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State Championships - Under 15 Boys
 Day
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Day
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Queensland
Team
Carnival
placings
Queensland Team
Jake Farrell (Co-Captain) (Tweed Border)
Daniel Beale (Co-Captain) (Brisbane)
Jarrod Bass (Rockhampton)
Robert Bell (Brisbane)
Darryn Born (Cairns)
Andrew Butturini (Tweed Border)
Simon Cutler (Bundaberg)
Justin Douglas (Townsville)
Nathan Gill (Cairns)
Ethan Holmes (Brisbane)
Joel Latham (Bundaberg)
Daniel Mathieson (Townsville)
Eli Marsland (Bundaberg)
Aidan Rintala (Townsville)
Josh Stacey (Bundaberg)
Dylan Wotherspoon (Tweed Border)
Shadows
Matthew Argent (Brisbane)
McCauley Baker (Maryborough)
Jordan Bonner (Townsville)
Kyle Gildea (Gold Coast)
Cody Goldenstein (Maryborough)
Aaron Gotting (Ipswich)
Matthew Lagana (Townsville)
Max Perry (Mackay)
Talent Identified
Jack Dunstan (Cairns)
Greg Hamilton (Cairns)
Matthew Lowik (Ipswich)
Joshua Mynott (Maryborough)
Hugh Pembroke (Brisbane)
Luke Tyne (Gold Coast)
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Carnival placings
Division 1:
1 Townsville I, 2 Bundaberg, 3 Brisbane
I, 4 Tweed Border, 5 Cairns I, 6 Gold Coast,
7 Rockhampton, 8 Maryborough, Equal 9 IpswichI & Mackay, Equal
11 Sunshine Coast &Brisbane II, 13 Gympie, 14 Hervey Bay, 15
Toowoomba, 16 Townsville II.
Division 2:
1 Gladstone, 2 Cairns II, 3 Brisbane III, 4 Ipswich II, 5
Moranbah.
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Day 1
Hosts Bundaberg are one of five unbeaten teams in Division 1
after day one of the 2008 NAB Hockey Queensland Under-15 Boys
Championships at Hinkler Park yesterday. The Rum City started
the carnival in perfect style with a 6-0 shut-out of Mackay with
Simon Cutler leading the charge with a hat-trick of goals,
before backing it up with Joel Latham bagging a double in a 6-2
victory over Rockhampton in the afternoon.
But two other Pool B teams each won both of their matches –
Tweed Border and Maryborough – while Cairns I and Gold Coast
both recorded doubles in Pool A. Tweed started with a 6-1
despatch of Rockhampton, with Jake Farrell and Dylan Wotherspoon
spearheading the attack with twin doubles, and they were again
impressive in defeating Mackay 5-0 later in the day with Farrell
turning up the heat with a three-goal haul.
Cody Goldenstein was a match winner with a double as Maryborough
edged out Brisbane II 3-2 to start their campaign, and they
backed it up with Goldenstein again among the goals as they
pipped Gympie 2-1 in a Wide Bay local derby.
Cairns I set the standard for the tournament by burning up the
turf field in game one on the program with Darryn Born striking
three times as they stunned Brisbane I 6-3. They were again
ruthless against Toowoomba later in the morning with Born
cutting loose with four goals and Jack Dunstan snaring a double
in a 9-1 blitz.
Gold Coast also had handsome wins but they were not by the same
magnitude, starting with a methodical 3-1 result against
Townsville II, then outgunning Ipswich I 3-0 with Patrick Brown
playing a leading hand with two goals.
Bundaberg coach David Latham was pleased with their “good
start’’, and said that while they produced two strong team
efforts, there were a number of stand-outs. “Our two
goal-keepers played very well - Eli Marsden and Morgan Kingston
– they both played half of each game, and we only conceded two
goals for the day, which was good,’’ Latham said. “Also captain
Josh Stacey was very strong in the centre – he controlled the
games, and there were plenty of good attacking raids by Joel
Latham and Simon Cutler, assisted by Nathan Shelley, and Matthew
Quaite did not put a foot wrong either – overall we played quite
well.’’
