From never playing together as a team, to having half its players selected for representative honours – such was the journey of The Armidale School’s open girls’ football team who at yesterday’s North Coast Independent Schools’ championships went from an outfit which had never played together to winning four of their six games and having six members being selected for representative honours.
They were amongst a dozen TAS students who will play for the NCIS representative teams following the NCIS titles hosted by TAS yesterday (13 March).
The championships attracted almost 500 junior footballers from 32 teams representing nine schools across three age groups.
It was a significant achievement for the TAS open girls in particular, going from losing all three matches in their inaugural tournament last year to being runners up yesterday and making up a third of the representative side for the statewide Combined Independent Schools championships.
“Yesterday was the first time we played together this year and in our first game against Bishop Druitt we conceded three fairly easy goals, so that game was very much about developing our positions and finding out our strengths and weaknesses,” captain Molly Pinnock said.
“We switched on and just kept improving and had four wins before meeting Bishop Druitt again, in the final – which was a very different game to the first one of the day, only losing one-nil.”
Winning two from four, the TAS opens boys team was also runner up to Bishop Druitt, which also took out the 15 years and the primary boys’ divisions.
Other schools taking part were Emmanuel Anglican College Ballina, Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School Tweed Heads, Kempsey Adventist School, Cape Byron Steiner School and Clarence Valley Anglican School Grafton.
TAS students selected for representative honours were: Dahlia Glennie, Tayla Frahm, Madi Morgan, Molly Pinnock, Harriet Wickman (open girls); Bailey Bourke, Julian Vogt, Emerson Browning and Keanu Rhoades (open boys); and Evan Kwan and Sam Hynes (Primary boys).
The CIS titles will be held in Sydney in May.
Evan Kwan fends off a player from Emmanuel Anglican College in the boys primary division
Bronte Garcia chases the ball for TAS against Emmanuel Anglican College
Keanu Rhoades takes aim for a kick against Bishop Druitt in the open boys division
