Issue 4 - The WA Scoop - May 2012

THE WA SCOOP

INSIDE THIS ISSUE WA Operations Report

North West Championships Preview

North West Affiliate Development Conference

Trans Tasman Test Series Review

Western Tigers Trials

Inclusion Day Review

Around the Grounds

Meet Our Sponsors

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www.touchwest.com

WA Operations Manager’s Report From the Desk of Sophie Maguire

It is always a fantastic feeling when a plan that has been in the making for a number of months comes together.

On Wednesday, 9 May 2012 the Western Tigers AusSquad Academy was officially launched. This is the first

program of its kind to be run in WA, and from all reports, the first session was a great success. This is partly credited

to the unrelenting enthusiasm and proactive planning from our Academy coaches but also to the Touch Football

WA staff – in particular Julian Middlemiss and Karon Boston, who have been working on this program together for

many months. I have no doubt that the Academy will only get stronger from this point on and we wait with

anticipation to see the end results. Make sure you grab a copy of next month’s newsletter as there will be a full in

depth look at the Academy...

The 2012 Be Active North West Champs is also just around the corner. The TFWA staff will be flying out to Broome

early next week to get the event ready to roll out over the 18-19 May. The host venue is raring to go and the pre-

planning from the Broome committee has been nothing short of exceptional. We will look forward to seeing a

junior division taking part at this event as well as getting to see the reigning Mixed Open State Championship side,

Karratha, in action at the event.

Kind Regards,

Sophie Maguire – WA Operations Manager

DATES FOR THE DIARY

18th – 20th May: North West Championships and

North West Affiliate Development Conference

27th May: Western Tigers National Youth

Championships U 18’s Trial 1

3rd June: Western Tigers National Youth

Championships U 18’s Trial 2

8th - 10th June: Lower South West Development

Conference

6th June: Western Tigers AusSquad Academy Session

2

THE WA SCOOP

North West Championships Preview The 2012 Be Active North West Championships will be held in Broom from the 18th to

the 20th of May. This year’s competition sees three separate Mixed Divisions: Open,

Social and Under 18’s. We have the defending Mixed Open Champions Karratha

returning as well as two teams from Hedland hoping to take the Opens and Social

double. However, the main challenger comes from the home team in Broome who

are entering a massive 8 teams to this year’s championships.

The games begin Friday afternoon continuing under lights into the night in what

promises to be an exciting beginning to the tournament. All teams will be returning

on the Saturday to determine finals places and compete for the titles. Although the

tournament is a lot more relaxed in nature then our State Championships the quality

of touch is still played at an incredibly high level. This is reflected by Karratha who

took out the mixed open division at the 2011 WA State Championships.

Before we kick off the 2012 North West Champs we will have a quick look back at last year’s North West

Championships. The 2011 North West Championships were hosted by Port Hedland on the 4th and 5th of June.

After some excellent touch on the first day of the 2011 North West Championships Karratha ‘A’ had emerged as

early favourites for the Mixed Open division after a unbeaten run on the first day, however both Newman and

Broome trailed close behind leaving plenty of opportunity for an upset come finals time. The 2011 North West

Championship Mixed Open final saw the Karratha 'A' side come up against the in-form underdogs, Newman.

With both teams lining up with their superstars, an epic display of athleticism and skill were put on show. Newman

put up a brave fight but the champions were again Karratha 'A' side, taking out the final 6 touchdowns to 1.

For all the updates from the competition including all results and final

standings please click on the 2012 North West Championships logo...

North West Affiliate Development Conference

The first ever Development conference will take place in conjunction with the North West Championships from

the 18th to the 20th of May in Broome. As this is the first development conference run by Touch Football WA there

is a lot of careful planning that has taken place, however as we get closer to the date we are full of excitement

as we get to interact face to face with some of our most regional affiliates. It is a real opportunity to assist and

improve all facets of Touch Football in the North West areas of Western Australia.