Latham, who has been coach of the team for “five or six years’’,
hopes to go one better than last year when they finished second
to Brisbane I, losing the grand final 3-1 after he said they led
1-0 for “most of the game’’. With “six or seven’’ survivors from
that side, including four have already represented Queensland –
Stacey, Joel Latham, Cutler and Marsden – and one was a state
Shadow player in 2006 – Quaite - Latham said his players were
hungry for gold. “We have also got home ground advantage this
year but sometimes that’s not always a good thing, and we can
only take it one game at a time,’’ he said. “We have got some
tough games (today), Brisbane II on our (synthetic) surface,
then Hervey Bay on the grass, which is their strength, because
that is the only surface that they have.’’
Brisbane II will be coming off a 2-0 victory over Hervey Bay
late yesterday afternoon, while the Bay also have one win to
their credit after earlier downing Gympie 2-0.
Meanwhile, it will be the clash of the Titans when Tweed and
Maryborough go head-to-head at 11.45am.
Cairns I’s first assignment today will be against Ipswich I, who
also have a win and a loss, while Gold Coast will hit the pitch
again when they suit up against the winless Townsville II.
Gladstone is the only Division 2 side with two wins so far,
kicking off their series with Michael Boyd blasting a hat-trick
to secure a 4-1 victory over Cairns II, and they continued on to
again defeat Cairns II 4-0 with Kyle Forrest grabbing a double.
The biggest score of the day came in the last match on the
program with Cairns II rebounding from their two earlier losses
to white-wash Moranbah 13-0 with Jarrod Holmes and Christopher
Todd chalking up hat-tricks, and doubles to Mitchell Vermeer,
Sam Glennon and James Tapscott.
In Division 1, Townsville I came out all guns blazing to blow
Toowoomba off the park 9-0, but they then met their match as
Brisbane I hit their straps to romp home 5-1 in another
heavyweight duel on the back of a Matthew Argent hat-trick.
Vince Habermann
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Day 3
Hockey can be a cruel game. Cairns I were
unbeaten in five matches in the 2008 NAB State Under-15 Men’s
Championships at Hinkler Park, but they are now likely to miss
the Division 1 semi-finals after suffering their first loss
yesterday afternoon, going down fighting to their northern
rivals Townsville I 3-2. Their conquerors and Brisbane I have
each also lost just one game, but if this morning’s last round
fixtures pan out as expected, Brisbane and Townsville look set
to claim the top two spots in Pool A on goal difference, ahead
of Cairns.
The top two teams in Pool B were confirmed yesterday with hosts
Bundaberg and Tweed Border each maintaining their perfect
records in six matches, but the finishing order will be
determined when the pair goes head-to-head in the last round at
8am today.
Brisbane I have not looked back since a surprise first-up 6-3
loss to Cairns I on Monday morning, and they continued their
march towards the finals yesterday by defeating Toowoomba 9-0
and Sunshine Coast 6-2. Conor Kilkenny had a field day, chalking
up two hat-tricks of goals, while Daniel Beale picked up twin
doubles, and Matt Argent also struck twice against Toowoomba.
Tim Carter, one of two vice-captains, a Queensland Primary
Schools (QPS) team member in 2005 who is one of number of
players in the side who are representing Brisbane at the state
titles for the sixth year in a row and was also a key man in the
team which won the under-15 crown 12 months ago, believes they
are on track to defend the title. “We were not ready for it
(against Cairns), but we are looking good now, better than last
year,’’ Carter said.
Argent, who made his Queensland debut at last year’s under-13
nationals and who took his carnival haul to an impressive 14
goals yesterday, is hoping to maintain his high strike-rate.
