City of Orange Touch Associaton (COTA) secretary Joel Begnell couldn’t speak highly enough of everyone involved in the 2016-17 junior representative program, as it came to a close at last weekend’s NSW Touch Junior State Cup.
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Orange’s touch sides trained from November onward in preparation for, mainly, the Junior State Cup but also the plethora of other competitions the Thunder competed at prior to the main event, including the Don Green Western Junior Championships and the Central Coast Championships.
Orange dominated both those competitions before the weekend’s Junior State Cup at Port Macquarie last Friday, Saturday and Sunday, where one Thunder side claimed bronze and three more made the top 16.
“They did a great job, those four sides, but there was a lot of sides which didn’t make the finals which also performed really strongly,” Begnell, who coached Orange’s under-18 boys’ side, said.
“In some instances they performed better than in previous years which is all you really ask for, to see those sides improving and getting better.”
They performed better than in previous years which is all you really ask for, to see those sides improving and getting better.
- COTA secretary Joel Begnell
Outside Orange’s under-10 girls’ side, which finished third, the under-18 boys’, under-14 boys’ and under-14 girls’ Thunder sides all made the final 16 at last weekend’s Junior State Cup.
The first of those three top 16 sides, chasing the Galea Cup, came second in its pool before meeting the powerhouse Manly Sea Eagles and going down 9-0 in the round of 16.
The under-14 boys’ and girls’ sides both finished second in their pools too, winning four and six preliminary games respectively,
The former side was pipped by the Balmain Tigers in its first play-off game, going down 5-4, while the girls’ side was taken care of by a strong Parramatta outfit, losing 7-2.
“It’s great experience for them as well, playing at that level, but yes, overall we’re very pleased with how the sides have gone,” Begnell said.
“Not just at the Junior State Cup, but the entire summer. These kids have been playing and training since November last year, it’s a big effort from all of them.
“Not just them either, the parents, coaches and everyone else involved too.”
At the Central Coast Championships last November, five Orange sides qualified for the semi-finals and COTA also finished fourth in the overall club championship.
Manly won that, with Penrith and the hosts finishing second and third, respectively.
Thunder sides also won eight of the 10 divisions at the Don Green Western Junior Championships in Dubbo earlier this year.
The Thunder were unstoppable in nigh on all the age groups, winning the boys’ under 10s, 12s, 14s and 18s and girls’ under 10s, 12s, 14s and 16s.
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
