloh Moore. (Absent: coach Casey Hatch, assistant coach Beck Henderson).

Dowe said Baxter Royall and Hudson Molenkamp were outstanding players while all of the players put in 110 per cent effort into every game, “doing Gunnedah Goannas proud”.

Dowe also acknowledged team manager Mitch Royall and team scorer Alex O’Keefe.

Gunnedah’s 16s girls meanwhile had tough games as other teams were vastly more experienced.

The Goannas line-up featured new players to representative touch football, while players from the 14s age group helped make up the numbers.

Dowe nevertheless said the 14s “demonstrated fantastic skills and determination at this higher level”.

“The players that were present made some extraordinary improvements over the weekend, not to mention the advantage of having this as a practise heading into Junior State Cup (JSC) in Dubbo on February 21,” he said.

The girls began with a 4-2 loss to Woolgoolga, followed by a 7-1 loss to Ballina, a 4-3 loss to Taree and a 4-0 loss to Port Macquarie, before a 2-1 win against Inverell was followed by a 6-3 loss to Grafton.

Dowe said one of the highlights of the weekend was Gunnedah’s 10s boys and 16s girls clapping on regional neighbours the Tamworth Titans and Barraba teams in a ‘team tunnel’.

“(The) Gunnedah Goannas club is confident that as we move forward and give our youngest players the exposure to high quality rep level touch football, we will become more competitive and more successful at our local carnivals,” he said.

“Additionally over the weekend, our players that submitted Expressions-Of-Interest to be considered for Northern Eagles selection were watched and evaluated by selectors.

“They will know if they are successful in the coming weeks.”

Dowe said the Gunnedah Touch Association was very grateful for the help and volunteering hours of parents and managers.

10s boys Goannas. Back: Mitch Royall (manager), Dustin Bourke, Caleb Bourke, George O’Keefe, Harley Hinchcliffe, Will Dowe (coach). Front: Jake Gurney, Daniel Walsh, Baxter Royall, Jhai Walker, Hudson Molenkamp.