Left half Robert Bell, another team stalwart who also achieved a
QPS cap three years ago, has also continued his good form. Right
inner Dan Smallwood is new to the team, but he also has high
level experience after representing South East England in their
2007 National Under-14/15 Championships before emigrating 10
months ago. He said that that team was equivalent to a
Queensland side but that unlike the Australian nationals, their
series was played every week over a six-month period.
After they finished third, he is enjoying the challenge of his
first Queensland championships, and he believes they can go all
the way. Carter also made mention of the efforts of inside left
Jarrod Farlow and wing/inner Patrick Kusi, while Bell said the
leadership of captain and centre-half Ethan Holmes and their
other vice-captain Beale had been very good.
It was business as usual for Cairns I in the morning with Jack
Dunstan coming to the fore with a double in a 4-1 victory over
Gold Coast, while Townsville I had little more than a training
run in defeating their No. 2 side 8-0 with captain Aidan Rintala
and Justin Douglas cashing in with doubles. But Cairns were
always behind the eight-ball in their afternoon game against
Townsville I after Dean Murphy cracked their defence with an
early goal. Douglas then gave Townsville a 2-0 half-time lead,
before Cairns hit back to level the scores midway through the
second stanza. But Murphy again emerged to edge Townsville ahead
once more with eight minutes to go, and from there, they safely
protected their 3-2 lead. Their coach Margaret Dilger said there
was always a “bit of home-town rivalry in inter-city clashes’’
between the two and that they are always “very close’’, and this
one was no exception. “We dropped off a bit in the second half,
but we had to win that game – a draw didn’t suit us, and after
they got back level, we rose to the occasion and played smart
hockey, and Dean scored a great goal, but Aidan Rintala in the
centre and Ivan Stelzner in defence were also very good,’’
Dilger said.
Dilger is confident they can now account for Ipswich I this
morning to confirm a place in this afternoon’s semi-finals. “We
all have to win our last pool games, and if we win, we should
get through because our goal balance is better than Cairns’ – we
have got four injuries in a team of 14 but I’ll patch them up,
bandage them up and hopefully get them all on the park.’’
Bundaberg also strode on their quest for the title by defeating
Maryborough 2-0 and Gympie 3-0, with Joel Latham coming to the
fore with one and two goals respectively. His father and team
coach David said the clash with the Heritage City was “very
tough’’ but that his players responded to the challenge. “It is
a local game and they are always very competitive – they beat us
in a Zone game in Gympie four weeks ago, but Joel scored a nice
goal – they have got some very talented players and we had to
play well to overcome them,’’ Latham said. “Josh Stacey was
another stand-out in the centre, Dale Veivers did very well in
cover defence as well, and Matt Quaite held out their main
striker, Cody Goldenstein – he can score from anywhere on the
park but I set Matt a task to perform and he did it very well.
“Against Gympie, we got three head in the first 15-20 minutes,
then coasted from there – I rested Joel, Josh and Simon
(Cutler).’’
With some of their big guns on the bench, Latham said inside
right Michael Garrett was one of their best. “Michael is a quiet
achiever – he has had a great carnival for us so far – Kyle Alla
at fullback was also good, and Nathan Shelley also played well
on the wing for us.’’ Tweed will be formidable opponents for
them after they went on their winning ways yesterday against
Hervey Bay 3-1 and Brisbane II 7-0, when goal sneak Dylan
Wotherspoon struck twice. “But we will not be knocking ourselves
around too badly in that game – we will be playing Brisbane or
Townsville in the semi’s and they are both very good teams,’’
Latham said.
In Division 2, Gladstone retained their undefeated status and
the lead on the ladder, but they were held to a scoreless draw
by Ipswich II in the last match on the program last night.
