CAMDEN Haven rugby league juniors made their mark at The Final Whistle (TFW) Rugby League 9s tournament in Tuggerah in January.

The event features eight-plus days of action-packed nines football and more than 4000 young athletes.

Among those competing were four up-and-coming rugby league stars from Camden Haven – Jack Wilson, Nash Knight, Cam Risely and Zeke Fahina.

The local players represented the Port Mac Sharks, one of eleven teams in the U15 category.

Also hailing from Camden Haven was the team’s dedicated coach, Luke Garel, a respected golf pro at Kew Country Club, while the Laurieton Hotel supported the team as sponsor.

Despite facing tough competition, the Sharks managed to dominate their pool and reach the semi-finals, where they faced the Central Coast Steelers.

Although the Sharks put up a valiant effort, they fell short by just two points, with the Steelers ultimately emerging as age-division champions.

Coach Garel expressed his immense pride in the team’s performance.

“The 9s event is a great competition featuring teams from across NSW,” said Luke.

“It is a fantastic opportunity for the boys to come down and test out their skillset against other teams which are not normally part of their competition.

“In this team there are some very skillful and powerful kids, who have played rugby league and other sporting codes at an extremely high representative level and I am extremely proud of how they have come together, combining their effort and working as a united team.”

Zeke and Jack told NOTA that valuable lessons were learned competing against top-tier teams.

“Playing at this level has definitely helped to strengthen my skills,” said Jack.

“I have been really happy with how I have handled playing at this level and feel that I have been able to contribute to the team positively,” said Zeke.

Nash and Cam emphasised the group’s teamwork and passion.

“All the boys are working as a team and this has made the difference during our games,” said Nash.

“Each game has been tough,” said Cam, “but we all showed up and with our size and our passion we were able to show them who was boss.”

By Kim AMBROSE