Australian Oztag is proud to announce the players selected for the 2021 High Performance Academy, a prestigious opportunity that see’s the development of Oztag’s rising stars.
Players were once again selected based on their performance at the City v Country tournament, which was held in Tuggerah on the Central Coast in June.
The High Performance Academy (HPA) identifies the game’s rising stars from the 14 and 15 year-old age groups, providing them the opportunity to be coached by some of Oztag’s elite coaches.
The following players will attend the HPA Camp which will take place at the NSW Academy of Sport in Narrabeen later this year.
The Academy is now in its third year and has seen some amazing results from the players who have attended, with many former HPA players selected to represent the Australian Tagaroos at the upcoming Trans–Tasman Tournament in New Zealand.
Australian Oztag Director of Coaching and Development, Michael Buettner believes the HPA is an opportunity for players to strengthen their game in a professional environment.
“There is no doubt the High-Performance Academy is a great springboard for the game’s emerging stars to take the next step towards representing their country in Oztag,” Buettner said.
“The NSW Academy of Sport at Narrabeen provides the perfect facility for the players and coaches to prosper in a High-Performance environment,” he said.
From outlining the specifics of player roles and positions, to maximizing athletic performance and partaking in a variety of skill and conditioning drills, the squad will be treated like elite athletes.
Oztag Founder, Perry Haddock has confidence in this year’s program and congratulates all players on their selection.
“This year will see some of Oztag’s great coaches at the High-Performance Academy work with the young stars of our game to nurture and develop their Oztag skills in addition to having lots of fun and building friendships that may last a lifetime,” Haddock said.
“Congratulations to each and every one of the players on their selection; we look forward to welcoming you to the High-Performance Academy later this year,” he said.
For a second year, Australian Oztag could not invite QLD players to the 2021 HPA Camp due to Covid-19. However, ACT’s players will be nominated by the association.
All players selected will receive full HPA kit allocation, accommodation and meals, covered by Australian Oztag for the duration of the camp.
AO congratulate all 40 players on their selection in the 2021 HPA squad.
Involved with Oztag since its inception, Robert Hutton has experienced the game as both a player and administrator, committed to building both Junior and Senior systems at Norwest Oztag.
Norwest Sydney and Blacktown City Oztag Licensee, Robert Hutton has had front row seats to the growth of Oztag since its establishment in 1992 when he played in the first ever competition at St George.
The 64-year-old is proud to have been part of the game for 29 years and to have experienced such milestones along the way.
“We won the first Mixed Opens local competition, and I also played in the first ever rep competition in 1994, representing Cronulla in the Men’s Opens division,” Hutton said.
Having played ever since, Robert has gone through the ranks, representing St George in the Men’s 30s, 35s and 40s before competing in the 45s, 50s, 55s and 60s for Norwest.
In addition to playing, Robert has run Oztag competitions for 25 years, with the help of his wife, Glynis Hutton.
Their shared passion for the game saw them run Hills Oztag before working tirelessly to start up a new association in 2002.
The inception of Norwest Oztag was the perfect opportunity to develop the game in the Hills district, allowing more people to enjoy all that Oztag offers.
“We’ve built up Norwest Oztag from nothing to 200-odd teams,” Hutton said.
“It was a lot of work to start with because Oztag wasn’t so well known, but I took it to schools and really worked on it,” he said.
The growth of Norwest Oztag has been significant for Robert and Glynis, who strongly believe that if you stick to the Oztag rule book and look after your members, they will keep coming back.
“We don’t lose a lot of people once we get them… We’ve had a lot of kids that are now adults that have played with us for about 10 years and you still see the same faces,” Hutton said.
“We attract a lot of good players, but particularly good people,” he said.
Having also produced NRL players, Norwest Oztag strive to keep building their juniors and provide them with a great development system to filter through to seniors.
“Robert Jennings who plays for Penrith and George Jennings who plays for Melbourne both played Junior Oztag with us,” Hutton said.
NRL players, George Jennings and Brad Takairangi enjoyed their Oztag at Norwest
For Robert, 2022 will mark 30 years of playing Oztag as he continues to compete at both a local and representative level.
“It’s rare. How many people play a sport for that long?” he said.
“With Oztag it doesn’t matter how old you are, you can still compete – it’s a great game,”
“I just love playing… I have people that I’ve played with for over 20 years and I’m still playing with them. About three or four of them are in my Men’s 60s team,” he said.
For more information on Norwest Oztag Junior and Senior competitions, visit their website or Facebook page.
As of 2022, both the Junior and Senior State Championship tournaments in Coffs Harbour will welcome division one teams only, with a separate division two development tournament to be held in Sydney.
