Saints Under-14s earn Grand Final glory
The Inverell Saints celebrate their victory in the AFL North West Under-14s Mixed Grand Final.
THE Inverell Saints have won the AFL North West Under-14s Mixed premiership but the Tamworth Roosters made them work hard for their glory.
The Inverell team may have gone through the season undefeated but there were times when the Tamworth team looked like they may have been able to cause an upset.
After an even first term the Saints narrowly won the second and third quarters to take an 18-point lead into the final break.
The Roosters refused to throw in the towel though and kept coming at their opponents to kick the last two goals of the match to close the margin to 13 points.
The match could’ve been even closer if a couple of last quarter shots on goal by the Roosters went through rather than narrowly missing.
It was a situation that meant Inverell coach Gerry Taveira said he never felt comfortable about victory until the very end of the match.
“At four minutes to go I looked at the scoreboard and I was still a bit nervous,” Taveira said.
“Until there was only 10 seconds to go, it wasn’t until then that I finally thought that the boys and girls had done it.
“Tamworth are a good team and they were always attacking so. right through the game I was pretty edgy.”
In the second quarter Inverell kicked two unanswered goals with one of those in particular pleasing the coach.
“The reward for me was seeing how much the players’ skills have improved from the start of the year to now. Hollie Woodbury kicked a goal from the boundary line that showed how far the players have come,” he said.
“Throughout the season at practice we would hold a round the world goal kicking challenge and if a player could kick a goal from all five points they would get a Macca’s Happy Meal as a reward.
“Sure enough Hollie kicked a super goal from the boundary and I think it steadied us. It was a beautiful kick too. She’s worked hard and it’s great for Hollie to get the reward for it.”
The Inverell Saints celebrated Hollie Woodbury’s goal from a tight angle with great enthusiasm.
The Roosters weren’t to be denied and led by Ned Hagon who was named as the best player on the ground as well as Noah Jameson-Gill and Lindon Whitby, the underdogs continued to fight and had seven scoring shots to two in the final term.
In the end though it was Inverell who gained the ultimate reward for a great season.
Taveira said
“I’m really proud of the kids and the way they played,” Taveira said.
“I knew it was going to be a tough game even though we had beaten them pretty comfortably at times through the season.
“I thought back to the draw we had against the Roosters earlier in the year and I knew the Roosters would challenge us and they did.
“Fortunately we ended up on the right side of the result.”
Kaidhn Holder was one of the best players for Inverell in the 2022 Under-14s Grand Final.
INVERELL SAINTS 1.0 3.1 5.4 7.4 (46)
TAMWORTH ROOSTERS 1.0 1.1 2.4 4.9 (33)
Goals – Inv: Matilda Thompson 2, Lilly Scott, Hollie Woodbury, Damon Martin, Billy Thom, Darcy Oakes. Roosters: Lindon Whitby, Ned Hagon, Cameron North, Natasha North.
Best – Inv: Kaidhn Holder, Matilda Thompson, Billy Thom, Nic Alliston, Damon Martin, Hollie Woodbury. Roosters: Ned Hagon (Best on Ground), Noah Jameson-Gill, Lindon Whitby, Jacob Wright, Ethan Hooper, Natasha North.
Match played at Varley Oval, Inverell.
Ned Hagon from the Tamworth Roosters was adjudged as the best player on the ground in the 2022 AFL North West Under-14 Grand Final.
The Tamworth Roosters team for the Under-14s Grand Final played at Varley Oval.
The Inverell Saints run out for the second half of the Under-14s Grand Final.
Darcy Oakes kicks Inverell’s opening goal of the 2022 Under-14s Grand Final.
