By
Andrew Stackpool
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The
RAAF Base Wagga Cats proudly celebrate their victory over
the ARTC team at the Kapooka 12s Australian rules football
carnival.
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THIS
year has been the most successful for the RAAF Base Wagga Cats
side in the history of their three-year involvement in the annual
Kapooka 12’s Australian rules football carnival.
After starting the day with a convincing 6-0 win over A Field
Battery, the Cats were tested against a hardened Army Recruting
Training Centre (ARTC) Kapooka line-up. After an early tight tussle,
the Cats defeated ARTC Kapooka for the first time in the competition’s
history.
RAAF Base Wagga was represented at the recent Kapooka 12’s Australian
rules football carnival by airmen, sailors and soldiers who had
been training since mid- December last year.
Coached by injured veteran Corporal Ken Robertson, the RAAF Base
Wagga Cats side finished a very credible sixth out of 16 competing
teams. CPL Robertson said the players felt very proud of their
achievement both individually and as a team.
“It was just great for the team as a whole to grow together as
a team unit during the past four months [and] to see the lads
have the confidence in each other to know they can play good footy
against quality sides was rewarding from a coaching perspective,”
he said.
“Additionally, we’re trying to start a football culture here at
RAAF Base Wagga so that the lads get a good grounding into Defence
football prior to joining their future squadrons and units. We’ve
achieved this so far, so that’s a great result.
“I was proud of the boys, particularly in the game against ARTC
Kapooka, as they have been a bogey side for us during the past
couple of years with some good players, such as Sergeant Chris
Grant and Corporal Des Anthony. Plus they certainly like to let
us know about it when they beat us, so to turn the tables and
defeat such a quality side was rewarding from the team’s perspective,”
he said.
The Cats met Army Logistics Training Centre (ALTC) in the third-round
fixture, which proved to be a let-down match for the team, as
they went down by one point in a display which cost them top spot
after the round robin fixtures had been completed.
“I think a few of the boys thought that ALTC would roll over and
give us the game, but we weren’t prepared mentally and were overrun
in the first half,” CPL Robertson said.
“The second half was different, with us fighting back admirably,
but it was too late. I was disappointed, but in footy you just
cannot give teams a sniff of victory.”
The Cats lost to HMAS Albatross by 10 points in a semi-final,
an excellent result since the side was down to 12 fit players,
with injuries ravaging the side in the latter stages of the day.
Highlights of the day included a tremendous effort by Craftsman
Brodie Kemp, who returned from being nearly knocked out to lead
the side to victory over Kapooka, as well as Aircraftman Travis
McKee, who won the longest kick competition with a booming 65m
kick.