The development conference is open to all North West Affiliates and we can confirm the

following affiliate’s attendance: Broome, Port Hedland, and Karratha. The Development

Conference will kick off on the Friday morning with a few different technical courses

including a Referee and coaching presenter course, a Level 1 Coaching Course and a

combined Level 2/3 Referee Course. During this time Touch Football WA’s Sports

Development Coordinator Julian Middlemiss will be running numerous school clinics

around Broome schools taking Touch Football directly to the local community. There will

also be an afternoon Junior Development Clinic for the North West Junior teams that will

not only boost the standard of play at the Championships but also allow the coaching

course participants to do some practical training. There will also be a Regional

Development Clinic for all Opens teams. Friday will be brought to a close with the

opening of the North West Championships in what will be a great way to finish up what

will certainly be a long, challenging but ultimately incredibly rewarding day.

THE WA SCOOP

North West Affiliate Development Conference (cont.) The Development Conference will ‘take a break’ on the Saturday as the North West

Championships move into finals. We will then resume with three different

consultations occurring first thing on the Sunday morning. The first meetings held will

be between the State Operations Manager with each attending affiliate

individually. This allows each affiliate thirty minutes to discuss all major issues with our

State Manager. At this time our Sports Development Coordinator will also be

working with Affiliates to explain the Affiliates Self Evaluation Tool (ASET) program.

From here there will also be the opportunity for the Affiliates to complete the

Affiliate Needs Analysis which will allow Touch Football WA the chance to work with

the affiliates to ensure that their needs and requests are met by Touch Football WA.

The final meeting of the early Sunday timeslot is for the Affiliates to meet with the

State Operations Coordinator who will give a rundown of the wide ranging benefits

of Affiliation as well as an insight into how our invoicing systems work. This will

hopefully allow more Affiliates to utilise additional benefits of Affiliation as well as

smooth out any financial issues.

The final meeting of the morning will be a Sportzware seminar and information session. This will be the chance to

educate affiliates in all the benefits of Sportzware and how they can cut down on volunteer workload and time

spent on competition administration. This seminar will also outline the benefits associated with moving to online

registration and payments. The Development conference will then take a break before concluding in the

afternoon with a ‘scratch match.’ This match will allow all coaches and referees that took part in both of Friday’s

courses the chance to fulfil the practical requirements of the course or at the very least use the opportunity for

some experience. It will also allow the Referee and Coaching presenters the chance to critique all of our

participants. The Development Conference will then conclude in what will be a very busy but important

weekend for our North Western Affiliates.

Trans Tasman Test Series 2012 Review The Australian and New Zealand Men’s, Women’s and Mixed Open sides battled out the 2012 Trans Tasman

Series at the Glen Willow Regional Sporting Complex, Mudgee, New South Wales, on Thursday, 26 April till

Saturday, 28 April 2012. The three game series took place on Thursday night, Friday night and Saturday

afternoon, while players also marched in the ANZAC Day parade in Mudgee on Wednesday, 25 April prior to the

event. It is symbolic that they met on the ANZAC weekend, an occasion very special to both proud nations. We

are proud to announce that AUSTRALIA took out all three closely fought divisions to follow on from their World

Cup Victory last year. You will find match reports for all 9 matches from all divisions below.

For all results, articles & player profiles please visit www.austouch.com.au or alternatively click the icon

for all game highlights

Mixed The Australian Mixed side was full of new faces with nine debutants as

well as a new coach Mick Lovett. Despite only having six players still in

the side following last year’s World Cup there was confidence that the

team would have what it takes to continue Australia’s recent strong

record over the Kiwis in the Mixed Division.

At this point we must also pass on our congratulations to Western

Australia’s own Jenaya Quan who was selected in the initial Mixed

Open squad.

THE WA SCOOP

Trans Tasman Test Series 2012 Review (cont.)

