World Footy News

The weekend of March 12th and 13th saw the Under 20 National Provincial Championships played in Auckland at Parrs Park, Oratia. After losing their first game of the weekend, the Under 16 NZ Hawks went on to win all of their remaining games including the Grand Final against the Wellington Tigers 9.8 (62) to 6.9 (45).

This is the third year the tournament has taken place with previous winners Auckland in Christchurch in 2009 and Canterbury in Wellington in 2010.

Teams from Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury and the New Zealand Under 16 team, competed in matches comprising of two 22 minute halves over the two days. After a round robin, the two top teams were selected to enter into the grand final with Wellington undefeated (including a tie with Auckland) and NZ Under 16’s with just the one loss to Wellington. In the third and fourth playoff, Auckland was too strong for the Canterbury Cobras.

Teams formed a guard of honour for the visiting Canterbury team as they entered the field for their first game and this was followed by a moments silence in respect of the victims of the Christchurch earthquake.

Otago representative players were introduced into the tournament for the first time and joined forces with the Wellington team. Otago will look to the future to enter a team in their own right in next year’s competition along with an entry expected from both Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions. Given the best players and goalscorers throughout the tournament for Wellington it should be noted that Wellington would have been unable to field a side without these players let alone be competitive. Wellington must seek to grow this age group before and during the 2011 season at both committee and Club level.

The tournament included rule modifications restricting teams to 14 per side to ensure free flowing football and the opportunity for players to show case their skills.

Beyond the opportunity to secure the NPC title, individuals were also focused on the selection of the New Zealand Hawks Under 20 squad preparing for the annual series against Victorian Amateur Football Association in October later this year.

All those participating should be congratulated for the fantastic spirit over the weekend and this can be largely attributed to the standard of volunteer management associated with the event.

Given that the NZ U16’s may be up to four years younger than the opponents it raises the question as to how good the opposition can be. No doubt resources in time and money have been invested heavily into this group, and of course you can always have a group that is way above the norm, but it does beg the question as to the true depth in the centres of this age group. Hopefully the new older age Hawks Cup which has recently commenced will raise interest with this age group and that then their movement into the local football competitions will be seamless.

Scores from the weekend

Day 1:

NZ U/16’s v Wellington

4 8 (32) to 8 5 (53)

Goals Wellington: D. Annand 3, J. Farris 3, S. Connor 2
Goals NZ U/16’s: Sami. Tuitupou 2, L. Campbell 1, A. Frew 1

Auckland v Canterbury

8 7 (55) to 3 8 (26)

Goals Auckland: J. Faiva 2, K. Naniseni 2, K.Siaka 1, M. Gregson 1, A. Crighton 1, N. Aukino 1, J. Simons 1
Goals Canterbury: J. Stevenson 1, M Swart 1, J. Thomson 1

Wellington v Auckland

5 13 (43) to 6 7 (43)

Goals Wellington: D. Annand 1, J. Farris 1, S. Connor 1, M. Poole 1, H. Schrijvers 1
Goals Auckland: R. Wikaira 2, J. Simons 1, T. Young 1, J. Faiva, J. Cunliffe 1

NZ U/16’s v Canterbury

11 6 (72) to 5 2 (32)

Goals NZ U/16s: A. Tuitupou 5, S. Tatupu 2, K. Naniseni 1, A. Frew 1, C. Brown 1, V. Hartman 1
Goals Canterbury:

Day 2:

Wellington v Canterbury

9 5 (59) to 7 5 (47)

Goals Wellington: D. Annand 3, H. Schrijvers 2, B. Miller 1, C. Miller 1, J. Farris 1, J. Mitchell 1
Goals Canterbury: M. Swart 3, M. Bonafacio 2, J. Robles 1, J. Stevenson 1

NZ U/16’s v Auckland

7 5 (47) to 5 9 (39)

Goals NZ U/16’s: A. Tuitupou 5, S. Tatupu 1, K. Naniseni 1
Goals Auckland: L. Deegan 2, K. Kapene-Belcher 1, Z. Large 1, J. Cunliffe 1

3 v 4: Auckland v Canterbury

13 11 (89) to 4 3 (27)

Final: NZ U/16’s v Wellington

9 8 (62) to 6 9 (45)

Goals NZ U/16’s: S. Tatupu 5, A. Tuitupou 2, K. Naniseni, K. Siaka
Goals Wellington: D. Annand 2, B. Miller 1, C. Miller 1, M. Poole 1, P. Carson 1


Team Best and Fairest Winners

NZ Under 16's Kalavi Naniseni
Wellington Troy Lavery
Auckland Michael Gregson
Canterbury Martin Swart

Leading Goalkicker:

Aisake Tuitupou 12 Goals
Daniel Annand 9 Goals
Shem Tatupu 8 Goals

Tournament Best and Fairest:

1st: Tamati Young
2nd: Troy Lavery
3rd: Martin Swart

New Zealand Hawks Under 20 Squad

NZ Under 16's
Sami Tuitupou, Aisake Tuitupou, Shem Tatupu, Rhys Panui-Leth, Cori Ieli, Kardia Siaka, Kalavi Naniseni, Charlton Brown, Mitch Ryan, Brandon Sucu, Vandyn Hartman, Ben Fisher, Brody Cleave, Dayne Emms, Ash Wear.

Wellington
Haydn Schrivers, Matt Poole, Troy Lavery, Jordan Mueller, Daniel Annand, Jarred Burns,

Auckland
Kiwi Kapene-Belcher, Michael Gregson, Tamati Young, Alex Crighton, Ryan Wikaira, Shane Leat, Josh Cunliffe, James (misi) Faiva, Courtney McCarthy, Nooroa Aukino

Canterbury
Josh Robles, Martin Swart, Sam Blackler, William Jennings, Craig Varcoe, Sam Marsh

Otago
Ben Miller, Sean O'Connor, Cory Miller

For more on
http://www.nzafl.co.nz/News/Under16Ne...fault.aspx