Vince Habermann
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Photo: Lucas Wroe - Sporting Images Australia
Day 2
Then there was three. Hosts Bundaberg, Cairns
I and Tweed Border were left standing as the only unbeaten teams
after day two of the Hockey Queensland 2008 NAB State Under-15
Men’s Championships at Hinkler Park yesterday. The Rum City
continued on their winning ways with a 4-2 victory over Brisbane
II in the morning, and a Nathan Shelley double leading them home
4-0 over Hervey Bay in the afternoon.
Cairns I also did not have everything their own way in
accounting for Ipswich I 2-0, and it was only a Darryn Born
double which enabled them to draw away from Townsville II 4-1.
Tweed however powered on with Dylan Wotherspoon bagging his
second double of the series with a 5-0 shut-out of the
previously undefeated Maryborough. Maryborough had made it three
wins from as many matches by beating Mackay 2-0 earlier in the
morning.
Gold Coast also went into the day unbeaten, but they were held
to a 2-all draw by the lowly Toowoomba, before the wheels fell
off with a 6-0 drubbing by Townsville I when Daniel Mathieson,
Jordan Bonner and Mitchell Kendall each bagged doubles for the
Northerners. The result completed a perfect day for Townsville
I, who defeated Sunshine Coast 5-1 in their morning match on the
back of a Mathieson double, after they had started the
tournament with a win and a loss.
Meanwhile, Brisbane I, who had kicked off their campaign with a
6-3 loss to Cairns, continued to build momentum, completing a
hat-trick of wins with a ruthless 11-0 demolition of Townsville
II and a 7-1 drubbing of Ipswich I. Matthew Argent cut loose
with four and three goals respectively, while Jarrod Farlow
struck a double against Townsville, and vice-captain Daniel
Beale ran amok to also rack up four goals in the onslaught
against Ipswich.
The other Division 1 team to achieve two wins for the day was
Rockhampton, who picked themselves up off the canvas after
suffering two defeats on Monday to come out all guns blazing to
blow Hervey Bay off the park 5-1 with doubles to Jackson Fraser
and Jarrod Deeth. They then also put Gympie to the sword by the
same score-line with Isaac Houlihan leading the charge with two
goals.
But the big movers of the day were Townsville, and their
first-year coach Margaret Dilger was very pleased with their
fightback after being overpowered 5-1 by Brisbane I in their
second match on Monday. “Any win is a good win and a couple of
goals is always nice, but those (five and six) are even
better,’’ Dilger said. In two robust team performances, Dilger
said Jordan Bonner was one of their best. “Jordan has scored a
few goals, and captain Aidan Rintala at centre-half has also
been very good, along with Justin Douglas up front, our other
striker,’’ she said. “We attacked for a majority of our second
game today, but we were not as dominant in our first game, when
they (Sunshine Coast) did score from a corner. “Our defence has
also been solid, especially in the centre, and we continued it
in that game very well, particularly Aidan Rintala and Mitchell
Kendall, and Ivan Stelzner is working very well with Mitchell.
“Our keeper Matthew Lagana only had to touch the ball once in
our last game, but he had to come out and make a sliding save.’’
They will be expected to prove too strong for Townsville II this
morning but Dilger said their big test would come against Cairns
I this afternoon.
Meanwhile, Bundaberg coach David Latham was “not overly happy’’
with their efforts despite making it four wins from as many
games, including leading Hervey Bay just 1-0 until sealing
victory with three late goals. “It was two hard fought wins.
Brisbane II were much tougher than we expected and it drained a
bit of energy, but the boys played well in the end to win that
one (against the Bay),’’ Latham said. Latham said “good cover
defence by our two flanker halves’’ Dale Veivers and Corbin Lee
was a feature. “Also they were helped out by Matthew Quaite,
Kyle Alla and Ashley Weller, and once again our attacking raids
were pretty good through our forwards Joel, who scored a couple
of very nice goals, Simon Cutler and Nathan Shelley, but they
have all played quite well’’ he said.
