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Touch of Warrior success
By John Samin
Volume 50, No. 11, June 28, 2007 |
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| LOOKING FOR SUPPORT: LSCSO Lee Harnden of the Warriors passes to a team mate. |
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The ADF’S warrior ethos came to the fore when the Defence Touch Association Warriors mixed team took on six teams in the NSW Country Championships and walked away as the undefeated champions.
The competition was held in Dubbo over the weekend of May 25 and 26. This year, 88 teams from all over NSW country battled for supremacy in the 18 age divisions for men’s, women’s and mixed teams.
This championship is one of the premier events on the NSW touch calendar and competing teams from all over NSW country train for months to battle it out for champion club and to provide NSW country selections for the NSW City v NSW Country touch event to be held in August. By contrast, the ADF Warriors team held a two-day training camp at Randwick Barracks prior to departing for Dubbo.
The mixed open division was well-contested with 15 teams competing in four seeded pools. On the first day of competition, Defence stepped out valiantly against three other teams. In short order, the team defeated Nelson Bay 4-2, Albion Park 4-3 and Dubbo 10-9 to finish on top of the pool as the number one-seeded team.
Day two of the competition was a sudden death format where teams had to win to stay in the running. ADF Warriors defeated Wollongong 8-4 in the quarter-final and Griffith 5-1 in the semi-final.
The semi-final win was an exceptional effort. Griffith was the 2006 mixed open champion and was an early favourite for the 2007 title.
The grand final game was played between ADF Warriors and Newcastle City. Strong performances by “player of the final” PTE Manu Wakely, LSCSO Lee Harnden and FLTLT Zoe Kennedy, saw the Warriors gain ascendancy early in the game.
Newcastle City struck back late in the game, but the Warriors were never headed and won 5 touchdowns to 2.
At the grand final presentation, NSW Touch president John Howard thanked the ADF Touch Association and the Warriors for helping to make the 2007 championships a success. Following the championships, the NSW Touch Association announced that SGT Ivan Petrovic and Mr John Samin had been selected for NSW Country Representation.
The ADF Mixed team: LSPT Darin Trudgett (Navy); LSCSO Lee Harnden (Navy); LS Nicki Falkner (Navy); WOFF Mick Lennon (RAAF – Captain); SGT Ivan Petrovic (RAAF); SGT Brendan Sargeant (RAAF); FLTLT Zoe Kennedy (RAAF); SGT Juanita Moore (RAAF); FLGOFF Sally Tepper (RAAF); PTE Manu Wakely (Army); CPL Renee Simons (Army); SIG Kirstie Wakely (Army); SIG Belinda Franks (Army – manager); Mr John Samin (Defence Civilian – player/coach) |
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