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Junior World Cup qualifier

HailToTheRedskins — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 03:58:43 GMT

Match summary for those who didn't see it.

The New Zealand Iron Blacks claimed the seventh berth in the 2009 IFAF Junior World Championship with a 12-7 win over Australia in Canberra on Saturday evening (Australian Eastern Daylight Saving Time).

Two touchdown runs by dimunitive New Zealand running back Dan Tavaga – who ran for 141 yards on 12 carries – and some stout defence inside the red zone helped the Iron Blacks overcome three first-half turnovers and a 7-6 deficit at three-quarter time to earn a trip to Canton in June.

Tavaga opened the scoring on the fourth play of the game when he followed right guard Behlow Matia pulling around left end, broke through some sloppy tackles by pursuing Australian defenders and then sprinted away from the secondary to complete a 59-yard touchdown play. The extra point attempt by Hiroyuki Tanaka was blocked.

New Zealand Head Coach Michael Mau’u used a script for the opening offensive drive, and said the result went according to plan.

“We kinda set it up with our wing formation, then we went to trips and we thought that would set up the Aussies to bite hard on the pass,” he said.

“We knew that Dan had the speed, so once he got to the outside and got those big linemen coming through, that was it.”

On New Zealand’s next possession, the Australian defence presented their offence with an excellent opportunity to score. Outback defensive tackle Jesse Williams sliced through the line and disrupted a hand off to fullback Matthew Gandy, forcing a fumble that was recovered by linebacker Jacob Townrow.

A sack of Australian quarterback Mark Rusby by New Zealand inside linebacker Christian Hellesoe forced the Outback to attempt a 35-yard field goal, which was pushed wide by kicker Jean Prill.

Tavaga immediately ripped off a 33-yard run by cutting back behind a pulling Matia, but the drive ended early in the second quarter when Iron Blacks quarterback Marenata Pasa-Sioka was intercepted by Townrow inside the red zone.

The Australian drive stalled, but a booming punt by Jordan Berry backed the New Zealanders up to their own 33. Two plays later, Australian cornerback Justin Rourke jumped a short out pattern to intercept a pass by Pasa-Sioka. A facemask against the Iron Blacks on the return meant the Outback took possession at the New Zealand 20 yard line, but Australia’s best chance of the second quarter ended when a fourth down swing pass from Rusby to slot back Jereme Russell was dropped well short of the first down.

Australia started the third quarter with a good drive that used strong runs by slot back Dean Borghuis and Alexander Monea to set up 1st and 10 at the New Zealand 15-yard line. The Iron Blacks dug in, dropping slot back Chris Pappas for a loss on third down. An illegal substitution penalty forced the Outback to attempt a 42-yard field goal, but Prill’s kick was blocked by New Zealand defensive tackle Tia Ratu.

On the ensuing possession, Australian captain and linebacker James McFadzean caught Tavaga in the backfield and punched the ball loose, where it was recovered by the Outback on the New Zealand 24.

The Outback capitalised on the turnover when Borghuis motioned into the backfield from the left slot, took a pitch around the right end, cut upfield and hurdled two defenders before reaching the nose of the ball across the goal line for a 13-yard touchdown. Prill’s extra point gave the home side a 7-6 lead.

Tavaga returned the following kickoff 62-yards up the middle to the Australian 28, but the promising drive ended when the Iron Blacks turned the ball over on downs.

The next Iron Blacks drive was the game-winner. Receiver Josiah O’Connell had to leap to catch a 29-yard heave from Pasa-Sioka, but held on despite the attention of safety Scott Rogers to set up the Iron Blacks at the Australian 17. On the next play Tavaga darted through the middle of the line, eluded McFadzean while drifting to the right sideline, then beat the pursuit to dive into the endzone untouched. Tanaka’s extra point was wide left, but the Iron Blacks had a 12-7 lead.

Australian Head Coach John Ludvigson believed O’Connell’s reception, on a drive that the Australians believed they had stymied, was the play that turned the match.

“I think the catch was what broke it. Great yardage, great field position to set them up for the touchdown and I think the guys kind of dropped a bit after it,” he said.

Australia drove inside the New Zealand half with less than a minute left, but New Zealand countered the Outback’s spread offensive set by shifting their defensive linemen into the interior gaps, then blitzing linebackers through the large offensive line splits. Inside linebackers Hellesoe and Telea Bragovits sealed the result by blitzing up the middle and sacking substitute quarterback Prills on fourth down.

