Touching moments at ADF national titles




	Touching moments at ADF national titles December 11, 2000 The DEFCREDIT ADF Touch Association National Championships saw a high standard of action over four days at Jindabyne from November 17-20. The annual event took on a truly tri-service identity, with ADF personnel and civilians together in teams representing their corporate body or area. Round robin games were played on the first three days, with semi-finals and finals on a rain-soaked Monday, where the only breaks in rain ironically came during half-time and in between finals. However, the contestants and supporters stayed on regardless, lapping up the action even though someone did call for the men's open final to be decided over a game of cards... indoors of course. Eleven teams contested the event, featuring four women's teams from Victoria, South Queensland, Sydney and ACT, while the men's divisions saw teams from South Queensland, ACT 35s, Victoria 35s and 40s, ACT 40s, Sydney 40s and Victoria opens. The respective finals saw the following results: Men's 35s - Victoria defeated ACT 7-2 Men's 40s - Victoria defeated ACT 4-3 Women's open - South Queensland defeated Victoria 5-3 Men's open - South Queensland defeated Victoria 7-1 For the men's final, the South Queenslanders looked up against it from the moment their Victorian opposition took the field for a warm-up and stretches. The 12-man Victorian side had the edge in numbers, while the Queenslanders simply gathered their seven tired bodies together for a few passing drills and a quick team chat, followed by their war cry of "Queenslander". One of their players also carried a suspect hamstring courtesy of a Bruce Lee imitation gone wrong, while the same player also sustained a broken nose after someone mistook his snout for a garbage bin while disposing a book that was obviously rubbish. However, it wasn't long before they slipped through for the first try that was extended to a handy 3-0 lead at half-time. With unrelenting rain, the Victorians turned over possession at the more critical of times, allowing their northern opponents to gain the roll on with a further four tries before full-time, while the Vics at least didn't have to drop their strides with one consolation try. A presentation dinner was held following the finals, with Australian teams also named for future tournaments. The men's and women's open squads will travel to New Zealand to play the NZ Defence team while also competing the Supergames at Christchurch in April next year. The men's and women's 30s, men's 35s, men's 40s and 45s will play at the National Touch League at Coffs Harbour, also next year. NOTE: More stories and photos from the ADF titles will appear next year. Merry Christmas! By Michael Weaver