NQ TOUCH CHAMPIONSHIPS
North Queensland Championships debutant Thuringowa Touch Association claimed the Mens and Womens Open double at the Championships held last weekend in Townsville.
Twin cities Thuringowa and Townsville dominated the competition with Townsville also featuring in four of the seven grand finals.
Thuringowa and Townsville Blue went head to head in an exciting Womens Open decider, which Thuringowa came out on top 6-4.
Danielle Locke starred for Thuringowa and was named Player of the Final, while Townsville’s Jane Royale collected the Player of the Championship award.
Thuringowa then made it the Open Championships double, with their Mens Open side defeating Mackay 4-3 in extra time. Joshua Jenner from Mackay claimed Player of the Final, while Justin Clause took home the Championship award.
Townsville's Julie Styles enjoyed a rewarding weekend, leading her Women's 40 side to a convincing 8-1 victory over Atherton in the final and going on to collect the Player of the Final and the Player of the Championship awards.
Townsville managed a clean sweep in the Men's 30 division, starting with a decisive 8-3 win over Burdekin in the final. Townsville duo Eddie Pardon (Player of the Final) and Damien Logan (Player of the Championship) were dominant for the home team.
Burdekin went three from three in the Men's 50 division with Ian Kerr and David Mann taking home the player of final and championship awards respectively following the team's 3-2 win over Townsville.
Cairns District Red defeated Mackay 9-6 in the Men's 40 final and Mackay were victorious against Cairns District in the Women's 30 final winning 5-3.
Cairns District White, contesting the Men's 40 division, was awarded the team sportsmanship honour.
Players were up for selection in the North Queensland Tropical Cyclones representative teams to travel to the Australian 18s tournament later in the year, as well as the National Touch League in March 2007.
On the referee front, five regional referees were upgraded to Level 3 accreditation - Debbie Howie (Mt Isa), Jesse Bolton (Charters Towers), Krista Dalamaras (Cairns), Brenten Day (Cairns) and Alwyn Bailey. Richard O'Connor was named Referee of the Championship.
