THE COMBINED New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory team and the boys from the Apple Isle have opened the revamped NAB AFL under-18 championships with victories at Casey Fields on Wednesday.
The two matches were the first of a qualifying series, which now sees the top two division two teams progressing through to the next stage, where they will take on Victoria Metropolitan, Victoria Country, Western Australia and South Australia.
There were some familiar football names running around, such as Groenewegan, Rioli, Frawley and Hislop, plus another well-known Australian sporting name for NSW/ACT: golfer Brett Ogle’s son Chris, who is tied to the Western Bulldogs via the scholarship scheme.
Northern Territory v NSW/ACT
Division two qualifying match, Casey Fields, Cranbourne
THE NSW/ACT Rams broke away from the Northern Territory in the second half to win by 28 points. Luke Breust kicked four of the Rams’ 11 goals, while Ram Jordan Foster stood out with five contested marks and teammate Xavier McMahon had 24 touches.
Several scholarship holders tied to AFL clubs represented NSW/ACT with Ranga Ediriwickrama (Geelong) and Scott Reed (Collingwood) the standouts against the Thunder.
Northern Territory 3.0 4.1 5.1 7.4 (46)
NSW/ACT 2.2 4.4 8.5 11.8 (74)
GOALS
Northern Territory: Farmer, Gugliotta, Hale, May, Rioli, Sibosado, Tungatalum
New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory: Breust 4, Foster 3, Duryea 2, McNeil, Wilson
BEST
Northern Territory: Ah Chee, Taylor, Wooding, Hale, Rioli, Heenan
New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory: Breust, McMahon, Klemke, Ediriwickrama, Reed, Foster, Wilson
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Tasmania v Queensland
Division two qualifying match, Casey Fields, Cranbourne
TASMANIA held off Queensland by four goals later in the day, with Tyson Mihocek proving the difference with five goals for the islanders.
Tasmanian and under-18 All-Australian forward Aaron Cornelius marked strongly, while teammate Tom Salter had 24 touches.
Queensland's Matt Thomson was the day's leading ball-winner, collecting 29 disposals.
The diminutive 172cm Daniel Trevena - the son of Port Adelaide development coach Darren - also impressed for Tasmania, collecting nine rebound 50s from defence.
Tasmania 4.2 6.4 7.5 12.5 (77)
Queensland 2.3 3.6 6.10 7.11 (53)
GOALS
Tasmania: Mihocek 5, Cornelius 2, Cox, Groenewegan, Harwood, Hislop, Robinson
Queensland: Bevan 2, Dixon, Haberfield, Holman, James, Myers
BEST
Tasmania: Mihocek, Groenewegan, Trevena, Salter, Robinson, Hislop, Cornelius
Queensland: Thomson, Myers, Beams, Haberfield, Holman, Bevan
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Tasmania will now play Northern Territory at 2.20pm this Saturday at the MCG, followed by NSW/ACT taking on Queensland at 4.20pm. These matches will be played in the lead-up to the much-anticipated Hall of Fame clash between Victoria and the Dream Team.
