COFFS Harbour’s junior touch football representative teams have finished third against Northern NSW’s top juniors at home.

The Coffs Harbour Hurricanes took on teams from across Northern NSW as they hosted the Northern Eagles Junior Touch Footy Championships.

The tournament saw juniors (under 12s to under 18s) from all over Northern NSW compete in the only representative event that was able to take place in Northern NSW this season, due to the wet weather over summer.

The tournament saw juniors from affiliates including Ballina, Port Macquarie, Taree, Armidale, Forster, Macksville and Coffs Harbour go head-to-head in a competition that also served as selection for the Northern Eagles Representative Squad.

Coffs Harbour entered under 18s girls and under 14s boys sides, with both sides performing well finishing third in their respective divisions.

Under 18s girls coach Dal ‘Shorty’ Phoonie said he was proud of his players.

“I am so proud of the girls, they played their hearts out against some very well-drilled teams and gave them a real run for their money.”

The under 18s Hurricanes were eventually defeated in their semi-final against Macksville, who went on to win the tournament.

Under 14s boys coach Steven Moore was equally proud of his boys efforts, many of whom are relatively new to the code of touch football.

“Because of COVID restrictions and bad weather, our boys were only able to have a handful of training sessions before the event,” he said.

“What they achieved was amazing, only narrowly missing out on the grand-final.”

Coffs Harbour Hurricanes players also earnt individual honours, with under 18’s girls players Indi Klaus, Mia McKeon, Emma Williams, and Casey Cowgill selected to the Northern Eagles representative team, while Cooper Moore, Kden Carter, Quinn Evans, and Charlie Carter were selected to the under 14s Northern Eagles squad.

They were selected to be part of the training squad for the Junior Regional Championships which will be held at Tuggerah at the end of April.

The Coffs Harbour Hurricanes are looking forward to expanding representative football for more junior divisions next year.

They will be running their junior competition in Term 4 on Monday afternoons, with a holiday coaching clinic just prior to this for those players wanting to learn more about the game or to update their skills.

Sunny Skies for Coffs Harbour Touch

After a rain and flood affected season of touch footy, the Coffs Harbour Hurricane’s were delighted to be able to host The Northern Eagles Junior Touch Footy Championships (NEJC) last Sunday. The tournament saw juniors (under 12s to Under 18s) from all over Northern NSW compete in the only representative event that was able to take place in Northern NSW this season.

Hurricane’s Club President, Kendall Devine, said that her “heart sank a little” as the rain came down the night before the tournament. “Rep players had already missed out on junior and senior state cup, and it would have been devastating if Eagles Champs was cancelled as well”, Kendall explained. Luckily, the sun was in full force at Rugby park on Sunday morning and the competition was able to go ahead without further delay.

The tournament saw juniors from affiliates including Ballina, Port Macquarie, Taree, Armidale, Forster, Macksville and Coffs Harbour go head-to-head in a competition that also served as selection for the Northern Eagles Representative Squad.

Over the last 2 years the Coffs Harbour Junior competition has gone from strength to strength, and it was the first time that the Hurricanes had enough players at representative standard to send teams to NJEC. They entered the Under 14s Boys and Under 18s Girls divisions.

Both teams were very competitive, finishing 3rd in their respective divisions. U18s Coach Dal “Shorty” Phoonie said he was, “so proud of the girls.” Having 3 late withdrawals from their team, the Under 18s only had 9 players available the entire tournament. “They played their hearts out against some very well-drilled teams and gave them a real run for their money.” The 18s Hurricanes were eventually defeated in their semi-final against Macksville, who went on to win the tournament.

U14s coach, Steven Moore, was equally proud of his boys, many of whom are relatively new to the code of touch football. Because of COVID restrictions and bad weather, “our boys were only able to have a handful of training sessions before the event,” Steve explains. “What they achieved was amazing, only narrowly missing out on the grand-final,” in which Port Macquarie were victorious. No doubt the team can take their new-found confidence and experience into 2023 where they aim to compete at Junior State Cup.

On another positive note, each team also had 4 players selected to be part of the training squad for the Junior Regional Championships which will be held at Tuggerah at the end of April.

The Coffs Harbour Hurricanes are looking forward to expanding representative football for more junior divisions next year. They will be running their junior competition in term 4 on Monday afternoons, with a holiday coaching clinic just prior to this for those players wanting to learn more about the game or to update their skills.

 

By Aiden BURGESS