On Wednesday 26th March, the Glen Innes Public School AFL team competed in the Paul Kelly Cup in Inverell against teams from Inverell Public School and Newling Public School.
In the first game, our boys came out with determination, winning against an Inverell Public team 5.4.34 to 0.0.0! In the second game, the boys were narrowly defeated by a second Inverell Public team; 3.2.20 to 2.0.12. Our third game was against Inverell Public again and the boys got up 5.2.33 to 2.0.12. Our fourth game was played against Newling Public, with GIPS coming out victorious 4.4.24 to 3.2.20.
After the four games, our boys finished in second place. They had to play in the semi-finals to make it through to the Grand Final.
In the semis, the GIPS team were more determined than ever. Their knowledge of the game and skills in marking the ball were exceptional. They won this game 7.5.47 to 1.0.6!
The team then had less than 10 minutes to regroup and hit the field again against a fresh and rested Inverell Public team for the grand final. The boys dug deep, pushed hard, lost a player to injury and walked away just 8 points short of a win; 3.2.20 to Inverell Public’s 4.4.28!
As their coach, I am so incredibly proud of the Paul Kelly Cup Team. This group of boys have been training weekly in their lunch breaks, listening to and taking on feedback and gelled as a team. Their communication, sportsmanship and encouragement of each other shone at the Paul Kelly Cup.
The Paul Kelly Cup is the biggest Australian rules knock-out competition for primary school students in Australia, with almost 10,000 young footballers participating last year.
Big congratulations to Luke, Jack, Kyle, Zeke, Thomas and Ariki who, between them, kicked an amazing number of goals across the day.
Well done to the whole Paul Kelly Cup team; Ariki, Kyle, Alex, Luke, Reef, Jack, Mason W, Mason S, Zeke, Thomas, David, Sam, Noah, Hamish, Joe and Gus. You were a pleasure to coach and a pleasure to watch!
