Juniors Get to the Business End of the Season

Sawtell Toormina Saints v Macleay Valley Eagles

Places in the Finals Series of the AFL North Coast Junior competition were on the line heading into Sundays last competition round.

The highlight of the round was the last of the Under 11 Cross Over rounds that pitted the teams from the south of the region against those from the north in a gala day event at South Kempsey Oval. With 10 teams, 10 matches, 150 players, and a further 200 spectators the day was a huge success that reinforced the positive growth in Junior AFL.

On the field, Port Macquarie Black managed to overcome the Coffs Breakers to wrap up second spot on the ladder, one place above Breakers. Port will now take on the unbeaten Northern Beaches Blues for a spot in the Grand Final. The Blues only rejoined the competition last season and have shown phenomenal improvement in that time to now sit atop the Under 11 ladder.

Coffs Breakers Under 11 have a local derby against Sawtell Toormina Saints whose two wins in the Cross Over round saw them narrowly hold off the Bellingen Bulldogs for fourth spot.

In the Under 15.5 competition Bellingen Bulldogs lost to Coffs Breakers by 51 points but still managed to sneak into the Finals by less than 3 percentage points over Grafton Tigers. This is a fantastic achievement by the Bulldogs who are in their first year competing in this age group after many year’s break.

In a quirk of fate, Bellingen will face off against the Breakers again in the Semi Final when both team’s season goes on the line. The other Semi sees the undefeated Port Macquarie Magpies pitted against perennial rivals the Sawtell Toormina Saints with a Grand Final berth the reward for the winner.

In the Under 13 competition, top two teams Macleay Valley Eagles and Sawtell Toormina Saints will face off hoping to win through to the Grand Final, whilst Port Macquarie Magpies and Bellingen Bulldogs will be looking for the win that will extend their season by another week.

In the Youth Girls competition, front runners Coffs Breakers will be up against second placed Macleay Valley Eagles, whilst Port Macquarie Magpies will take on the Grafton Tigers. The Youth Girls competition is in its first season and all four teams are desperate to see their name as the first inscribed upon the trophy.

Semi Final line-ups:

Age Group	Major Semi Final (1 v 2)	Minor Semi Final (3 v 4)
Under 11	Northern Beaches Blues v Port Macquarie Magpies Black	Coffs Breakers v Sawtell Toormina Saints
Under 13	Macleay Valley Eagles v Sawtell Toormina Saints	Port Macquarie Magpies v Bellingen Bulldogs
Youth Girls	Coffs Breakers v Macleay Valley Eagles	Port Macquarie Magpies v Grafton Tigers
Under 15.5	Port Macquarie Magpies v Sawtell Toormina Saints	Coffs Breakers v Bellingen Bulldogs

 

Major Semi Finals will be played at Wayne Richards Park, Port Macquarie, whilst Minor Semi Finals are at Coffs Coast Sport & Leisure Park 1, Coffs Harbour. All matches are on Sunday 13 August.