THE Mini Mod Carnival for under 6s to U11 age groups saw 48 teams nominated and 10 clubs represented from the district’s Group 9 Junior Rugby League.
Tumut Minor League President Matt O’Donovan said there were likely thousands of players and parents at Twickenham.
“It was a great day and everything went very smoothly,” he said. “That’s thanks to the hard working volunteers and the committee, as well as parents who assisted throughout the day at the canteen, and a lot of young referees learning and refereeing for the first time on the day.
“We also had the U7’s Tackle Ready program run by the Tackle Ready officers, which was a big hit for those kids ready to make the transition to tackle.”
Under 7s
The U7 Blue team had an exciting day on the field, smashing through two action packed games full of brilliant teamwork and top-notch sportsmanship.
New players Angus Nicholls, Oscar Richards and Will Luther made an immediate impact, each scoring tries on their debut.
But it wasn’t just the new faces making waves – Henry Webb, Darcy Pearce, Ollie Richards and Liam Bowden kept the tries flowing, showcasing their skill.
Meanwhile Sonny Paton was a defensive powerhouse, pulling off some awesome tagging and kept the opposition on their toes.
Huge shout out to all the players for their incredible effort, teamwork and enthusiasm. With this kind of energy, it’s going to be a great season for the team.
Under 10s
Fresh but sunny conditions greeted the Tumut Blue Pie in the Sky Bakery Under 10s on Saturday as they kicked off their season at the Tumut Minor League Mini Mod Carnival at Twickenham against the Gundagai/Adelong Tigers, Wagga Roos (Blue) and Wagga Magpies.
The team has had a few training sessions prior to this weekend, but there were still a few nerves heading into the first games of the season.
The age group of Under 10’s combined for the first time this year and also welcomed newcomers Zakary McGuire, Billy Reid and Hallie Walsh, who had previously played league tag and wanted to try her hand at tackle.
All three performed really well in their first games for the team and will no doubt get even better as the season progresses.
Existing players Jake Jamieson, Emmett Garner, Brian Quarmby, Bodhi Murdoch, Braxton Piper, Korbyn Chalmers, Ethan West, Archer Tobin, Ryan Dwyer, Izack Palframan-Burn and Ethan Kelleher were keen to get into the games and it didn’t take long for them to find their groove.
They started to really work well together as a team and warm into the day, putting on numerous quick tries whilst also defending really well as a team.
Jake Jamieson was his usual energetic self, quick off the line and constantly putting pressure on the attackers whilst encouraging his team to follow his lead.
Emmett Garner had several strong runs in attack, regularly getting past the first defender, and worked extremely hard in defence.
Brian Quarmby played an all-round dominant game with some good offloads, scoring several tries, and making plenty of solid tackles.
Hallie Walsh was instrumental in organising the team and was never far from the action, helping out in the tackles and delivering some good runs.
Bodhi Murdoch had a very good day in attack and defence, scoring a few tries on the day, including a length of the field try, and also made many try saving tackles, chasing down the opposition in back play.
Braxton Piper had a good all-round day contributing to both attack and defence, helping out his teammates in every aspect of the games when and where he could.
Korbyn Chalmers had a solid day for the team with some dynamic runs through and around the opposition, scoring at least one try and proving to be a great asset to his teammates.
Billy Read played his first games of rugby league for the team and acquitted himself well.
He was constantly in and around the tackles helping out his mates and looks to be a strong team player as he gains more experience.
Ethan West once again showed his consistency as a player in both attack and defence, both scoring tries, as well as often catching the attack off guard in defence and completing the tackle on his own before any help could arrive.
Archer Tobin is continuing his upward spiral to becoming a big asset to the team in both attack and defence as his experience and confidence grows and he continues to find his voice.
Zakary McGuire, also in his first game for the team, put his hand up for a few big runs which caused the defence many issues in trying to holt his momentum as he gave his all in each and every run he had.