Following months of revision, Australian Oztag (AO) have come to the conclusion that the NSW State Championships should return to a prestigious event between the best of the best.
As division two serves a purpose to develop associations and its players, AO General Manager, Bill Harrigan announces the inaugural NSW Club Challenge for all division two teams.
“Division two is a great concept, but its growth has overshadowed the division one entries. We need to restore the State Cup to being an elite competition featuring the best of the best,” Mr. Harrigan said.
“To ensure we don’t just disregard the division two teams, as it is a beneficial development platform, we have created the NSW Club Challenge which will feature the div two teams that would have previously competed in Coffs Harbour,” he said.
The 2022 NSW Junior State Championships which is set to be held from Thursday 10 to Sunday 13 February, 2022, will now welcome division one teams only to Coffs Harbour.
The new tournament format allows all ages, from Under 9s through to Under 17s, to compete on the same weekend in Coffs Harbour – meaning there will no longer be an Under 9s-11s tournament held at Bass Hill, Sydney.
With four days of competition, the Under 9s – 12s will play on Thursday and Friday, followed by the Under 13s – 17s who will compete on Saturday and Sunday.
Just over a month later, the NSW Senior State Championships will take place in Coffs Harbour, from Friday 18 to Sunday 20 March, 2022, strictly division one teams also.
All Division Two teams will be welcomed to the NSW Club Challenge, kicking off on Thursday 24 to Sunday 27 February, 2022 at The Kingsway Playing Fields, St Marys in Sydney.
Held over four days, the tournament will see Junior teams (9’s-17’s) play on Thursday and Friday, and Seniors on Saturday and Sunday.
The 2021 NSW Senior State Championships has come to a successful conclusion after three days of high-quality Oztag on the Coffs Coast.
The annual tournament kicked off on Friday 14 May and welcomed a tremendous 219 teams to Coffs Harbour – well-prepared and determined to take out the Championship.
Segregated between two venues, C.ex Stadium and Geoff King Oval, over 3,500 players took to the field to lay their months of training on the line, unveiling a new level of brilliance.
The quality of Oztag heightens every year; evident in how close the qualifying games were. Spectators sat on the edge of their seat as many games had a one-point difference or came down to an exhilarating extra time drop off in Finals.
The standard is credit to the exhibition of speed and skill, and the game’s development as young players continue to filter through the system – their transition from Juniors, to Under 20s and then Opens over the years ensures the game’s flair continues to prosper.
Below are the 2021 NSW Senior State Cup Grand Final results. Congratulations to all teams on an exceptional display of talent, particularly the crowned Champions.
Women’s 20’s
Div 1 – Central Coast defeated Souths 5-2
Div 2 – Baulkham Hills defeated Port Macquarie 2-1
Women’s Opens
Div 1 – Penrith defeated Cronulla 3-2
Div 2 – Sydney City defeated Fairfield 2-1
Women’s 30’s
Ryde defeated ACT 2-0
Women’s 40’s
ACT defeated Cronulla 2-2
Mixed 20’s
Div 1 – Central Coast defeated Souths 8-3
Div 2 – Razorbacks defeated Penrith 7-2
Mixed Opens
Div 1 – Souths defeated St George 3-2
Div 2 – Sydney City defeated Norwest 4-2
Mixed Seniors
Penrith defeated Souths 4-3
Men’s 20s
Div 1 – Souths defeated Parramatta 4-3
Div 2 – Tamworth defeated Ryde 5-3
Men’s Opens
Div 1 – Homebush defeated Central Coast 2-1
Div 2 – Tamworth defeated Inner West 4-2
Men’s 30s
Div 1 – Penrith defeated Central Coast 5-2
Div 2 – Central Coast defeated Tamworth 3-2
Men’s 40s
Central Coast defeated Inner West 6-1
Men’s 45s
Wollongong defeated Central Coast 3-0
Men’s 50s
Cronulla defeated Central Coast 4-3
Men’s 55s
Cronulla defeated Kiama 3-1
Men’s 60s
Cronulla defeated Souths 1-0
For all tournament fixtures, results and final standings, visit the Sportfix app or click here.
Central Coast Oztag were once again crowned 2021 Senior State Cup Club Champions after finishing the tournament on a total of 73 points. Cronulla came in second on 54 and Souths closely trailed in third on 53.
Over the course of the weekend, players from each division were nominated for Senior City v Country teams to play on Saturday 9 October, 2021 in a three-game series.
The final teams will be announced in the coming weeks, once the selection process is complete.
Australian Oztag were very pleased with the running of the NSW Senior State Cup tournament and the persistence from all to comply with the protocols in place.
Senior City v Country will return in 2021, accompanied by a new format that will see the tournament played strictly between two regions – City and Country.
