The last major tournament of the year has come to a successful end, with the 2022 Senior National Champions now crowned.
The highly-anticipated Senior Australian Championships kicked off on Friday 4 November in Coffs Harbour, with 129 teams determined to claim the National title.
In scorching conditions, players rose to the occasion – determined to leave nothing on the field as many vied for Australian selection for the 2023 World Cup in Limerick, Ireland.
Sunday’s Finals was one of the greatest displays of Oztag in recent years, with numerous qualifiers sent into extra-time – proving the standard of our elite teams across the country.
Australian Oztag are pleased to announce the 2022 Senior Region Champions, on 82 points, the East Coast Dolphins.
The East Coast Dolphins lead the race all weekend, finishing strong with 11 of their 12 teams qualifying for Semis, four progressing to the Grand Final, and three taking home gold.
The Men’s 60s division is comprised of five teams, two of which represent the East Coast Dolphins – Cronulla and Souths. As Cronulla took home gold, their points were also counted towards the East Coast Dolphins.
Central Coast finished in second on 79 points, and Metro Marlins in third on 40 points.
The East Coast Dolphins will receive a $2000 prize for taking out the Championship title – $1000 for their region and $1000 for their chosen charity.
Below are the 2022 Senior Australian Championships Grand Final results. Congratulations to all crowned Champions.
Mens 20s: East Coast Dolphins defeated Illawarra Steelers 5-4
Womens 20s: Central Coast defeated Southern Storm 5-1
Mixed 20s: Metro Marlins defeated East Coast Dolphins 4-3
Mens Opens: Central Coast defeated Wolves 8-2
Womens Opens: Wolves defeated ACT 3-2
Mixed Opens: Southern Storm defeated Sydney Warriors 10-5
Men’s 30s: West Tigers defeated Central Coast 5-3
Womens 30s: Sydney Patriots defeated ACT 2-1
Senior Mixed: Vipers defeated West Tigers 9-3
Mens 40s: Central Coast defeated ACT 10-4
Womens 40s: Central Coast defeated West Tigers 3-2
Mens 45s: Southern Storm defeated Illawarra Steelers 5-2
Mens 50s: East Coast Dolphins defeated Central Coast 6-2
Mens 55s: East Coast Dolphins defeated Illawarra Steelers 8-3
Day two of the Senior Australian Championships has wrapped up, with games taken to another level ahead of Sunday’s Finals.
Although welcomed with some light rain, teams came out firing on day two of the tournament – determined to lay it all on the line for the national title.
Based on the standard of Oztag and the number of tight games over the course of the weekend, AO anticipate that we are in store for some quality finals tomorrow.
The East Coast Dolphins hold their lead in the race for Region Champions, with five teams still seated first in their respective division. Central Coast remain in second.
The following teams sit undefeated heading into Sunday’s Finals:
Mens 20s
East Coast Dolphins
Womens 20s
Central Coast
Southern Storm
Mixed 20s
Metro North Marlins
East Coast Dolphins
Mens Opens
Wolves
Womens Opens
East Coast Dolphins
Wolves
ACT
Mixed Opens
East Coast Dolphins
Metro North Marlins
Southern Storm
Men’s 30s
West Sydney Tigers
Senior Mixed
Vipers
Mens 40s
Central Coast
Mens 45s
Southern Storm
Womens 40s
East Coast Dolphins
Mens 50s
Central Coast
Mens 55s
East Coast Dolphins
Mens 60s
Souths
Keep up to date with all live results and fixtures via Sportfix.
Head to IB Images for all tournament action shots. Log in using your Facebook or Google account.
Event log in and password:
Username: oztag
Password: 2022
Australian Oztag Instagram for highlights and updates.
Finals will kick off at 8.30am tomorrow – good luck to all teams competing.
AO look forward to crowning the 2022 National Champions.
The 2022 Senior Australian Championships has kicked off in Coffs Harbour, with the East Coast Dolphins leading the race for Region Champions.
In perfect conditions, 129 teams took the field for day one of the much-anticipated Senior Australian Championships in Coffs Harbour.
For the first time since 2019, senior associations combined to represent their region, forging some incredibly elite sides.
The energy and level of talent among these teams made for an impressive first day of competition – the atmosphere electric, as many games came down to the wire.
At the conclusion of day one, the East Coast Dolphins are current front runners for Region Champions, with five teams across the 15 divisions sitting at the top of their table. Central Coast trail closely in second with four.
The following teams sit undefeated heading into tomorrow’s remaining round games:
Mens 20s
East Coast Dolphins
Womens20s
Central Coast
Southern Storm
Illawarra South Coast
East Coast Dolphins
Mixed 20s
Metro North Marlins
East Coast Dolphins
Mens Opens
Wolves
East Coast Dolphins
Sydney Warriors
Womens Opens
East Coast Dolphins
ACT
Wolves
Mixed Opens
Central Coast
East Coast Dolphins
Metro North Marlins
Sydney Patriots
Hunter Miners
Southern Storm
Men’s 30s
West Sydney Tigers
Central Coast
Womens 30s
Sydney Patriots
Central Coast
Senior Mixed
West Sydney Tigers
Vipers
Mens 40s
Central Coast
West Sydney Tigers
Womens 40s
East Coast Dolphins
Men’s 45s
Southern Storm
Mens 50s
Central Coast
Men’s 55s
East Coast Dolphins
Mens 60s
Cronulla
Souths
Keep up to date with all live results and fixtures via Sportfix.
