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NSW Wolverines 2013 National Champions

The New South Wales Wolverines travelled to Canberra in April 2013 for the Gridiron Australia Junior National Championships.

Champions at the 2011 Junior National Championships, the Wolverines had a lot to live up to but a well structured training program put together by rookie Head Coach Antonio Pisconieri and his staff gave the team a good state of readiness.

The first match was against the South Australian Fire.  An 18 point deficit at half time led to Wolverines fans to wonder whether such a head start could be overcome.  However, their worries were unfounded as the Wolverines came out of the sheds at half time full of fire and unloaded their determination on the SA team racking up 28 unanswered points to take out the game 36 to 24.

The Wolverines were drawn to play the ACT Monarchs in the second round.  Strong performances by the entire team scoring touchdowns by both the offensive and defensive units struck fear into the other States and give the Wolverines a dominating 69 points to nil victory.

The Championship game was held between the two undefeated States of the tournament being the New South Wales Wolverines and the Western Australian Raiders.  In a repeat of the 2011 Championship game, the 2013 game promised to be a high scoring affair after the Wolverines beat the Raiders 54 points to the Raiders 52.

On the contrary, the game turned out to be a strong defensive game that was an exciting game befitting of a National Championship game.  The opening kickoff to the Raiders led to a fumble by the returner in a crunching tackle that was recovered by the Wolverines.  A few plays later a sharp darting run by running back Nathan Thompson resulted in a touchdown and the successful point after gave the Wolverines and early 7 point lead.

The game from that point on was an arm wrestle with great offensive drives down the field being thwarted by the opposing defences close to the endzone that tested both Head Coaches’ wits.  Good tackling and intercepts at crucial times gave the Wolverines a steel backbone giving the offence the confidence to move the ball downfield only to be stopped again and again by the tenacious Raider defence.

The closing minutes of the final quarter saw the Raiders controlling the ball, edging closer and closer to the New South Wales goal-line but the sounding of the final whistle saw the Wolverines hold onto the early lead and be again crowned Junior National Champions.

Gridiron NSW congratulates Head Coach Antonio Pisconieri, his staff and the players on their fantastic performances both on and off the field to bring the crown once again to New South Wales.

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Gridiron NSW Gala Day 2013

The Gridiron NSW Gala Day was proudly hosted by Women Gridiron NSW on Sunday 21st April 2013.

It brought the NSW clubs together for the first time in 2013 to promote the game and recruit new players, both men and women, who have expressed their interest in this fast paced body contact sport they call gridiron.

The gala day was a great opportunity to promote and introduce Women players to have an opportunity to play the game in New South Wales wearing approved gridiron gear.

Sydney University Lions, Bondi Raiders, North Western Predators & Wollongong Mustangs came down to support their clubs and register new members for 2013.  A large number of both men and women turned out for registration and were signed up as members on the day.

Gridiron NSW would like to thank the Lions, Raiders, Predators and Mustangs who provided their assistance and support for the Gala Day and new recruits who registered on the day.

The winners in the Mixed Flag Competition were the “Warriors” who showed excellent football skills in Oz tag football with runner up Raiders. It was Aussie Flag verses Gridiron Flag football that had spectators cheering them all on.

Finally, future events will be  advertised on Gridiron NSW website and Facebook so keep an eye out for more opportunities to introduce new players to the sport.

For further enquires regards to players registration for your nearest club forward your enquiries to info@gridironnsw.org.au

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Gridiron NSW now selling Douglas Shoulder Pads

Gridiron NSW is now an approved Distributor for Douglas Shoulder Pads

Feel free to check out the ‘Sales’ section on the Gridiron NSW website or if you have questions email sales@gridironnsw.org.au

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Gridiron Australia Junior Nationals April 16-20

The 2013 Gridiron Australia Junior Nationals are being held in the ACT from April 16 - 20.

Games are being played at Greenway Stadium, Soward Way Tuggeranong, approximately 20kms to the South West of Canberra City Center.

The NSW Wolverines are staying at the Australian Institute Sport, Leverrier Crescent Bruce, which is about 15 minutes to the north of Canberra.

Parents and friends are encouraged to attend the event and support the NSW Wolverines.