Latham believes the result of their clash with arch-rivals
Maryborough this morning will be pivotal to their title
aspirations. “We have got to get over Maryborough – we need to
win that one to get top two in our pool, and if we can do it, it
will be anyone’s game from there and a matter of who wants it
most,’’ he said.
In Division 2, Gladstone maintained their perfect record after
four games with wins over
Brisbane III 5-0 and Moranbah 11-0. Mitchell Inwood snared a
hat-trick against Brisbane, with David Black, Joseph Winter and
Nick Hiley picking up doubles against a Moranbah side which
never stops trying.
Cairns II made it four straight victories, dominating Moranbah
13-0, outgunning Ipswich II 5-1, and getting home 3-1 over
Brisbane III in a great tussle. Mitchell Vermeer hammered in
three goals against Moranbah, with two each to Derek Byrnes,
Nicholas Lynam, Sam Glennon and Jarrod Holmes.
Vince Habermann
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Day 4
Hosts Bundaberg are one win away from an
historic title after Joel Latham snared a stunning hat-trick of
goals in the space of two minutes to spearhead them to a 5-2
victory over Brisbane I in the Division 1 semi-finals of the
2008 NAB State Under-15 Men’s Championships late yesterday
afternoon. But standing in their way in the grand final at 1pm
today will be the force of the north after Townsville I showed
great character for the second time in the day to keep their
hopes alive by snatching victory from the jaws of a draw,
toppling the only unbeaten side from the pool games, Tweed
Border 2-1.
Bundaberg, who had rested key players when they suffered their
first loss of the tournament, in going down to Tweed earlier in
the morning, were barely in the game in the first 25 minutes. It
looked only a matter of time for Brisbane as they mounted raid
after raid, but aided by an uncompromising defence, Bundaberg
keeper Eli Marsland proved a hero, keeping them in the match
with a series of brilliant saves, including in the face of six
penalty corners in quick succession.
Suddenly, Nathan Shelley became also an immediate home-town hero
when struck like a thief in the night, making a lightning raid
down the right, then firing the ball home with a long-range
acute-angle shot. Brisbane rallied and responded with a cracking
shot one minute later, only for the ball to be cleared off the
line by Marsland. Bundaberg then struck another mighty blow one
minute on, with the smallest player on the field, Cody Sherlock,
standing tall by manoeuvring his way through defenders and
finishing off superbly. Brisbane missed a golden opportunity to
pull a goal back when they failed to connect with the ball on
the stroke of half-time after it was blocked from another
penalty corner but stopped invitingly just outside the box with
only the keeper to beat.
The City side again came out all guns blazing in the second
stanza, and after perennial danger man Daniel Beale scored from
a deflection in the 35th minute, their keeper Joshua Crisp
chipped in with two great saves, before they drew level with a
beautiful solo goal by Dan Smallwood in the 39th minute.
Smallwood almost repeated the dose five minutes later, but this
time he was thwarted by Marsland. Latham, Simon Cutler, Shelley
and Josh Stacey repeatedly ignited the Bundaberg attack, but
with Brisbane’s equally incisive raids and robust defence, they
appeared to have the upper hand, and the hosts needed something
special. Latham delivered. Firstly, he worked the ball down the
left, weaving through heavy traffic and blasting the ball past
Crisp in the 50th minute, before doubling it up with a reverse
shot almost directly from the restart, then with Brisbane still
struggling to pick themselves up off the canvas, he followed
through and pounced on a deflected ball from a penalty corner to
again beat Crisp with an angled shot. He was given a five-minute
cooling off period soon after for an over-vigorous challenge,
but there was no way back for Brisbane, with their best hope –
from a last-minute penalty corner - again denied by Marsland.
Coach David Latham was lavish in praise of his side, and
although reticent to single out his son Joel, he admitted his
display was “awesome’’. “His goal to break the draw was
absolutely incredible and to do it in a semi-final was even
better, but it was just guts by every player,’’ Latham said.