Game 1 Australia impressed in the opening game of the Mixed Open division taking a 8-4 win

over New Zealand. New Zealand was the first team to score before Australia hit back

to lead at half-time and take a four touchdown win. Australia’s Nikki Etheridge

impressed for the Australians, scoring four touchdowns. In a very energetic and tight

game It took until the ninth minute of the match for either country to get on the

scoreboard, and it was New Zealand who took the early advantage with Tiwi Davis

scoring. However, Australia hit back with touchdowns to Nicki Etheridge, Michael

Chapman and Sarah Spacie to take a 4-2 lead into half time. Australia was quick to

get back on the scoreboard in the second half, with co-captain Roy Prasad the

recipient of a switch from Watkins, to take a 5-2 lead. After another touchdown to

Etheridge New Zealand’s Awhina Savage helped reduce the deficit to three

touchdowns at the midway mark of the second half. From here Australia’s touchdown

specialists pushed on with Etheridge scoring here fourth and Spacie scoring a double.

The final touchdown went to New Zealand, however it was the new look Australian team that prevailed in a very

impressive showing. It would be up to the Kiwis to turn it around on the Friday to send the series to a decider

Game 2

New Zealand claimed the second Mixed Open game in a thrilling match, coming from behind to score in the dying

seconds and keep the series alive at one game-a-piece, 10-9. The Australians ran out to a 5-2 lead at half-time only for

the Kiwis to take the lead for the first time since early in the first half in the final minutes of the match to claim a 10-9 win.

As New Zealand needed a win they were on fire early andit didn’t take long for them to get on the scoreboard, with

winger Toia Tiwha scoring in her side’s first attacking set, to take a 1-0 lead. However, after both teams traded

touchdowns the Australians took the lead for the first time in the game with five minutes left in the half when Kristy

Brennan scored. First gamer Michael Law then injected his speed and skill into the game to score his first touchdown

against New Zealand, and soon after Gemma Etheridge scored her first touchdown at an international level, to give

Australia a handy 5-2 lead at halftime New Zealand took the field in the second half keen to prove themselves as

worthy competition and it didn’t take long for them to capitalise, with Jaymin Ormsby scoring in their first set of six to

bring the deficit back to two touchdowns. New Zealand then closed the gap even further when Tiwha scored her side’s

second touchdown of the half soon after. After an entertaining second half New Zealand completed the comeback by

levelling the game at 9-all with only 30 seconds remaining. With the series on the line New Zealand raced down the field

to get into good field position with just seconds left on the clock and made the most of the opportunity with Mohi

Aupouri diving over with seconds left on the clock to take the win for New Zealand, 10-9, and keep the series alive.

Game 3

With the series all tied up at one game apiece, there was much hype around the game and the two countries didn’t

disappoint, playing some very entertaining Touch Football as they both tried their best to take out the Mixed Open

division series. After New Zealand again raced out of the blocks Australia were twice forced to hit back to ensure the

game was locked up at 2 –all. From here the Australians pushed on and were able to take a 4-2 lead into half time

when Roy Prasad scored just before the siren. At the start of the second half it was a familiar tale with New Zealand

scoring first and Australia again finding away to hit straight back to maintain their 2 touchdown lead. Both sides traded

touchdowns and it seemed that each time one nation scored it was a foregone conclusion that the other would hit

back straight away. However, it was Australia who managed to break away to a three touchdown lead midway

through the second half but New Zealand weren’t going to give up and managed to score through Hamish Buck with

three minutes to go. With time running out Australia relied on their steely defence to record a two touchdown win, 10-8

claiming the 2012 Trans Tasman Mixed Open Division. After an exciting and thrilling series the following were the well

deserved winner’s of awards:

