Umina wins Central Coast AFL rounds
Umina Beach Public School competed in the Central Coast rounds of the Tony Lockett Shield, the NSW PSSA Primary School AFL State Knockout Competition, on June 5.
"Seventeen boys had to contend with playing all their matches in a constant downpour," the School's AFL coach, Mr Greg Buist.
"In the first round, they played Copacabana Public School and pulled away in the second half to record a convincing 45 to 13 victory.
"In the second round, Umina Beach faced a local derby with Ettalong Public.
"Another strong second half saw the boys record a 26 to 14 win.
"The third and final round to determine the champion AFL team of the Central Coast saw Umina face Terrigal Public," Mr Buist said.
"Terrigal held the lead for much of the game, but again the Umina boys produced their best football in the second half and finished the game strongly recording a 32 to 26 victory.
"On the day, the boys scored 16 goals and only seven behinds.
"Considering the wet conditions, this is quite an exceptional display of accuracy and one that I am sure many professional AFL teams would be proud of achieving," Mr Buist continued.
"I was also very impressed with the spirit in which the boys played all the games, their great attitude showed Umina Beach Public School in a very good light.
"A good example of the boy's sportsmanship was exemplified in the match they had with Ettalong.
"A hallmark of the boy's performances in addition to their accurate goal kicking was their tenacious defence.
"In the first half against Ettalong, the boys were hesitant in their tackling of some of the Ettalong players, because some of the players were girls.
"It wasn't until half time when I could speak to them and tell them it was okay to tackle the girls, because these girls were playing with the understanding that they should expect to be tackled, that the boys defence started to function effectively again," Mr Buist said.
"The boys will play their next round game against the winner of the Hunter region, with the date, venue and opponent, yet to be decided," Mr Buist said.
SOURCE:
Newsletter, 12 Jun 2018
Greg Buist, Umina Beach Public School