THE Sawtell/Toormina Saints hosted a juniors matchday at Richardson Park, as the club’s junior sides took on the Northern Beaches Blues during Round 6 of the AFL North Coast season.

The Saints under 11’s side beat the Blues by 14 points, while the Blues won their under 13’s match against the Saints by 17.

Anthony Donovan is the man in charge of the Saints under 13’s side.

The Saints junior coach explained to News Of The Area his team-based approach.

“You can have a couple of great players in your team and rely on those two or three players, but if there are many players contributing we can develop more as a team,” he said.

“It takes a whole team and working as a team to improve and achieve success.”

Donovan said the Saints were a receptive side to coach.

“They are easy going, and I’ve coached quite some time in different sports and this group is really good as they actually listen well which is a credit to their parents,” he said.

“It’s my first-time coaching AFL and all the parents are really supportive.”

The Saints coach praised the current state of the junior competition.

“We have 10 teams in our age group and it’s a big competition with teams from places like Bellingen, Woolgoolga, and South West Rocks,” he said.

“And it’s good because they are not playing the same team each time.”

Donovan’s daughter Keely plays in the Saints backline, and the 12-year-old defender said she loved taking on opposition forwards.

“It takes all of my anger out, and I like taking marks in the backline.”

 

By Aiden BURGESS