MITTAGONG’S juniors won two junior rugby league grand finals on the weekend, with the under-15As and under-10Bs having a successful grand final day.
The 15As’ 32-18 win continued their unbeaten streak through 2009 and team manager David Howard said the team deserved their success.
“They have been a great bunch of kids, absolutely no trouble at all,” Howard said.
“They made a few mistakes in the grand final and Narellan had a sniff into the second half.
“But our blokes turned the after-burners on and ran away with it.”
It was the team’s first grand final win and this year’s success was courtesy of half a dozen former Moss Vale Dragons players who switched clubs at the start of the season.
Moss Vale could not field a team in the under-15s, so the players went across the Mittagong and the rest is history.
Howard said the club had about 30 players in the under-15s this season, with 10 registered in the A-team and the rest in the Bs.
Players from the Bs rotated through the A team, giving everyone an experience of playing in the top grade.
“The Mossy players were used to playing in the B grade but they wanted to step up into the As,” he said.
“Hopefully the boys will stick together for next season.”
Saxon Sell was handed the official man of the match award in the grand final, while Howard said Jase Mendez, Ricky Garrard, Adam Jeffery and Nick Howard were all instrumental in the win.
Under-10Bs record a thrilling win
WITH kids from five different primary schools, Mittagong’s under-10Bs showed resilience and toughness to overcome Narellan in the grand final on Saturday.
With the scores locked at 12-all at halftime, the Jets scored first after the break and the Lions looked to be in some trouble.
But, two tries in the remaining minutes saw them run out 22-18 winners in one of the closest matches of the day at Camden.
Mittagong coach Peter Malone was reluctant to single out any particular player as his team’s best on the day.
“It really was a team effort and it would be unfair to leave anyone out,” the coach said.
What the Lions lacked in size, they made up for in speed and skill as they scored a blitz of tries throughout the year.
The team has been together for a few seasons, but only really clicked this year according to their coach.
“The key thing with us was we have a lot of smaller players whose strength was speed and agility rather than size,” Malone said.
“Playing on the big field helped us in a way because there was more space for our fast guys.”
Mittagong qualified for the decider with a thumping 26-0 win over Narellan in the major semi-final a fortnight ago.
But the boys knew they wouldn’t have it all their own way on Saturday and the Jets pushed them right to the end.
Mittagong boys pick up player of the year gongs
TWO player of the year awards added to the club’s two grand finals win on a massive weekend for the junior Lions.
Cameron Jewell was awarded the under-12B player of the year while under-14A’s star Dylan Russell also picked up a player of the year prize.
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