Northern Territory U16s to face Tasmania in Round 2 of National Championships
The NT Thunder U16 State Academy team is set to face Tasmania in Round Two of the 2016 NAB AFL Under-16 National Championships on Tuesday 5th July at Metricon Stadium.
The side to represent the NT was finalised over the weekend and includes a number of players who were part of the first-round match against NSW/ACT in Palmerston.
Head Coach Andrew Hodges said his side has the right preparation behind them to perform on the Gold Coast. “We have a real opportunity and the right mindset and training behind us, so there’s every chance this match will be a good contest,” Hodges said.
“Travelling to the Gold Coast and playing at an AFL venue gets our boys out of their comfort zone, they are in a new environment and have the opportunity to really impress, both on and off the field.Our squad is ready to challenge themselves and will aim to use our pace and skills to the best of our ability.”
The team of 25 travelling to the Gold Coast was mostly selected from the initial squad of 30, with one late inclusion.“Round one of the champs saw us lose to a much bigger-bodied NSW/ACT outfit at home so we have made some minor changes to our side,” Hodges said.
Unfortunately due to long term injuries and operations to big-men Coen Hutt and Marcus Valastro, we see Jeremiah Scrutton come in to the side from outside the original squad of 30.
“Jeremiah comes from Ti Tree Community which is about 190 kilometres from Alice Springs and has been playing for the North Adelaide Football Club while schooling in Adelaide. "At 191 centimetres we see Jeremiah being able to play a key position role for our side,” Hodges said.
Please see below for the U16 team travelling to the Gold Coast.
NAB AFL U16 National Championships
- Round Two TAS v NT 12:00pm, Tues 5 July Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast
- Round Three QLD v NT 12:00pm, Sat 9 July Southport, Gold Coast
TEAM
Players (Name/Surname)
1 James QUINN
2 Chase RYE
4 Timothy SMITH
5 Zac BAILEY
6 Nelson SONNTAG
7 Matt BLAKE
8 Beau SHCWARZE
9 Jarrod CAMERON
10 Joel STEVENS
11 Jeremiah SCRUTTON
12 Keegan NYHUIS
13 Matthew GREEN
14 Kane EDWARDS
15 Liam HOLT-FITZ
16 Nathan MU
17 Ryan ALTHOUSE-COOPER
18 Max DAVIES
19 Robbie CAMPBELL
20 Ben JUNGFER
22 Louis KOSSACK
23 Michael MUMMERY
25 Mitchell RIELLY
26 Thomas BROWN
29 Jack PALMER
31 Ryan MU