The Under 11’s East Hills Boys have made history, winning the Club’s first ever Division One Grand Final at the NSW Junior State Cup at Bass Hill in February.
The small association has added their first gold medal to the cabinet after the Under 11 Boys defeated reigning champions, Cronulla 4-3 in a thrilling Grand Final drop-off.
East Hills Director, Karen Smith has shared how special it was for the Under 11’s Boys come away with the Grand Final win.
“It was absolutely amazing, particularly because they came 4th in their Pool and most people would have written them off,” Smith said.
“People are still talking about it – parents, other teams and even senior teams,” she said.
The East Hills boys came off the back of a confidence-building Quarter Final win against the competitive Central Coast (5-3), before defeating hot contenders, Parramatta in a tight Semi Final (3-2).
Come the Grand Final, the boys met the two-year reigning champions, Cronulla, who beat them quite convincingly in a round game on Day 1.
The game was a spectacle for all in attendance – the back-and-forth score had everyone holding their breath and checking their watches.
With one minute on the clock, the East Hills boys shifted the ball to get over the line, leveling the score at 3-3 and sending the game in extra time drop-off.
Cronulla tapped off first, proving East Hills’ defence strong as they scrambled fiercely to keep them out. Once the changeover was called, the boys worked themselves up the field, securing their championship title with a diving try in the corner.
“It was an amazing comeback. The boys never doubted their ability to do it and I think that was a telling factor,” Smith said.
“We are all extremely proud of the team and their coaches,” she said.
Smith put the boys’ success down to the tireless efforts of their coaching staff; David Curtis and David Towers, as well as manager Todd Heslehurst.
“David Curtis and Todd have been coaching at our club for a number of years now and thoroughly deserve the result,”
“They have coached this team since they first entered as Under 8’s in the East Hills Comp, so I’m particularly pleased for them to have achieved this result,” Smith said.
As a popular talking point, the win has been fantastic for the association, Smith confident that it will encourage more teams to play at representative level.
“This year we fielded 5 teams at Coffs Harbour and 5 teams at Bass Hill. We are hoping to continue to grow at rep level thanks to our wonderful parents who volunteer to manage or coach and this result from the Under 11 Boys will certainly help us achieve this goal,” she said.
Compared to some, East Hills is a small association working to continue their growth at grassroot levels in order to develop their representative teams.
“Our Junior Comp is held on Wednesday afternoons only – we don’t have the luxury of two or three different days and large numbers to choose from for rep team,” Smith said.
“When we started Juniors we had nine teams and it quickly grew. We now have around 70 teams playing during Summer from Under 6’s to Under 16’s,” she said.
East Hills have three teams participating in division two at the 2021 Senior State Cup in May – two Mixed teams and a Men’s 20’s team.
The 2021 Junior City v Country teams have been selected following an exceptional display of talent at both Junior State Cup tournaments in Coffs Harbour and Bass Hill.
The tournament will be played on Sunday 13 June at Central Coast Regional Sporting Complex, Tuggerah NSW.
It will see the State’s best play off in a combined four regions – Southern City Seahawks, Western City Scorpions, Northern Country Knights and Southern Country Pride.
Team lists can be found HERE. Congratulations to all players selected to represent their region at the prestigious City v Country.
All players selected must confirm or decline their position to the Coach via their email at the bottom of the Team list sheet.
Registration will open Wednesday 17 March, from 12pm. Players must register & pay online by Friday April 9.
Unfortunately, the NSW Senior State Championships, to be played Friday 19th, Saturday 20th & Sunday 21st March 2021 is postponed.
The new dates are Friday 14th, Saturday 15th & Sunday 16th May 2021.
The weather forecast for Thursday through to Sunday is a very high chance of rain (80% to 95%). The range predicted to fall is anywhere between 83 to 180mm.