Ryan Dwyer showed plenty of courage putting his body on the line several times especially in attack no matter what was thrown at him by the defence and was able to brush it off and get back on the field to help his team out in every possible way he could.
Izack Palframan-Burn picked up today where he left off last season involved in every aspect of the game from attack to defence, from kicking in play to scoring tries he loves to be involved and gives 110% every time he is on the football field.
Ethan Kelleher showed again that when he gets his hands on the ball that he is a hard player to stop, with several powerful runs across the three games that attracted plenty of the opposing team’s defence.
The team should be commended for their great sportsmanship shown throughout the games, no matter what was thrown at them, and they all played in the best spirit of the game. The team will no doubt be much better for the run.
Big thanks to Brett Laney for stepping in to run the team for the second and third games.
We really appreciated what you did for the team and the players individually at different stages throughout those games.
U11s
With a large number of registrations for the U11’s this year the team was split into two teams, Blues and Whites, with a mix of experience and newcomers to the game.
The U11s Blues played the first game against a strong Gundagai/Adelong team with Hayden Neville scoring a double from fullback.
Ryder Smith made bulk metres all game with Lochie West and Darcy Vickery able to capitalise on tiring defence, both scoring individual tries.
Brothers were the Blues next opponents. Newcomer Angus Hotham scored a hat trick while also leading from the front with strong defence alongside Carter Coppin.
Patrick Pollack showed he has what it takes at first receiver, steering his team in attack and picking up a try for his efforts.
Ryder Smith and Darcy Vickery scored the Blues final points in a tight finish.
The third and final game for the Blues saw them up against the Cootamundra Bulldogs. Thomas Keenan led the Blues from dummy half scoring two tries in quick succession.
Coota proved to be a strong match up for the Blues who were able to hold it together with a strong defensive effort by all.
• • • • • •
U11’s White started their day off against a disciplined Wagga Kangaroos side.
The Kangaroos came out firing scoring in quick succession.
The U11’s Whites tightened up their defence with Jayden David leading the line.
Eddie Johnson managed to crash over for a single try.
Debutants Emmett Broadfoot and Blake Allen showed they were able to lift in defence when the team was on the back foot.
Game 2 for the White team saw them up against Gundagai/Adelong Tigers.
Jack Bowden led from first receiver scoring a long range try for his team. Kruz Annetts never gave up in attack or defence with newcomer Chance Ogilvie showed skill in all areas.
The Tigers were strong in attack with the White team again showing resilience in their defence in a hard slog game.
Harden was the last of the day for the White team.
The game was heated from beginning to end with the White team once again showing strength in their defensive line.
Aiden Provan, Kaycee King and Damien Dean tackled hard on the edges while Lucas Webb, Lewis Wickham and Eddie Johnson held strong in the centre of the field.
A big thanks to all the U11’s for the extra game required from each player to help both the Blue and White team throughout the day.
U12LT White
Sunday, 6 April, Tumut under 12s League Tag White competed in the girls Tumut Minor League mini mod carnival.
The girls were super keen to kick off the season playing a total of three games.
An outstanding performance was made from each player, with great camaraderie on and off the field.
All girls played well in both defence and attack.
Georgia Evan’s made some showman like breakaway runs. Both Ari and Charlie scored two amazing tries each, while El did a sneaky trick dummy pass which fouled the opposition and the crowd to go on to score a lethal try of her own.
We were blessed with the presence of under 10s Grace O’Connoll who scored an amazing try and gaining $5 to her wallet for her efforts.
Aida, Brianna and Lucy shown in defence and all had some great runs. Molly was excellent in directing play.
Makayla played an outstanding game as fullback and also made great ground for the team. Our newcomer Haylee played her absolute heart out, while Brylee from under 10s was a sneaky assassin with a smile on her face the whole game.
We are looking forward to seeing what the rest of the year brings after such an exciting start to the season.