Apart from their other big guns Stacey, Cutler and Shelley,
there were also many other heroes. “When he makes his mind up,
Eli (Marsland) is a very determined young man, pound for pound,
there is none better than Cody (Sherlock), and it was a good
tussle between him and the other half,’’ Latham said. “Also Dale
Veivers did a good job in defence again, Corbin Lee held up
their quick forwards, and Matt Quaite did a good job in holding
Beale up enough for the other defenders to get there – he
(Beale) is another incredible kid.’’
Bundaberg will now get the chance to go one better than their
runners-up finish at last year’s championships and secure their
maiden under-15 crown. “But we can’t get too carried away –
we’ve got the biggest game (today) and it will be very tough
too, and if we don’t win it, this will count for little,’’
Latham said.
Townsville coach Margaret Dilger was also extremely proud of her
players after their two almost identical great escapes. In their
morning match against Ipswich, Dean Murphy scored their first
goal, but it took a Dan Mathieson goal two minutes from the end
to clinch a 2-1 win to keep their dream alive. Then in the
semi-finals, Justin Douglas struck in about the 10th minutes,
but their 1-0 half-time lead quickly evaporated with Dylan
Wotherspoon equalising in the first minute of the second stanza.
The game remained deadlocked for the next 26 minutes until
Jordan Bonner stepped up to the plate and blasted in the winner
for Townsville. “They would have gone through if it was a draw
but we fought right to the end. The first half was all our
attack but they attacked to start the second half but we had a
little lapse in concentration, and the ball fell to one of their
key players who had a good shot at goal and it went in,’’ Dilger
said. “Against Ipswich, we attacked for a majority of the game
but couldn’t put the ball into the back of the net.’’
Dilger named Douglas as their best in the semi-final, ahead of
inspirational captain and centre Aidan Rintala, who also
continued his outstanding form, and rock-solid Ivan Stelzner.
Like all teams, Dilger said their injuries were mounting at the
end of a tough week, and that they will have to overcome
Bundaberg’s home crowd support in the decider.
“But the boys have shown a lot of character, a lot of heart and
a lot of will to the end – they could have dropped their heads
in the semi and thought it was gone, but the key will be good
defence wins especially finals, cool heads and to score early,’’
she said.
The Division 2 grand final will bring together the unbeaten
Gladstone, who advanced with Mitchell Inwood a match winner with
a double in a 2-1 semi-final victory over Ipswich II, and Cairns
II.
Vince Habermann
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Day 5
Bundaberg's hopes of a dream home title in
the NAB Under-15 Men’s Championships were snuffed out in the
Division 1 grand final at Hinkler Park yesterday, with
Townsville I claiming a superbly executed 4-0 victory over them.
The hosts rode high into the decider with a 5-2 semi-final blitz
of Brisbane I late on Thursday afternoon, while Townsville had
done it the hard way, claiming 2-1 wins in their last pool match
and semi-final against Tweed Border, both with goals in the
dying minutes.
But whether or not their supreme effort to oust Brisbane took
its toll, they were not a shadow of the side of 21 hours
earlier, and while they tried hard, their northern rivals always
held all the aces. The danger signs were ringing for Bundaberg
long before Justin Douglas made them pay for a defensive mix-up
in the 16th minute, drawing the all-important first blood.
Townsville struck another mighty blow 50 seconds before the
break when Jordan Bonner gave them a 2-0 buffer with a nice
reverse shot. They had allowed opposition teams back into the
contest with slow starts to their second halves a number of
times during the tournament, but not this time. They continued
to follow their coach, Townsville Regional Development Officer,
2006 Hockey Queensland Coach of the Year and four times national
under-21 women’s title winning mentor Margaret Dilger’s match
plan to a tee. And after keeping the shackles on a rejuvenated
Bundaberg, they went for the jugular with inspirational captain
Aidan Rintala further extending their lead in the 41st minute,
and at he later admitted that at that point, he knew they had
the trophy in the bag.
