The Orange-coached under-14 Western Reds girls’ side will make its way to Minto in two weeks for the finals of the Country Championships League after finishing last weekend’s second round of the CCL in fourth place.
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The Reds won’t be making up the numbers in finals, either – the under 14s knocked off previously undefeated Coffs Harbour in the final game of round two by 25 points, with just the solitary point separating first and fourth on the table.
The Kieran Purvis-coached outfit won five of its seven games, with the only losses coming in a one-point loss to eventual third-placed Newcastle and a three point loss to second-placed Taree during round one.
Orange Eagles representative coordinator Craig Harvey, who is also heavily involved in Western Reds and whose daughter Samantha played in the under-14 Reds side, said the side is a red-hot chance in finals.
“It will be very, very tight – the thing is they’re still getting settled because a lot of the other sides have played and trained together, but round one (last month) was the first time a lot of them had met,” he said.
“They’ll definitely step it up and keep improving the more they know each other.”
This year also marks the first time Western clubs have sent stand-alone sides instead of having players selected in the Reds, with Orange Eagles represented by the under-16 girls’ side.
The Eagles went winless from their seven games, finishing in eighth, but Harvey said the side was still adapting to the higher level and would be back better for the run in 2019.
“They were a bit unlucky not to pick up a win, they had two or three games where they looked they could clinch it being six or 12 points up but they panicked and got a bit flustered,” he said.
The under-16 Reds girls finished in fifth with three wins, while the Reds’ under-16 boys’ outfit, with Orange boys Charlie Kemp and Jayden Baker in the line-up, finished with one win.
The Reds’ under-18 Orange contingent was made up of Clary Annis-Brown and Charlie Crisp, but both of them – and a large part of the side – were brought down with a stomach bug, contributing to the understrength side’s winless run through the tournament.
They were a bit unlucky not to pick up a win, they had two or three games where they looked they could clinch it.
- Craig Harvey on the Orange Eagles under 14s
Harvey said the experiment to send stand-alone teams had left Western Reds sides weaker than in previous years, spreading the talent across several CCL teams – with Bathurst and Dubbo also sending stand-alone sides – but the experiment would pay off down the track.
“If we put all our eggs in one basket we’d make finals … but three years down the track the fruits of our labour will pay off,” he said.
Max Stainkamph
Max joined the CWD in September 2017, leaving the big smoke of Melbourne to come to Orange, where he stayed until 2020.
Max joined the CWD in September 2017, leaving the big smoke of Melbourne to come to Orange, where he stayed until 2020.