Player’s Player – Peter Watkins

Coaches Award – Michael Chapman

THE WA SCOOP

Women’s

Game 1

With Australia having dominated New Zealand in the Woman’s Open Division, with New Zealand only winning once

in 2002 before the 2012 series, there was a sense that the Australian Women should take the series easily. However,

the Kiwis are fierce competitors and after catching up ground at last year’s World Cup they came into this series as

an unknown quantity with a new coach and some fresh faces but most importantly a clean slate to work with. They

didn't stay unknown for long though, scoring three touchdowns in quick succession at the start of the game to make

it theirs to lose. Missy Buchanan was first on the scoreboard, diving over in the middle of the field with just 20 seconds

gone. Not long after Marama Davis found space on the left wing and streaked down the sideline to make it 2-0. The

close-to-perfect start by New Zealand was completed when Tyla Nathan-Wong produced the yards and Robyna

Hokai the finish. The Australian team, however, are not World Cup and Trans Tasman champions for nothing and

accepted the challenge laid down by the Kiwis. After numerous repeat sets at the line, where the Kiwis defence was

superb, Australia finally scored late in the half through Charlotte Caslick and Jenna Hitch to bring it back to a 3-2

lead to New Zealand at half time. The second half featured more intense defence from New Zealand and more

relentless attack from Australia. The Touch Blacks though, having defended so well throughout the match were not

about to let this one slip. They held strong and calmly ticked down the clock for a 4-3 victory; only the second time

in history that New Zealand has beaten Australia in Women’s Open Touch Football.

Game 2

With Australia staring down the barrel of an unthinkable series defeat there was no option but to win. The result was

another nail-biting match between the two teams with Australia winning 4-3 in a high quality match. After Australia

attacked early and twice breaking the New Zealand line the Kiwis defence was again on show as they held out the

Australian’s early and took a 1-0 lead. With veterans Kelly Woods and Louise Winchester guiding the Australians

around they again looked dangerous but as was the theme the Kiwis defence held solid and they managed to

take a 2-0 lead. Australia finally managed to score and a second soon followed however it was New Zealand that

took a 3-2 lead at half time. Australia stepped up as the second half began and Kristin Boss levelled the game with

the New Zealand defenders only millimetres away from making the touch. With the scores level the two teams

upped their intensity but with Australia’s defence stepping up to match New Zealand’s efforts the Aussies were able

to take a 4-3 lead after shutting down the Kiwis on a number of occasions. The scores remained the same in another

entertaining match that saw the scores reversed from game 1. The series was poised for a hotly anticipated

decider.

Game 3

In the most anticipated game of the series it was Australia who came from one game

down to claim the 2012 Trans Tasman Series. Australia put on an impressive display in

the third game of the series, to take a 7-3 win and the series two games to one. New

Zealand got things going with some smart play to play from the front but Australia’s

response was fast and effective with Marikki Watego scoring in the corner. At this point

the match settled somewhat with neither team willing to concede field position; errors

were low and the tension was high. It was Australia that managed to make the crucial

plays and take a 4-2 lead at half-time. New Zealand started the second half full of

running but Australia was up to it and they extended their lead with Kristin Boss scoring

in the corner with 5-2 quickly becoming 6-2 after Louise Winchester plucked the ball

from out of the sky to score a deserved touchdown. New Zealand reduced the deficit

by one not long after with Megan Campbell scoring in the middle after her team

produced the perfect platform with some strong yards. As the clock ticked down and

New Zealand had repeat sets on the Australian line the game was sealed by a length

of the field intercept try to Australia’s Jess McCall. The score remained 7-3 with

Australia taking the series in what was a true contest between the two nations.

