Saturday, March 16, 2013
By BEN HARRIS
It is finals day at the 2013 X-Blades National Touch League and Elite Eight Series at the BCU International Stadium in Coffs Harbour.
Men’s Opens – New South Wales Mets v New South Wales Country Mavericks
New South Wales Country Mavericks coach Mark Boland said today’s win in the men’s opens Elite Eight final was one of the most satisfying victories he has had in his coaching career.
The Mavericks came from third position on the competition ladder to win the national title and deny NSW Mets.
The Mavericks won the match 5-4.
NSW COUNTRY MAVERICKS 5 (Paddy Coelho 2, Dylan Thompson, Matthew Prowse, Alyd Owen touchdowns) def NSW METS 4 (Steve Roberts, Tim Good, Dean Springfield, Ben Moylan touchdowns).
Women’s Opens – Queensland Chiefs v New South Wales Mets
The NSW Mets have defended their Elite Eight Series crown by winning the women’s opens division 5-4 in this afternoon’s final.
Ashleigh Quinlan scored the decisive touchdown with one minute to go in the final.
NSW METS 5 (Louise Winchester 2, Tegan Chandler, Kristy Judd, Ashleigh Quinlan touchdowns) def QUEENSLAND CHIEFS 4 (Catherine Sargent 2, Charlotte Caslick, Rebecca Lapraik touchdowns)
Mixed Opens – Sydney Rebels v Brisbane City Cobras
Sydney Rebels made it a hat-trick of national titles in the mixed opens division.
They defeated Brisbane City Cobras 9-8 in a drop-off.
Christian Frost scored the match-winner in a four-on-four drop-off.
SYDNEY REBELS 9 (Jamie Chan 3, Manu Wakely 2, Jason Say, Carly Walsh, Christian Frost, Tina Ashworth touchdowns) def BRISBANE CITY COBRAS 8 (Lachlan Stanton 3, Kieran Poole 2, Natasha Clifford 2, Alyce Hulbert touchdowns).
Senior Mixed – Sydney Scorpions v Victoria
Sydney Scorpions have denied Victoria’s hopes of winning back-to-back national senior mixed titles with a 9-4 win in today’s final.
Three touchdowns to Scorpions’ Chris Bentfield in the second half was the backbone behind the Sydney’s club’s win.
It was a close first half with the Scorpions leading 4-2 at the half-time break.
But they showed why they went through the preliminary rounds undefeated by stepping it up a gear in the second half.
The Scorpions piled on five touchdowns in the second stanza to shut out the Victorians 9-4.
The win made it five premierships for the Scorpions from their seven grand final appearances today.
SYDNEY SCORPIONS 9 (Chris Bentfield 3, Grant Harris 2, Craig Beacroft 2, Jason Lonergan, Jade Steedman touchdowns) def VICTORIA 4 (Callan Donner 2, Vu Le, Sarah Ray).
Men’s T League – Central Queensland Bulls v Brisbane City Cobras
Justin Cridland has never scored a more important touchdown than the one he did in the men’s T League final.
With the scored levelled at 5-all and in a four-on-four drop-off, the Central Queensland Bulls player dived over to clinch the national title for his team, 6-5.
It was an incredible fight back by the Bulls in the decider against their Queensland cousins, the Brisbane City Cobras.
The Cobras skipped out to an early 3-1 lead before the Bulls posted two touchdowns to level the scores up at half-time.
Much of the same occurred throughout the second half with both sides trading touchdowns.
With the two unable to be separated at full-time, it went into a drop-off.
After the first lot of two minutes, the sides were still even.
A great run by Rohan Messer into the touchdown zone had the crowd in awe but his pass could not be gathered by Mitchell Smith.
The Cobras had the ball but lost it inside their half during the next set of six, which laid the platform for Cridland to score his second, but more importantly, the match-winning touchdown.
CENTRAL QUEENSLAND BULLS 6 (Justin Cridland 2, Glen Walker, Jack Hughes, Tom Kronk, Joshua Slater) def BRISBANE CITY COBRAS 5 (Matthew Wicks 2, Jacob Groucott 2, Dysharwn Tamati touchdowns).
Men’s 50s – North Queensland Tropical Cyclones v ACT Pirates
ACT Pirates capped off an incredible week in Coffs Harbour by taking out the men’s 50s division.
The Pirates played the North Queensland Tropical Cyclones in the decider and recorded a 7-4 victory.
A hat-trick to Greg Langford was a highlight in the match.