Bundaberg’s best chance to hit back came three minutes later
with a scorching shot by Joel Latham after excellent lead-up
work by Simon Cutler, but it simply was not their day, and the
ball went just wide. Less than three minutes later again, Damon
Fagg put the issue beyond doubt for Townsville when he converted
from a penalty corner. Bundaberg continued to try their hearts
out to the end, but despite also running on empty, Townsville
kept digging into their reserves of fortitude, and their defence
was relentless, and they safely guarded their lead, although
with the game won, a bit of sting went out of their attack and
they were unable to add further icing to their cake.
An “excited’’ Dilger could barely speak, both due to the effects
of the ‘flu and from cheering herself hoarse, but she found
enough voice to lavish praise on her players, while admitting
that she was surprised by the score-line. “They saved their best
game for last, and they built towards that and were pretty
dominant,’’ Dilger said. “They really wanted it, not saying that
Bundy didn’t, but a couple of these boys had not played in a
final before, and finals don’t come around too often, and you
have to take them when they come.’’
Douglas was a thoroughly deserved winner of the Best Player of
the Final award, but Dilger also made special mention of the
efforts of skipper Rintala and midfielder Nick Page in a
magnificent team effort. Rintala described winning his maiden
state title as “pretty good’’ after his previous best of third
in under-13 two years ago. He came to Bundaberg believing they
had a “pretty good chance’’ after he, Bonner and Douglas were
part of the team which placed fifth at last year’s
championships, but admitted that some doubts had crept in when
they were beaten 5-1 by Brisbane I in their second match of the
carnival on Monday. That loss proved their only blemish for the
week, winning each of their other eight matches to be crowned
worthy champions. “The key was a bit of teamwork, our
goal-keeper Matt Lagana and just not giving up,’’ Rintala said.
Rintala, Douglas and Dan Mathieson were also rewarded with
places in the Queensland team, while Bonner and Lagana were
named as
shadow players.
Bundaberg coach David Latham said that they were “simply beaten
by a better side on the day’’. “The boys were maybe not as
hungry as they were last night, but Townsville’s midfield played
extremely well and shut down any attacking raids we had,’’
Latham said. “It looked as if we got a bit tired after the big
effort last night which was the game of the tournament, but
second in the state, I’m very very happy with that, and it’s an
excellent result for the home side.’’ Latham was also delighted
to get four players chosen in the state side – captain Josh
Stacey, semi-final hat-trick hero Joel Latham, Simon Cutler and
keeper Eli Marsland, and he said any of that quartet could have
been their Player of the Carnival after having each “worked very
hard’’, while several others were certainly unlucky not to get
talent identified.
“We gelled quite well as a side early on and played well all
week, and it was just unfortunate we couldn’t come away with a
win, but I was very happy with everyone’s effort - they gave me
as much as they could, and that’s all I can ask for, as they are
still only kids,’’ he said. “A few fringe players also really
aimed up - Dale Veivers certainly stood up to be counted and I
was very happy with his effort and very happy with Michael
Garrett’s effort – he is a quiet achiever but was absolutely
outstanding – and Corbin Lee also played well and improved all
week, and he has been getting better and better.’’ After
back-to-back grand final losses, Latham hopes to be appointed to
the position of coach for next year’s tournament in Mackay when
he said “five or six’’ of his current team will still be
eligible to compete.
Daniel Beale, who bagged a double as Brisbane I bounced back
from their semi-final loss to Bundaberg to seal third place with
a 4-2 victory over Tweed Border, was a popular winner of the
Player of the Championships gong. Gladstone wrapped up the
Division 2 championship undefeated with Mitchell Inwood snaring
a hat-trick of goals to spearhead them to a 4- 1 grand final
victory over Cairns II. But he was beaten for the Division 2
Best Player award by team-mate David Black.
Vince Habermann
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