The deserving award winners are as follows:

Player’s Player – Charlotte Caslick, Coaches Award – Kelly Woods and the Kristy Judd Award – Ashleigh Quinlan

THE WA SCOOP

Men’s Game 1

The Men’s Division was always going to be an intense rematch after Australia’s slim victory at last year’s World Cup

Final. Game one went down to the wire with the Australian’s prevailing in a come from behind win 5-4. New Zealand

was the first team to make the most of their opportunities, with Riley O’Donnell crossing early. The Australians were

quick to hit back through Matt Topen. While most Australian versus New Zealand games are high scoring affairs with

plenty of attacking flair from both sides, the teams were unable to capitalise on their opportunities for the rest of the

first half, with the sides locked up 1-all at half-time. New Zealand, as in the first half, were quick to claim the lead in

the early exchanges of the second half however Dylan Hennessey grabbed his second touchdown assist with

Australia levelling the scores at 2-all. The Kiwis reclaimed their one touchdown lead when Tama Guthrie scored,

before an individual effort from the untouchable Hennessey locked the game up at three touchdowns-a-piece. New

Zealand again took a one touchdown lead with just five minutes remaining in the half, before Prowse was again on

the receiving end of another great Hennessey ball to level it up. Australia then took the lead for the first time in the

game when Hennessey set up Rob Nakhla to score in the corner with less than a minute remaining. New Zealand

was unable to hit back, with Australia claiming the first game of the series by one touchdown, 5-4. In a dominant

display Dylan Hennessey, who also starred in last year’s State Championships for Wanneroo, had a hand in each of

Australia’s five touchdowns.

Game 2 In Game 2 the Australian Men’s Open team took an unbeatable series lead,

defeating New Zealand 8-5. After denting the Kiwis confidence with victory in Game 1

in the dying seconds the Australian Men were ruthless scoring in the first set of six.

However, the Kiwis were not going to roll over hitting straight back. After a more

entertaining and attacking game the score was locked up at 4-all at half time. The

Australian’s came out of the blocks quicker in the second half with the Kiwis nightmare

Dylan Hennessey scoring after a Ben Moylan pass was deflected. The Australian’s then

pushed on with their advantage scoring another three quick touchdowns to Matt

Prowse, Dylan Hennessey and Dan Wither’s scoring to give Australia a four touchdown

lead with seven minutes remaining. The New Zealanders hit back in the next set, with

Dean Williams sending a ball out to Carlos Savage who dived over in the link position

to score. Australia’s experience in closing out a game then showed as New Zealand

were unable to close the gap any further and it was Australia taking the Game 8-5

and the series with still Game 3 to play.

Game 3

After taking the series in the first two games Australia continued their dominance over a deflated New Zealand outfit

with an eight touchdown win. The Australian’s were impressive early, throwing the ball around which resulted in a

touchdown to Jonathan Palau in the sixth minute, doing a trademark dive to score. New Zealand levelled the game

up shortly after through Cain Rangi, however through some great work again from Dylan Hennessey Australia soon

had a 4-1 lead. New Zealand then worked themselves into the game and were looking promising until a Matt Prowse

intercept touchdown broke the Kiwis as Australia raced to a 6-2 half-time lead. It didn’t take long for Australia to

extend their lead in the second half after another Hennessey assist. To prove Australia’s dominance they were again

next to score, Hennessey again with the assist, with only five players on the field after Anthony Ziade was sent for a

period of time. New Zealand managed to pull one back but the Australian’s weren’t finished with Matt Prowse

scoring his fourth touchdown to give Australia one of the most convincing wins in recent times and a 3-0 series

whitewash. The final score was Australia 11-3 over New Zealand. The Men’s Open awards went to the following

players:

Player’s Player – Dylan Hennessey

Coaches Award – Dan Withers

The Phil Smith Medal, for leadership, sportsmanship and outstanding contribution to the highest level of Touch

Football, went to Touch Football Australia’s Technical Manager Tara Steel.

