The Northern Football League’s most promising youngsters represented the league with distinction during the 2014 National Sports Museum Metropolitan Junior Championships.
Unfortunately, none of league’s five teams were able to progress through to the Grand Final of their competition, although the Under 16 Girls, Under 15 Division 2 and Under 14 Division 2 teams all won two of their three round-robin fixtures.
After a five-goal win in their opening match against the Riddell District Football League, the Under-15 Division 1 team found the going harder in its final two matches – losing to the Yarra Junior Football League (YFL) and Eastern Football League (EFL) by 37 and 12 points respectively.
Mitchell Andrews was the NFL’s best player in the loss to the YJFL, where the team led at half time before a nine-goal to two second half from the opposition. Jake Perry and Andrews were best in the clash with the EFL, with Jordan Wilkins kicking an equal game-high four goals.
The Under-15 Division 2 team won its opening two matches, but missed a chance to progress through to the Grand Final after falling to the EFL by 17 points on Monday.
The boys accounted for the RDFL by 37 points in the opening round of matches, before outlasting the South East Juniors (SEJ) in a low-scoring Round 2 match, with Robert Noble named best. With scores level at three-quarter time, the boys were unable to contain the EFL in the final quarter of their Round 3 match – being outscored three goals to one. James Way and Corey Grindlay were named best in defeat.
After grinding out a tight win over the RDFL in Round 1, the Under-14 Division 1 team was unable to register a win in its final two round-robin games. Despite the best efforts of the entire group, the team was no match for strong YJFL and EFL teams in the final two rounds of the group stage. Mitch Wild and Adrian Kalkovski were best in the Round 2 loss to the YJFL, while Lucas Casa and Jake Richards were amongst our better players against the EFL.
The Under-14 Division 2 team recorded big wins in its opening two games against the RDFL and SEJ, before losing a one-sided game to the EFL in the battle for a place in the Grand Final. Six goals from Max Keith enableD the side to overrun the SEJ in a 36-point Round 2 victory. He then kicked three of the team’s four goals in defeat against the EFL, where Nathan Bell was named the NFL’s best.
After losing to YJFL (1) in the opening round, the Under-16 Girls had a sensational finish to the carnival with impressive wins against a combined Western Region and Essendon District Football League team, and then the YJFL (2) team.
The girls won an eight-point thriller against the Western Youth Girls, holding on after booting four unanswered goals in the opening quarter. Lauren Hughes was fantastic in the win, with great support from Olivia Dikranis and Shannon McLean.
Another fast start helped the girls defeat the YJFL (2) on Monday. Again they led by 24 points at quarter time, before kicking on to a 37-point win at Bulleen Park. Larissa Cullen was best afield, while six separate players shared the team’s six goals.
Well done to all those who represented the Northern Football League at the Championships and good luck at club level for the remainder of the 2014 season.
We also extend a big thank you to all the coaches, parents and volunteers who assisted with the sides during the Championships and with training in the lead-up to the games. Your efforts are greatly appreciated and we could not field the teams without your support.
Continue below for all of the results from the Championships:
UNDER-15 DIVISION 1
Round 1: Northern FL 11.14 (80) def Riddell District FL 7.8.50
Round 2: Yarra Junior FL 12.5 (77) def Northern FL 6.4 (40)
Round 3: Eastern FL 10.12 (72) def Northern FL 9.6 (60)
UNDER-15 DIVISION 2
Round 1: Northern FL 11.8 (74) def Riddell District FL 6.1 (37)
Round 2: Northern FL 4.8 (32) def South East Juniors 2.9.21
Round 3: Eastern FL 11.11 (77) def Northern FL 9.6 (60)
UNDER-14 DIVISION 1
Round 1: Northern FL 10.5 (65) def Riddell District FL 8.6 (54)
Round 2: Yarra Junior FL 18.13 (121) def Northern FL 6.4 (40)
Round 3: Eastern FL 21.13 (139) def Northern FL 4.1 (25)
UNDER-14 DIVISION 2
Round 1: Northern FL 13.15 (93) def Riddell District FL 3.7 (25)
Round 2: Northern FL 14.6 (90) def South East Juniors 8.6 (54)
Round 3: Eastern FL 18.18 (126) def Northern FL 4.7 (31)
UNDER-16 GIRLS
Round 1: Yarra Junior FL (1) 10.12 (72) def Northern FL 1.4 (10)
Round 2: Northern FL 6.3 (39) def Western Youth Girls 5.1 (31)
Round 3: Northern FL 6.17 (53) def Yarra Junior FL (2) 2.4 (16)
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