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Raiders & Seahawks Charity Game

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Womens Gridiron NSW

At its AGM held 24 Feb 2013, Gridiron NSW along with its Members Clubs expressed a high level of commitment to starting a full contact Women’s Gridiron competition in NSW.

The competition will be sanctioned by Gridiron Australia as it will be played under the NCAA Rules, in particular the Equipment and Uniform Policy which govern the existing Mens’ Competitions.

Clubs will be recruiting Women to play Full Kit – Full Contact Gridiron as we look to build towards starting a competition in August/September 2013.

The development of Women’s competitions in other States will lead to Interstate competitions and with the prospect of the next Women’s World Cup in 2017, Gridiron Australia has the ability to submit a National team to play other countries in the International Federation.

For further details contact Gridiron NSW info@gridironnsw.org.au or feel free to contact your closest Club through http://gridironnsw.org.au/clubs/

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Head Coach – West Sydney Pirates Season 2013

Applications are being sought by the West Sydney Gridiron Club for the position of Head Coach of the Senior Program for season 2013.

West Sydney Pirates are a highly successful club located in South West Sydney.  The Club runs programs at Senior and Colts level. The Head Coach will be expected to develop and implement a senior program including selecting coaches, organising, trials, preseason and in season training, offensive, defensive and special teams playbooks.

The Head Coach will report directly to the Executive Committee of the West Sydney Gridiron Club and will have autonomy to select supporting coaching staff.  (to be ratified by the Executive Committee)

Applicants must hold a Level 2 Accreditation with Gridiron NSW and a minimum of Level 1 Accreditation with the NSW Department of Sport and Recreation, and have Head Coaching experience and/or significant experience in running football programs.

Applicants are required to submit a written application detailing their experience and credentials, and how they will run the Senior Program in 2013, along with a sporting CV.

Interviews may form part of the selection process .

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLCIATIONS MARCH 6th 2013.

Further information can be obtained from and applications should be sent to

Steve Marsh

sm2212@bigpond.com

VP Seniors
West Sydney Gridiron Club

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Sydney University Lions – Waratah Bowl Champions 2012

The 2012 Waratah Bowl kicked off under cloudy skies at the 5 Sports Arena in Caringbah last Saturday night. In the previous week, the Sydney University Lions defeated the Wollongong Mustangs and UTS defeated the West Sydney Pirates in their respective playoff games to advance to the Championship game.

The Lions were chasing their tenth straight Championship and UTS their first. In a David and Goliath matchup, the Lions controlled the ball on the ground with punishing runs by Alex Watson through the heart of the UTS defence. Watson was greatly assisted by his offensive linemen who readily opened gaps for him as they had done all season.

The UTS offensive unit lead by their elusive quarterback Jean Prill found it hard to move the ball in the first half with a number of stalled drives which led to punts. The Lions defence worked hard to nullify Prill and his quartet of running backs which resulted in UTS resorting to the passing game. However, intercepts in crucial positions on the field again snuffed out scoring drives by the UTS offence.

The UTS defence played well as a unit and despite 38 points being scored by the Lions’ offensive juggernaught, the score could have been a lot higher had the UTS defence not made the most of the opportunities available to them.

As the clock wound down in the final quarter, credit goes to Prill and Coach Bosco for still trying to cross the Lions’ goal line but the Lions’ defence, led ably by Captain Joe Lim, held firm and kept the UTS team scoreless.

The final scoreline of 38 to 0 to the Lions was perhaps not a true indication of the game but shows how the Lions created and then made the most of their opportunities to retain the crown as the champions of Gridiron in New South Wales.

The Most Valuable Player award as selected by the GNSW Panel was Lions’ running back Alex Watson who was clearly the standout player in the game.

The Clubs of Gridiron New South Wales vote for a number awards for performances over the season which were presented following the game and the 2012 winners were:

League Most Valuable Player Jean Prill (UTS)                          Most Valuable Player – Offence Alex Watson (Lions)

 

Most Valuable Player – Defence Andrew Asher (UTS)

Coach of the Year Peter Upham (Seahawks)                                         Official of the Year Darrin Mitchell

 

Club of the Year Wollongong Mustangs

The Executive of Gridiron New South Wales congratulates all of the award winners and the Sydney University Lions on their achievements in the 29th season of Gridiron in New South Wales.