For all tournament action shots, visit IB Images. Log in using your Facebook or Google account.
Event log in:
Username: oztag
Password: 2022
AO look forward to tomorrow’s remaining round games, as teams lay it all on the line ahead of Sunday’s Finals.
For the first time since 2019, teams from across the country will gather in Coffs Harbour this weekend to compete in the prestigious Senior Australian Championships.
Australian Oztag (AO) are set to welcome over 2000 players to Coffs Harbour, as the Senior Australian Championships kicks off this Friday, 4 November.
The tournament will see a total of 17 regions represented, and for the first time since 2019, AO welcome back four Queensland regions – Sunshine Coast Sonics, Metro North Marlins Southern Storm, and South Metro Magic.
“The Australian Championships are the best of the best and it’s great to see Queensland players back,” Tournament Director, Bill Harrigan said.
With World Cup selection on the table, AO anticipate a quality tournament as teams will no doubt take their game to the next level.
“Tag World Cup 2023 in Limerick, Ireland – what an incentive, what an opportunity. We will see some very special talent this weekend,” Harrigan said.
2019 Region Champions, Central Coast, will be striving to reclaim the title this weekend – but it will be no easy feat with the standard of talent across the board.
Having been three years since the last Senior Nationals, most Under 20s players are now competing in the Opens division, meaning we can expect to see some new young talent filtering through our Under 20s divisions.
Teams will play their round games over Friday and Saturday, across both C.ex Stadium Sports Complex and Geoff King Oval, before Sundays Finals converge at C.ex.
Although the stadium fields will not be used during the tournament, the canteen in the northern stand on level 1 will be open for business, while OES Merchandise remain at their usual location – in the Southern Grandstand.
AO look forward to kicking off the long-awaited Senior tournament of the year, and wish everybody safe travels in the meantime.
Games will commence at 9.30am Friday with live fixtures and results via SportFix or our website.
Teams are encouraged to book in for their official team photograph with IB Images via their online booking system, which will place them in the priority system for action shots.
Competition numbers have skyrocketed for Newcastle Junior Oztag, as they cater for 98 teams this summer season.
When Competition Coordinator, Rhiannon Howard took over Newcastle Juniors in 2015, they had roughly 12 teams. This current summer season, they have an outstanding 98 teams registered.
The Newcastle Junior Oztag competition kicked off last Thursday 13 October, at Smith Park Broadmeadow, with divisions including Under 6s – Under 16s Boys and Girls.
Jumping from 50 teams in 2021, Rhiannon is thrilled with the growth of her Newcastle Juniors – putting the rise in numbers down to word of mouth and the dedication of her committee.
“I’ve had many parents give me great feedback saying how well-run the competition is and everyone is talking about playing Oztag at schools, along with other winter sports using Oztag as a way to keep their sporting teams together in the off season,” Rhiannon said.
“Our committee also works hard to ensure the competition is always ran smoothly, so they have also been a massive help in the recent growth of the competition,” she said.
Image Source: Newcastle Oztag Facebook page
Rhiannon has grown up around Oztag, as her parents, Jo and Brett Howard have managed Newcastle Seniors since 2001. Starting out with 17 teams and now having 140, they’ve shown firsthand what it takes to run a successful competition.
“With Mum and Dad running a competition, I understood what hard work it was to get a competition up and running,” Rhiannon said
“With their Senior competition being so successful, that became my aim as well and I’m very proud of myself and the hard work I’ve put in to this competition, along with the help from our Newcastle Oztag committee and Mum and Dad,” she said.
Every season, Rhiannon sets a goal for the number of teams she would like to have registered and without fail, exceeds that objective year after year.
This summer season being no different, Newcastle Junior numbers climbed to a starling 98 registered teams.
“This year I was aiming for 50 teams and the numbers just kept rising every single day,” Howard said.
“Unfortunately, I had to knock some teams back due to not having any lights on our fields,” she said.
Newcastle Senior Oztag are currently the largest competition in the Hunter Region, so it is great to see that same interest filter through the juniors.
“Every year more and more kids are talking about Oztag… Since many kids are now playing Oztag in their school sport, they are enjoying it so much and can’t wait for the next competition to start up,” Rhiannon said.
In terms of representative potential, Rhiannon anticipates that with more kids playing at a local level, there will be more interest for next year’s State Cup trials.
“We are hoping to take away some very competitive rep teams to State Cup next year with the talent we have running around at our Newcastle Competition,” she said.
2022 State Cup – Newcastle U14 Boys2022 State Cup – Newcastle U10 GirlsImage Source: Newcastle Oztag Facebook page
Moving forward, Rhiannon is determined to continue developing her Junior competition and gain the resources necessary to cater for numerous divisions.
“I’ll defiantly be aiming to play over two nights and have A & B divisions in all age groups – at the moment I have them in two age groups,” she said.
“I would love to be as successful as Michelle from Dragon Tag and also have some lights installed on our fields so we can accommodate both seniors and juniors over various nights, without having to knock back teams,” Rhiannon said.
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