Our under 12 North boys enjoyed a fantastic year, and finally started to get some well-deserved rewards for their efforts.
They were able to defeat every team in our division, and played off in the Grand Final against East Brighton Vampires, only to be beaten by a better team on the day.
Pre-season started pretty early, and with a few new recruits, we felt confident of a good year. Vampires gave us a wakeup call in our first game for the year, and with a couple of injuries, and players off on overseas trips, we needed to consistently rise to the occasion as a group. The boys were all fantastic!
A couple of game highlights were our return game against Vampires on a windy afternoon at South Rd, where the lads put on a season’s best performance to win a thriller, and our preliminary final against Dingley, who had been undefeated through the home and away rounds, where we played one of the most exciting last quarters I have seen to win through to the Grand Final.
We were not the most skilful team in the competition, but our endeavour and tackling was second to none.
The boys were once again a credit to the club and their families for the way they conducted themselves, whether after victory of loss.
Their improvement has been constant and exciting, and they should continue to enjoy good success if they stick together.
They were all a delight to coach!
Thanks to all who helped out, particularly Rebecca and Marina as team managers, Richard, who was a huge help as assistant coach, our tireless runner Anthony, Gary who took on the trainers role, and Gabe for his water boy skills.
The award winners were:
B&F: Max Lohan
Runner-up B&F: William Bowden
Most Determined: Jonny Foong
Best in finals: Jack Hart
Coaches award: Blake Bergman
Cheers and Go Rovers in 2012!
David Hart
U12 North Coach