STATE OF ORIGIN AT BRINDISI ST: The sun beat down as the war began on Queens Birthday weekend. The mighty SBMTAFC took on the West Australian raiders from the South Coogee Saints in a showcase “State of Origin” that stopped the nation. The event itself was the brainchild of past player, Darren Edwards, now a Perth boy and Junior president Andrew Murphy. The match was played at a feverish pace by two teams that were simply bursting with pride at representing their respective clubs in the first recorded under 12 State of Origin at Tigertown.
From the Introduction of the players by the spectacular commentators on the day we knew we were in for a battle. The steely silence of the line-up as the national anthem echoed around the packed stands was spine chilling stuff, and when the two teams turned and faced their banners for the run through the anticipation lifted yet again!! It was to be an exceptional day of football for all involved.
The Tigers, led by coaches Niel “The Iceman” Harris and Damien “Ironsides” Miller, fought hard from the first contest to the sirens call signalling the end of the battle. Whilst the scoreboard did not reflect the effort made by our team of 11,12 and 13’s the respect from the opposition players and coaches at the gala presentation luncheon was a badge of honour to be worn by all. The South Coogee Saints team were predominantly 13 and 14 year olds and their physical size and prowess was a credit to their coaching team and simply could not be overcome.
They may have boarded the bus with the Trophy under their arm, but they left us with our pride intact at the effort put in against the odds. The most Valuable player award, a Sherrin Match footy signed by all the players, was given to our very own Georgia Wilson. Georgia and her sister Maddie were exceptional in the game and received special mention from the visiting team. The SBMT playing group were full of great performances with Stevie having a field day at ground level, Laitone was a force in the back-line and ran hard all day, Josh Miller was a dynamo and combined well with Declan Easton to drive the ball through the middle. Big Zach Figredo in his first year gave more than he got in the ruck contest against a veritable giant of a man….. There were great efforts, highs, lows and a lot of laughs.
Thanks to all involved on the day, it was something to be proud of. The South Coogee Saints have extended the invitation for a rematch in 2014 on their home turf…More to come!