STRONG RUN: Andrew Hollis, from Group 10, charges the ball forward in his side’s loss to Group 11 in the under 13s on Sunday. Photo: JUDE KEOGH
GROUP 10 and Group 11 shared the spoils throughout Sunday’s Western Region junior representative carnival, with both Group’s winning two games each at Brendon Sturgeon Oval.
The carnival was used as a warm up for the Country Rugby League Country Championships which will see the under 16s and under 15s travel to Dubbo in June and the under 13s and under 14s make the trip to Wagga Wagga in July.
In the main game, a depleted Group 10 felt the full brunt of a big Group 11 outfit, going down 48-4 in the under 16s.
Although not the result Group 10 was looking for, president Martin Power said the squad was still able to take some positives from the match.
“It was a really good day. Group 11 gave our under 16s a bit of a hiding but I think the Group 10 boys were missing a few players,” he said.
“We’ll get a few players back and bounce back in Dubbo.”
The day started with a trial between Group 10 and Bloomfield in the under 12s before the Group 10 under 13s faced off against a strong Group 11 outfit, going down 48-4.
Group 10 won both the under 14s and the under 15s 14-8 and 28-10 respectively.
“It was a particularly high standard in the 14s and the 15s,” Power said.
He believes representing the Group side is a good reward for junior players.
“Absolutely, and it’s a chance for the older kids in the under 16s to get selected for the NSW country under 16s, too,” he said.
The under 13s and 14s CRL Country Championships are in Wagga Wagga on July 7 and 8 while the under 15s and 16s play in Dubbo on June 16 and 17.