Category: Northern Swords 15s

Northern Swords Shine at National TournamentNorthern Swords Shine at National Tournament

The Northern Swords 15s and 17s had an impressive Got a Trade Got it Made National Tournament in Rotorua last week.  For the first time ever, both the 15s and 17s managed to lift themselves off the bottom of the table with both teams finishing in 6^th place (out of 8 teams).

“We are by far the smallest zone in terms of playing numbers, but we are seeing that our players are improving year after year on the field.  We have some exceptional talent coming through and they are getting noticed at a National and NRL level which has to be great for the growth of the game in Northland” said, RLN General Manager, Alex Smits.

Paul Turner

Dylan Brown

An example of this was Paul Turner being named as player of the Tournament for the 15s.  Turner had an exceptional tournament.  Playing at Stand Off his combination with Dylan Brown helped guide the 15s to their most successful National tournament ever.  Turner scored 6 tries in 5 games with the highlight being an individual 60 metre try created from nothing to seal victory in golden point against Mid Central Vipers to secure the Swords a playoff for 5^th and 6^th.

Both Paul Turner and Dylan Brown were selected in the 15s Tournament Team.  Also of note was Paul’s Father and Coach, Joe Rau, who was named Coach of the Tournament for the 15s grade.-

Jim Larkin’s 17s team also finished 6^th and were unlucky not to finish higher as they lost their final game 24 – 20 against the South Island Scorpions.  They were also unfortunate to have lost Warriors bound Nathan Newton after the first game with a broken arm.  Te Kahi Nathan was named in the 17s Tournament Team.

Te Kahi Nathan

Tane Kaiwai

Joe Rau

Northland was also well represented on the match official front with Taylor Waenga and Tane Kaiwai attending, with Kaiwai being named Referees Referee of the Tournament.

Honours:

Paul Turner – 15s Player of the Tournament

Joe Rau –  Coach of the Tournament

Paul Turner and Dylan Brown – 15s Tournament Team

Te Kahi Nathan – 17s Tournament Team

Tane Kawai – Referees Referee of the Tournament

Northern Swords 15s and 17s Squad – NZRL Got a Trade Got It Made National TournamentNorthern Swords 15s and 17s Squad – NZRL Got a Trade Got It Made National Tournament

Swords 15s and 17s – NZRL Nationals – DrawSwords 15s and 17s – NZRL Nationals – Draw

Swords 15s and 17s Draw for the 2015 NZRL Got a Trade Got it Made National competition, hosted in Rotorua between Monday 28th September and Friday 2nd October.

Junior Swords UpdateJunior Swords Update

Swords 14s

The Swords 14s played Counties Manukau last Sunday and were up 12-10 with 10 minutes remaining. They had a lapse in concentration and unfortunately Counties ran in 3 unanswered tries.

Captain Manny Snooks, led by example topping the tackle count with some bone jarring hits on a much bigger pack, Rex Wiki bent the line every time he carted the ball up and was running like a man possessed. The boys ran to a really structured game plan enforced by coach Jim croft who has done wonders in developing the culture of this team.

Swords 15/17s

The 15s and 17s are having their final training camp in Okaihau this weekend, with the squads who will be participating in the NZRL National Competition in Rotorua later this month, be named at the conclusion of this camp. The boys will be lucky enough to have the expertise of Australian coaching guru Tom McCafferty, at the camp, who is working closely with the boys.

The camp will be held at Okaihau College and the boys are hoping to go over and support the Swords Premiers side who face the Wellington Orcas this Saturday, they will also hope to watch a bit of the Wharerau 9s tournament.

They depart next Sunday (27th September) for the NZRL National championships where the NZ age group sides will also be selected. Several of our players have already been signed or are in negotiations with NRL clubs so they will want to prove their wares.