U13s Finals Victory- A message from the Coach
By Ross Bloomfield
Easts U13 Gold entered the grand Final, not having beaten GPS all season. Coming off a strong defensive win against Norths the week before, Gold knew that they were going to have to up the ante for the Final.
GPS started strongly with an early try; however, Gold hit back quickly through a great centre-field run from Roman Barnes to take the score to 7-5. From there, the game settled into an arm wrestle, with both teams working hard in both attack and defence. A penalty goal from James Cowan and a try a piece left the scores 15-12 to Easts at halftime.
The second half started much the same way as the first half ended. Neither GPS nor East Gold gave each other an inch; attacking raids were met with strong defensive efforts on both sides. Towards the end of the half, the scoring opened up with teams swapping tries. A brilliant breakout try from Tyrese Ngaru and a hat trick from Gold’s captain Harvey Bishop saw Gold through to victory at the final whistle 34-24.
The entire Easts team showed a level of grit and determination; callouts to Roman Barnes, Oliver Thomson, Max Crain and Jackson Reading for their efforts and special mention to Harvey Bishop and James Cowan for their leadership.
We close out the season with smiles on our faces, proud of our season and grateful for our victory. Looking forward to coming back and doing it all again next year! #TIGERFORLIFE
Team List- Easts vs GPS
- Jackson Reading
- Tyran Shandil
- Ryan Smith
- Louis Boyd
- Oliver Thomson
- Mackenzy Elms
- Kobe Segeant
- Harvey Bishop
- Charlie Olivotto
- James Cowan
- Tyrese Ngaru
- Roman Barnes
- Samuel Gerais
- Rihari Clark
- Max Crain
- Rocco Long
- Tanerau Oriley
- Jackson Osbourne
- Lestyn Lewis Jones