The Pirates enjoyed a 4-1 lead at the main break and sailed away with it in the second half.
ACT scored four touchdowns to put some breathing space between them and the Tropical Cyclones.
The North Queensland side did score three touchdowns themselves but could not reel in the Pirates.
ACT PIRATES 7 (Greg Langford 3, Gerry Brine, Michael Hardgrave, Paul Robinson, Steven Hughes touchdowns) def NORTH QUEENSLAND 4 (Graeme Broughall, Barry Pugh, Gerald Thompson, Kel Lockyer touchdowns).
Women’s 35s – ACT Pirates v North Queensland Tropical Cyclones
ACT Pirates have claimed the women’s 35s division after holding on to win 4-3 against the North Queensland Tropical Cyclones.
The Pirates had a very strong first half when they put on four touchdowns to the Tropical Cyclones’ two.
Donna Fraser bagged a first half double for ACT.
No team gave an inch in the second half with touchdowns failing to come-by
Only one was scored in the second half and that was to the Tropical Cyclones’ Kellie Klobbe.
The North Queensland side tried to get the equaliser but some gritty defence from the Pirates denied the Tropical Cyclones.
ACT PIRATES 4 (Donna Fraser 2, Kathleen Finn, Julie-Ann Craig touchdowns) def NORTH QUEENSLAND TROPICAL CYCLONES 3 (Leonie McInnes, Kay Lenitschek, Kellie Kibble touchdowns).
Women’s T League – Sydney Scorpions v Sunshine Coast Pineapples
In an exhilarating final, the Sunshine Coast Pineapples upstaged the Sydney Scorpions 4-3 in this afternoon’s women’s T League decider.
The match was in the balance right up to the final whistle.
Two touchdowns in the second half to Teniele Trewin got the Pineapples over the line by one.
The Scorpions opened the scoring first when Andrea Roditis crossed early only for it to be cancelled out by Pineapples’ Evania Pelite.
Sunshine Coast scored their second just before half-time to give the Pineapples a 2-1 lead.
It wasn’t until seven minutes before full-time the next touchdown was posted.
The Scorpions’ Tayla Clifford getting the job down to make it 2-2.
The Pineapples regained the lead but the Scorpions levelled things up again with only a few minutes left on the clock.
But as quickly as the Scorpions scored their touchdown, Trewin was celebrating her second of the half to put her side back in front with a minute left.
The Scorpions had one final crack when the hooter sounded but the Pineapple’s defence held strong.
SUNSHINE COAST PINEAPPLES 4 (Teniele Trewin 2, Sarah Keleher, Evania Pelite touchdowns) def SYDNEY SCORPIONS 3 (Andrea Roditis, Tayla Clifford, Jessica Shanahan touchdowns).
Men’s 55s – Sunshine Coast Pineapples v Sydney Scorpions
Two touchdowns to Michael Long in the second half ensured Sunshine Coast Pineapples grabbed the title in the men’s 55s division.
The Pineapples played the Scorpions in the decider and it was Long’s double that proved to be the difference.
Up 1-0 at half-time, the Pineapples laid on two more touchdowns compared to the Scorpions’ one.
It was tight for the entire 40 minutes of play with the Scorpions threatening the Pineapples’ line several times.
But the team from the sunshine state, held on for the victory.
SUNSHINE COAST PINEAPPLES 3 (Michael Long 2, Don Baartz touchdowns) def SYDNEY SCORPIONS 1 (Stephen New touchdown).
Men’s 45s – Sydney Scorpions v South Queensland Sharks
Sydney Scorpions piled on six touchdowns in the second half to blow the South Queensland Sharks out of the water in the men’s 45s final.
The Scorpions won the match 11-3.
Three Scorpions picked up a double in the game – David Cheung, Peter McDonald and Cliff Lyons.
Lyons, the former Australian and Manly Sea Eagles playmaker, was instrumental in his side’s win.
After a tight first half, where the Scorpions led 5-3, the Sydney club turned on the blow torch.
They shut out the Sharks, not letting them in at all during the second stanza.
The win topped off a great week for the Scorpions who went through the entire competition undefeated.
SYDNEY SCORPIONS 11 (David Cheung 2, Peter McDonald 2, Cliff Lyons 2, Peter Wandl, Bruce Agar, Andrew Humpherson, Andrew Stergio, James Marks touchdowns) def SOUTH QUEENSLAND SHARKS 3 (Michael Gunnion, Andrew Maloney touchdowns).
