Our Youth Pre-Season Representative tournaments concluded on Saturday. The best of the best from this fantastic tournament battled it out to decide who would be crowned champions.  

Georgia Hale Cup (17s) Grand Final: Auckland White 34 – 0 Auckland Blue 

The first game of the day was played between our Georgia Hale Cup 17s. Auckland White took on Auckland Blue. The last time these two matched up Auckland White played a dominant game of league to beat the Auckland Blue side. 

The first half saw a very tight contest between the two sides. Auckland White scored two quick tries in the middle of the first half. Taylor-Benet Masoe scored a good try off a quick play of the ball. Braxton Sorenson McGee threw a perfect cut-out pass to her centre Tiaane Fesolai who skipped to the outside and managed to beat her defender to score. At halftime, Auckland White led 10-0.  

Auckland White quickly extended their lead in the second half, Sena Toutai scored off a great kick pushing the lead to 16-0. The Auckland White found that momentum and did not stop there, winning the inaugural Georgia Hale Cup 34-0. An all-around fantastic team effort from the Auckland White side. The Auckland Blue side dug in and gave it their best efforts, but after sustaining a considerable amount of pressure throughout the game the Blue side just ran out of gas.  

Braxton Sorenson McGee was awarded Grand Final MVP. Her natural ability to play eyes up footy and know how to control a game was very impressive. She led her team to a perfect tournament win. Congratulations to Auckland White, and congratulations to all the girls who played in the Georgia Hale Cup. 

Shaun Johnson Shield (16s) Grand Final: Auckland Black 32 – 14 Auckland White 

The Grand Final of the Shaun Johnson Shield (16s) was played between Auckland Black and Auckland White. The first time these two sides played each other was in Round 1 of the competition, where Auckland White was the better team on the day, winning 34-18 on the back of a brilliant Ashton Denton-Woodhouse performance. A lot of games have passed since the first round and both teams were rearing and ready to play.  

Both sides played a fast-paced style of play that revolved around Offence. EJ Mahu-Delamare scored a fantastic run away try off an inside ball. Just before half time Ashton Denton-Woodhouse kicked a penalty goal to bring the margin to four points, half time saw Auckland Black leading 12-8. Phillip Lavekehaho started the second half with a barnstorming run, breaking multiple tackles and running 30m to score under the posts to extend the Auckland Black lead to 18-8. Kaydon Fruean-Otineru ran a good line and busted through to score the next try for Auckland Black, extending the lead to 22-8. Auckland Black commanded the rest of the game to win the Grand Final 32-14.  

EJ Mahu-Delamare was named player of the day. EJ had so many stand-out moments throughout the tournament and saved his best performance for the Grand Final. Making devastating runs and busting tackles caused a lot of problems for Auckland White. A huge congratulations to the Auckland Black side on winning the Shaun Johnson Shield. Also, congratulations to all players who competed throughout the competition. 

Dean Bell Cup (18s) Grand Final: Auckland Black 22 – 16 Auckland Red 

The last Grand Final of the day was played between Auckland Red and Auckland Black for the Dean Bell Cup (18s). Both sides had great campaigns but there could only be one champion at the end of 70 minutes of footy. Ollie Horgan was the first to dot down off an over-the-top pass from Noah Jensen to give the Auckland Red side a 4-0 lead early in the game. Ollie Horgan got his double minutes later, once again Noah Jensen assisted with a lovely cut-out ball.  

Auckland Black hit back with Leniks Toilolo scoring out on the right side. Leniks threw a big dummy and got one on one with his defender, a great try from the big backrower. The halftime score saw Auckland Red winning the Grand Final 12-10.  

In the second half the rain started to pour down which made for a tight Grand Final. The score was locked up 16-16 with 3 minutes to go, it could have gone either way, but a towering bomb from Iosia Tuli changed everything, the Auckland Red backline had a miss communication and dropped the ball. The ball dropped into the chasing Antonio Ulugias hands, and he dived over the try line to win the game for Auckland Black. 

Auckland Black won both the Shaun Johnson Shield and the Dean Bell Cup. Kalani Peyroux-Donaldson was named Man of the Match in the 18s Final. An impressive performance by Kalani, making a high number of tackles and runs, inspiring his team to fight back in a tough game. Congratulations to Auckland Black on winning the Dean Bell Cup, and congratulations to all the players who played in the Dean Bell Cup for all your amazing efforts. 

Article added: Monday 03 April 2023