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DANDENONG Stingrays keep on producing young talent, with eight players representing Victoria Country, in the Division One and two players in the World team, Division Three section, at the recent AFL NAB National Under 16 Championships.
Vic Country defeated South Australia 9.8 (62) to 8.12 (60) on the final day, Friday 12 July, to take its championships record to two wins and one loss and to be crowned champions.
With the win they finished ahead of South Australia, which also had a 2-1 record. Western Australia and Victoria Metro had 1-2 records.
In the final game, Vic Country led by 21 points in their match against South Australia on Friday before the more-favoured South Australian team who chipped away at the deficit, but Country held firm in the dying stages.
Vic Country coach Paul Henriksen heaped praise on his young players, highlighting their roles in Vic Country’s first triumph at under 16 level since 2009.
“It was all about the players and them having some rewards,” he said.
Dandenong Under 16 coach Scott Slater was also involved as a backline coach for Vic Country. Slater praised the efforts of individuals and thought the entire group grew after each game, especially after the loss against Metro.
“As a group, they took it really hard seeming we were in such control for two quarters. As a coaching group, we wanted them to learn from it.”
He went onto say “Most of these players would never have seen themselves on vision and deal with multiple coaches….They have individual feedback sessions with their line coaches who are helping them understand their decision making and ways to do it better.”
“For me, I learnt a lot as well, especially the trip prior to the AIS in Canberra”, he added.
The 2013 World Team squad showcased the skills of talented international youngsters from South Africa, England, Ireland and Denmark, as well the best upcoming AFL multicultural players from across the nation.
Dandenong Stingrays Under 16 players Thomas Jok (Pakenham/Sudan) and James Paligrov (Beaconsfield/Macedonia) had strong games in all three games that saw them go undefeated in their division and be crowned undefeated Champions in the Division three category.
The World XVIII kicked off their tournament on Sunday 7 July with a 9-point win over the WA North-West team with James Kicking two goals and Thomas claiming 20 touches and named in the better players, which were played out across the weekend at the Blacktown International Sports Park in Sydney. Final scores World XVIII 10.15 (75) to WA North-West 10.6 (66).