In normal circumstances this would not prevent us from playing on several of the fields however, Coffs Harbour like the rest of NSW, has experienced above average rain fall. Coffs Harbour’s average rainfall for a year is 1600mm yet 1200mm has fallen since January & 300mm of this in the last month. The significance of this is the amount of water still in the ground. If the minimum rain predicted falls the fields will still be water logged and unplayable.
So, after considering the weather forecast and liaising with Councils Stadium Team and Greenkeepers, Australian Oztag believes the only decision in the best interest of all, is to postpone the tournament now before anyone begins their travels. It would be reckless to roll the dice and travel to Coffs only to then call it off when the rain falls.
By making this decision now we hope to minimize the impact and allow teams to make arrangements with accommodation & travel.
Coffs Harbour City Council, Mayor Cr Denise Knight commented “Coffs Harbour has been the home of OzTag for many years, and of course while it is disappointing to reschedule, we understand. Over the last year we have become much more adept to change. We are experiencing a huge amount rain of late and there are still flood warnings in place. We thank Bill and the Australian OzTag team for their foresight in making a decision to postpone to a more optimal time. Thanks also to all our tourism and accommodation providers for their flexibility in rescheduling bookings for the revised dates. We look forward to welcoming players officials and their guests again in May.”
For further clarification on the significant rainfall expected, please see the NSW Incident Alerts.
The prestigious City v Country tournament will return in 2021 for Senior prospects, with a new tournament format at hand.
Selected from the 2021 NSW Senior State Cup held in Coffs Harbour, it is an opportunity for players to represent their region alongside the game’s best.
Senior City v Country will be played on Saturday 12 June at Central Coast Regional Sporting Complex, Tuggerah NSW, with Juniors to be played the following day – Sunday 13 June.
The tournament format differs from that of the Juniors and previous years. It will be played as a three-game series, between only two regions – City and Country.
Teams will play three 40-minute games, with no Finals.
City teams will be represented by associations in the Sydney basin from Hornsby in the North, to Penrith in the West, Campbelltown in the South and the East coastline. Any associations outside this border will represent Country.
City representatives will be selected from the top four finishing City teams in Division 1 at the NSW Senior State Cup.
Country representatives will be selected from the top four finishing Country teams in Division 1 at the NSW Senior State Cup. If there are not four teams in Division 1, they can be selected from Division 2 teams.
2021 Senior State Cup Coaches will be required to complete the Senior Rating Form for their own team, based on player performance at the NSW State Cup tournament. The form must be submitted by Wednesday 24 March.
The 2021 Junior City v Country teams will be announced tomorrow (16 March) via our website and Facebook page.
Australian Oztag look forward to the return of the annual City v Country tournaments and the level of talent that accompanies them.
Australian Oztag are set for the return of the ever-popular Beach Tag in 2021, the first tournament kicking off tomorrow, Saturday March 6 at North Wollongong Beach.
The Wollongong Beach Tag tournament will see both Men’s and Mixed divisions play it out on the soft sand from 9:20am.
Once again, it will all come down to what teams can withstand the heavy legs and sore feet in fast-paced, skilful games.
Australian Oztag (AO) look forward to welcoming all teams and spectators tomorrow. Please see below for the Draw, Pools and Map.
Please note, there is another sporting event being held at North Wollongong Beach, meaning parking may be limited – we advise all attending to take this into consideration.
If you and your mates wish to play at the Maroubra Beach Tag tournament, set to be held on Saturday April 24, please email your Nomination form to liam@oztag.com.au at your earliest convenience.
Visit our website for all details, but remember: spots are limited, so get in fast!
AO are thrilled that Budgy Smuggler will return to our annual Beach Tag tournaments for another year as head sponsor.
The team at Budgy Smuggler will have a pop-up store at both the Wollongong and Maroubra Beach Tag venues, with both men’s and women’s swimwear and accessories available for purchase.
Once again, Budgy Smuggler will provide the Beach Tag Champions with customised swimwear – designed entirely by your team.
AO sincerely thank the team at Budgy Smuggler for their ongoing support. To find out more about Budgy Smuggler or to shop online, visit their website.
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