10 May 2021
Under 18’s / Open Boys Country Champions
The open boys started with a squad of 23 who trained hard for several weeks in the lead up to Country Championships, and bonded both on and off the field.
Unfortunately, we lost Malachi Sausaofai and Angus Hile to injury in the weeks leading up to Country Champs in club matches. Thankfully, Viliami agreed to come into our strong forward pack and Brandon came into the backs.
The team headed to Armidale for Country Champs under the guidance of Captain Tom Jackson and Vice-Captain Reid Aland. The weather in Armidale was perfect for Rugby. Cold and frosty in the mornings, followed by sunny days!
Game 1 saw Hunter Wildfires up against our long-standing rivals Central Coast. The boys came out ready and had a convincing 17-0 win.
Game 2 against Central North saw the boys 12-0 behind in the first half. A few words of encouragement from their coaches saw them pull together and take the win 26-12.
Game 3 for the day was a dominant win against Central West 40-0.
Back to the hotel for a shower and recovery session before heading out for a team dinner with the Under 16’s and 15’s. It was great to see The Hunter Wildfires all come together and looking smart in the representative dress shirts!
Finishing 1st in their pool saw the boys in an early morning game against Far North Coast. A convincing 36-14 win gave the boys a place in the Final.
The boys ran through a tunnel of family, friends and opposition teams who were all supporting them in their bid for the championship! It was great to see rivals unite in the game of rugby.
Final game was against a strong Mid North Coast team. Mid North Coast were desperate for the win and played a tough game to the very end. Wildfires came away with a 20-17 win to take the 2021 Opens Championship.
Overall, a very enjoyable and successful campaign by the Open boys’ team.
Phillip Talaileva was named Open Boys Best Forward for the tournament.
NSW Country selectors named eight of the boys in the NSW Country opens team- Reid Aland, Phillip Talaileva, Lauchlyn Spicer Douglas, Charlie Cartwright, Kai Vincent, Lachlan McDermott, Saint Manu, Tom Jackson, and a late call for Joshua Honeysett. Several other boys can feel unlucky not to have been selected.
Team was coached by Supercoach Va Talaileva who guided the boys with discipline and poise. He stayed calm on the sideline and read the game down to the final whistle. The boys respect Va and his “play hard and stay humble” words of advice.
Assistant Coach Paul Morrish who the boys affectionately nick named ‘Mosh’ is the statistics king.
Trainer Troy Lowrey provided his strength and conditioning knowledge to warm up, cool down and recover the team. He strapped ankles, shoulders and any body part that could be strapped! His recovery sessions were first class. His words of encouragement could be heard from the sideline “keep pushing boys”.
The team played very well and best of all no injuries and no red cards. The team was made up primarily of U17 players which make the achievement more impressive.
The next target for the Open boys is the State Championship in Narrabeen in June. This will be a great opportunity for our boys to show what they can do on the big stage.
Good luck open boys!
The Open boys squad at Country Championships was as follows: Lachlan Dermott, Benjamin Park, Saint Manu, Tom Jackson, Joshua Honeysett, Lewis Affleck, Darcy Blackmore, Oaka Darcy Shaw, Reid Aland, Lauchlyn Spicer Douglas, Billy Norris, Benjamin Bach, Kai Vincent, Benjamin Golding, Charlie Cartwright, Viliami Afeleti, Jack Hillier, Phillip Talaileva, Ieuan Rogers, Benjamin Abbott, Samuel Mitchell, Brandon Thompson and Alfie Golding.