Men’s 30s – Sydney Scorpions v Sunshine Coast Pineapples
Sydney Scorpions have shut out Sunshine Coast Pineapples to claim the men’s 30s final 7-4.
The Scorpions were always in control of the match thanks to a 3-0 half-time, which extended to 4-0 in the first set after the restart.
The Pineapples took two touchdowns back but it only fired up the Scorpions even more.
The Scorpions scored some soft touchdowns in the middle of the field with William Chan and Dean Murphy both crossing the line.
The Sydney side galloped out to a 7-3 lead before the Pineapples scored in the final moments of the match.
SYDNEY SCORPIONS 7 (Jason Everett, Jarrod Thomas, Andrew Windsor, Drew Davies, Paul MacPherson, William Chan, Dean Murphy touchdowns) def SUNSHINE COAST PINEAPPLES 4 (Mark Henricksen 2, Daniel Ostwald, Lucas Feldmand touchdowns).
Men’s 40s – South Queensland Sharks v Hunter Western Hornets
South Queensland Sharks have won the men’s 40s final by producing a dominating performance against the Hunter Western Hornets, 9-4.
Both sides qualified for the decider after winning their semi-finals. The Hornets caused a big upset by knocking off Defence Warriors 2-0.
However, the Hornets could not repeat that performance against a well-drilled and disciplined Sharks outfit.
The Sharks’ first half performance was nearly faultless as they took a 5-1 lead into the sheds.
Cristin Davidsin bagged two touchdowns in the first 20 minutes.
The lead blew out to 7-2 midway through the half.
Hornets piled on two quick touchdowns to give them a sniff but when Davidsin scored his hat-trick courtesy of an intercept, the game was good as gone.
SOUTH QUEENSLAND SHARKS 9 (Christin Davidsin 3, Shane Rigby 2, Andrew Willett 2, Corey Foster, Michael Cashman touchdowns) def HUNTER WESTERN HORNETS 4 (Haydn Constable 2, Darren McSpadden, Bruce Evans touchdowns).
Women’s 27s – Sydney Scorpions v Hunter Western Hornets
Sydney Scorpions have won the women’s 27s division 6-4 against the Hunter Western Hornets.
In a highly entertaining encounter, the two teams gave it everything in attack and defence.
Scoring was tight in the first half with the Scorpions up 2-1 at the main break.
The Hornets were the first to hit back in the second stanza but the Scorpions would regain their one touchdown advantage shortly after.
Midway through the half the Scorpions extended their lead to two but the Hornets’ managed to peg one back.
However, with a minute to go, the Scorpions were up 5-4 when they scored to make it 6-4.
SYDNEY SCORPIONS 6 (Kelly Irvine 2, Rebecca Hannon 2, Emma Lees, Lauren Shore touchdowns) def HUNTER WESTERN HORNETS 4 (Erin Farah, Leah Cambourn, Kylie Jones, Brooke Playford touchdowns).
Women’s 40s – Sydney Scorpions v Hunter Western Hornets
A drop-off had to decide the Sydney Scorpions and the Hunter Western Hornets in the final of the women’s 40s division with the Sydney club winning 3-2.
After a scoreless first half, the Hornets opened the scoring through Annette Zeman in the 28th minute. But the Scorpions hit back two sets later to level proceedings.
The match went back and forth with the Scorpions having several opportunities to hit the lead but they could not convert.
With seven minutes to go, Hornets’ Samantha Davis ran around the outside and put the speed on to score in the corner.
But like they did before, the Scorpions hit back straight away through Vicki Humpherson to make the score 2-2.
The match entered drop-off and after the first two minutes of added time, scores remained levelled.
At four-on-four, the Scorpions made their move and Kylie Tallack was in the right spot at the right time to cross over for the match-winning touchdown.
SYDNEY SCORPIONS 3 (Vicki Humpherson, Kylie Tallack, Paula Brock touchdowns) def HUNTER WESTERN HORNETS 2 (Samantha Davis, Annette Zeman touchdowns).
You can keep up-to-date with all of the latest news, results and information from the 2013 X-Blades National Touch League in the following ways:
Websites
Social Media
Facebook – www.facebook.com/touchfootballaustralia
Twitter – www.twitter.com/touchfootyaus (be sure to use the hashtag #NTL2013)
Instagram – search for ‘Touch Football Australia’
YouTube - www.youtube.com/touchfootballaus
Touch Football Australia will be streaming matches live on their YouTube page.
- Links:
NTL grand finals
