NSWCCC Touch Championships Report
18s Boys
The Maitland-Newcastle Diocese Boys open team played with great skill and discipline, representing our region in the best way possible. They won all round games in horrid, wet conditions, progressing to the finals. During the final series, the boys convincingly won the quarter final and semi-final, setting up a grand final with the also undefeated Parramatta Dioces. A close game which went back and forward, our young men stepped up with 5 minutes left to play, scoring 2 unanswered tries and taking out the tournament 5-3 winners. With the success of the team, this allowed a number of students to be selected for the NSWCCC team. The members included: Kale White (middle), Chase Butler (middle), Riley Rostron (link), Riley Barnes (link) and Harry Lidbury (link). Coach Jack Edwards was very proud of his teams efforts and commitment.
15s Boys
This years NSWCCC U/15’s selection gala day hosted an array of problems, with the wet weather being at the top of that list. Puddles of water and mud with the addition of thunder and lightning, the event held at the Central Coast Regional Sporting & Recreation Complex went ahead despite these trying conditions.
The Maitland-Newcastle U/15’s boys team battled in the elements to finish the round games 4th in their pool. Crossing against a skilled Lismore team, as underdogs, the boys had a great win which meant they moved into the semi finals against a tough Sydney Catholic School’s team, unfortunately, going down in a 4 on 4 drop off. The team played with a lot of heart, gave their best efforts and should be commended for how they conducted themselves throughout the tournament.
Congratulations to the following who made the U15’s NSWCCC team:
Lewis Brown, Jake Hedges & Ryder Grogan.
18s Girls
The18s girls showed great resilience drawing with Parramatta in tough conditions before going undefeated in the round games. After defeating Sydney Catholic Schools Black 5-3 in the quarterfinals, they were narrowly beaten in a semi-final drop-off that went down to three players per side.
Congratulations to Macey Cox and Ellie Stacey on their selection in the NSWCCC team, and a big thank you to all the girls for representing the Maitland/Newcastle Diocese with such high quality. 
15s Girls
The Under 15’s girls represented themselves with outstanding sportsmanship, adaptability, and teamwork.
Day one began with unpredictable conditions that led to a one-hour pause just minutes into the first game. Nevertheless, the girls remained focused and drew 2-2 with CGSSSA in a solid display of resilience. This was followed by a 3-1 loss to a strong Broken Bay side, before finishing the day on a high with a dominant 7-0 win against the Armidale Diocese.
Day two kicked off against Canberra/Goulburn, where the girls put in a spirited and disciplined performance, earning a well-deserved 2-1 win. The final pool game was against Sydney Catholic Schools Black – a tough match in which the girls showed great skill and teamwork but ultimately went down 3-1.
The last game of the day was a cross-pool quarter-final against top-of-their-pool Wagga Wagga. This was undoubtedly the girls’ strongest performance, pushing their opponents to the limit in a narrow 4-3 loss that was decided in the final minutes. Congratulations to Zoe Figallo on her selection in the NSWCCC team. A number of other students also displayed talent and potential worthy of selection, and they should be incredibly proud of their efforts.
Refs
Not only did we have talented players at the NSWCCC Touch but the diocese had 4 dedicated & capable student referees- Lars Meskauskas (Maitland), Harrison Scott (Hamilton), Lawson Holliday (Medowie) and Ashton Holliday (Medowie). In some very wet, tough conditions the boys were outstanding with 3 selected to referee at the NSW All schools Touch championships in Sydney in August.