Selected from the 2021 NSW Senior State Cup in Coffs Harbour, set to kick off Friday 14 May, it is an opportunity for players to combine with their region’s best and play off in a high-calibre tournament.
A City and Country team will be selected in each division to play a three-game series on Saturday 9 October, 2021 on the NSW South Coast at Sid Parish Park, Figtree.
City teams will be a represented by associations in the Sydney basin from Hornsby in the North, to Penrith in the West, Campbelltown in the South and over to the East Coastline.
Any associations outside this border will represent Country.
Selection Process
The coach from the highest placed team will be offered the coaching role. The coach will then have the option to appoint an assistant coach & manager, either from their own team or another team within the region.
There can only be a maximum of three staff per team.
Players will be selected based on a scaling system of where their team placed at the conclusion of the tournament.
Coaches are required to submit a rating form, ranking the performance of their players at the tournament. Coaches should only rank players that they believe are capable of playing at the next level.
Coaches will be given the rating forms and will have the opportunity to submit their selected team to Australian Oztag (AO).
AO selectors will also nominate a team of which will be reviewed in conjunction with the submitted rating forms. These selectors will then agree on the final teams.
Two young Sydney City stars were the talk of the tournament after competing in the Boys Under 10’s division at the NSW Junior State Cup in February.
Nine-year-old talents, Kendall Kilby and Eleni Salabogi made the transition to play their first tournament in the Boys division at the 2021 Junior State Cup in Bass Hill.
These two players were turning heads at the tournament, impressing everyone who had the pleasure of watching them compete in what was a well-drilled and skilful Sydney City side.
Sydney City Under 10’s Boys Coach, Trent Miller, shared what fuelled his decision to bring these players across from the girls’ division to the boys.
“During my time coaching Rugby League, I have witnessed these girls perform at an incredibly high level predominately against boys over the years, knowing the level of talent they possess I felt they deserved the chance to showcase that on the Oztag field,” Miller said.
He discussed how proud he is of the confidence these girls display on and off the field and how their achievements at the tournament came as no shock to him.
“They took care of business as per usual, I don’t see two girls playing against boys, I just see them as two talented kids executing their roles on the field,” Miller said.
“But the recognition they received over the State Cup tournament, especially through live stream, made me an extremely proud coach, for them and their families,” he said.
Playing different positions, both Eleni and Kendall adopt separate roles when they take the field, but what remains consistent is their unwavering effort and ability to execute what is required of them.
“Eleni’s major role for our team was to play on an edge, she has blistering speed, she’s a great tagger and has amazing hands,” Miller said.
“Unlike many ten-year-olds, Eleni is extremely focused and can be trusted to follow a game plan – she is what you would call a coach’s dream,” he said.
Miller clarified that with vision unmatched, Kendall calmly, yet confidently directs her team around the field – making her one of the most dangerous ball players in their division.
“I’m comfortable in saying Kendall had the best left to right, right to left passing game in the tournament,” Miller said.
“Kendall also has a great show and go, with enough pace for her position. She works tirelessly and is a fearless defender,” he said.
There is no doubt that these girls add value to their team in terms of skill, but Miller made clear that their no-nonsense attitude, ability to adopt instructions, and lead by example is far more important to him as a coach.
“At the tender age of ten they are mentors to my younger daughter and her friends which makes me prouder than anything else,” he said.
The Sydney City Under 10s Boys were extremely competitive, evident in their ability to shift the ball at speed and play what’s in front of them.
The team headed into Finals with four wins and two losses under their belt, unfortunately falling short of the championship in a tight semi-final, going down 3-2 to Baulkham Hills.
Get to know the girls below.
KENDALL KILBY
Position: Middle/First receiver
Favourite thing about playing Oztag: It’s fast and it’s fun. I’ve made some good friends and I’m allowed to play with boys
Main focus heading onto the field: I want to play well. I think about making good tags and setting up tries
Favourite part of playing with and against boys: I really like playing with the boys. The plays are quicker, and it’s a bit rougher which I like. I need to push myself to be up to their standard and that helps me become better. When I play against the boys, I really have to focus. Some of them are really fast!
Other sports played: Touch, Soccer, and Rugby League.
Oztag goal: I’d love to win a Grand Final in the boys division. 😊
ELENI SALABOGI
Position: Wing and Link
Favourite thing about playing Oztag: Running and Tagging
Main focus heading onto the field: I have to play my best
Favourite part of playing with and against boys: The competition and it takes me out of my comfort zone
Other sports played: Rugby League, Rugby Union, Little Athletics
Oztag goal: To play Nationals at Coffs Harbour and to win a State Cup
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