THE WA SCOOP

Western Tigers National Youth Championships Trials

The Trials for the Western Tiger’s Under 18’s teams are coming up very soon and all eligible

players are welcome to join. The National Youth Championships are a great opportunity for

all junior players to gain some representation honours against some of the best juniors in the

Country. The Western Tigers will be looking to build on last year’s success as our Under 18

Boy’s were the Developing State Champions. The details for the Trials are below:

Date: 27th of May and the 3rd of June

Time: 8:30am – 12pm

Venue: Bennett Park, Shearn Crescent, Doubleview

For all Under 18’s who would like to trial please contact Karon Boston at

[email protected] to organise a Nomination form

Inclusion Day Review The inaugural Inclusion WA Inclusion Day went off with a bang, despite the rainy weather. Five schools turned up

with plenty of kid’s semi ready to get out in the rain. Touch Football WA began the day with our Community

Coaches, Blane Edwards and Andrew Bannister, who both stayed through the rain to deliver numerous quality

sessions. We worked through some fun games and skills that had smiles on the children’s faces within moments.

Although the rain was still falling, thankfully a little lighter though, we were able to run two 40 minute sessions in the

morning before morning tea and the next torrential down poor. After the break we went out to finish the day with a

group of kids from Corpus Christi School. The Children were given the choice of which sport they would like to play

out of the five sports Touch received approximately 18 votes from 22 children in an outstanding result.

Touch Football WA’s coaching team received accolades from the Australian Sports Commission, Associated

Catholic Colleges and Inclusion WA. This was reflected by Inclusion WA’s Sport Development Officer Matthew

Shaw summarising comment: “Can I also, say a massive thank you and the other coaches! The session you guys

put on was absolutely fantastic and some of the feedback we had from teachers and students was that touch is a

new found passion!!”

The inclusion Sports day was a massive success for Touch Football WA and we have plenty more opportunities

coming up in the next few months for children with a range of disabilities to come and have a go at Touch. If you

would like to be involved in assisting an Inclusion Come and try day please contact Julian Middlemiss, Sport

Development Coordinator on 9319 4603 or [email protected]

Touch Trivia

1) Where is the 2012 North West

Championships being held?

2) In which town was the recent Trans

Tasman Series held?

3) Who won the Mixed A division at the 2011

North West Championships?

4) Who won the Phil Smith Medal, for

leadership, sportsmanship and outstanding

contribution to the highest level of Touch

Football, at the recent Trans Tasman series?

Answers can be found on our Sponsors page

THE WA SCOOP

Around the Grounds

Broome Touch are looking forward to a full calendar of events this year. The Mixed

competition will be heading into finals in the coming weeks, and with 19 teams in the

competition we are ready for a very competitive finals series. Broome will also be hosting this

year’s Northwest Championships, on 18th/19th May 2012, and looks set to be a bumper year

for team entries, with expression of interest from Port Hedland, Karratha, Tom Price, Derby, as

well as 4 senior Broome teams and 4 Junior teams. The annual event is essential for the

development and growth of touch in the Northwest, and creates firm stepping stones for

future development of both players and officials.

Edith Cowan University Touch Association launched its 2012 Winter season with a

come and try session on 2nd May, and will be running a Men’s and Mixed competition on

Wednesday nights. We hope to make good use of the new clubrooms at the venue to build

on the already strong social culture at the club. A Level 1 referee course will be conducted

in June (date TBC), and participants from other clubs are welcome to join us for the course.

We’ve had a great start to the winter season at Fremantle Rebels DTA with 16 teams

registered including one from a local high school. Thank you to all those regular teams who

have offered to look after the large number of ‘new to the game’ players. The club would

like to congratulate Tessa Miotti, Rheanna Quan and Troy Evans on being selected in the

Western Tigers Aus Squad. Well done and best of luck with your training!

If you would like to keep the Touch WA Football community updated on your Affiliate please email

[email protected] with a short paragraph by the end of the month

In Issue 5, June 2012 we: Review the North West Championships and the first ever Affiliate Development

Conference as well as an in depth look at our Western Tigers AusSquad Academy

THE WA SCOOP

Touch Trivia Answers

1) Broome

2) Mudgee, NSW

3) Karratha

4) Tara Steel (TFA Technical Manager)

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