Mau’u thought the late defensive adjustment was the key in successsfully disrupting the Australian offence through the final stages of the match.

“As the game went on, the offensive splits got wider and wider and we kept moving out lining head up,which is exactly how they’re trained, positionwise,” he said.

“Once we started tightening up the spaces, it was a case of two-on-one each time they (the New Zealand defensive line) came through, and it was only the guard that was taking them, so he had to choose, and that’s why our line came through so quickly.

Ludvigson was sombre after the game, saying his close-knit side was starting to comprehend just how close it had come to qualifying for the World Championships

“I’m disappointed, but not in the boys. They boys gave everything that was asked of them. They played their hearts out, and New Zealand played a fantastic game,” he said.

“Going into the game, and until the last minutes, I thought we were probably going to win the game. I thought we’d tire them out by then and our spread option was starting to work, but they hung on and played tough.”

Tavaga was the standout for New Zealand, with guard Digger Penetito also having a strong game. Hellesoe recorded 12 tackles and 1.5 sacks to lead the defense, while Bragovits chipped in with eight tackles and half a sack.

“We’ve been building up for this since August, so the guys have done a lot of work for it and they were ready mentally as well,” Mau’u said.

“We knew we were going to be up against it and Australia come out like we expected – big and fast, played smart football and in the end it was just execution that won it for us on offense... and some special runners.”

The softly-spoken Tavaga said he was surpised by the intensity of the clash, especially the response of the Australian defence to his first touchdown run.

“It was pretty hard, I never thought it was going to be that hard. Thank God we won. After that first touchdown I thought it was going to be pretty easy, but they came back pretty hard,” he said.

For Australia, Borghuis rushed for 58 yards on seven carries and also caught a 24-yard pass. McFadzean paced the defence with eight tackles, while Jesse Williams was a destructive prescence at defensive tackles, recording seven tackles and forcing one turnover.

Over the next few weeks, the New Zealand staff will start to focus on the World Championships to be held in Canton in June and July.

“The realistic goal for the trip is to get our players seen,” Mau’u said.

“We want to make sure that we aren’t the easybeats of the World Cup. We’ll bring a lot of passion and gain a lot of fans as we go. It might be a simple brand of football, but we have to get what works for us, not try something that’s over the top.”

BOX SCORE

Scoring

1st quarter

New Zealand – Tavaga 59-yard (kick blocked)

2nd quarter

No Score

3rd quarter

Australia – Borghuis 13-yard run (Prills kick)

4th quarter

New Zealand – Tavaga 17-yard run (kick failed)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

NZ: Tavaga 12-141 (2 TD), Gandy 12-40, Pasa-Sioka 5-16.

AUS: Borghuis 7-58 (1 TD), Monea 10-17, Tumata 3-11, Russell 5-5, Pappas 4--6, Rusby 15--8.

Passing

NZ: Pasa Sioka 1-6-29-2, MacAskill 0-1-0-0.

AUS: Rusby 5-9-27-0, Prill 0-1-0-0.

Receiving

NZ: O’Connell 1-29.

AUS: Russell 3-2, Borghuis 1-24, Beyer 1-1.

Interceptions

NZ: None

AUS: Townrow, Rourke.

Tackles

NZ: Hellesoe 12, Bragovits 8.

AUS: McFadzean 8, Williams 7.

RE: Junior World Cup qualifier

garrymodes — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 03:58:43 GMT

I do not think, I think we have a great potential Thurs March to succeed in the world that are not included in the next five years and not at senior level for 10 years.

RE: Junior World Cup qualifier

Realist — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:19:02 GMT

[quote][b]Hektos to the Maxos (29/01/2009)[/b][hr]I think the problem is also what has been proven on this thread, there are alot of people with opinions and alot of different views on how this should be done, yet there hasnt been any two people say the agree with each other on how to improve.

One other issue we have to contend with is players playing other sport. The dedication to being fit and active is there but the dedication to this sport is not because the sports these players (im looking at the junior level) have grown up with take precedent over everything else.The nature of our game means thatjuniors can only start playing American football at 13-14years old. By that stage in what ever sport they are playing rep teams become a big part of their sporting career and so the transition to another sport to take it seriously becomes alot more difficult. Every kid that i have coached over the years loves our sport once they are involved and making state sides, but they arent ready to dedicate themselves because they still have park footy on the Sunday.

I still believe an overhaul is required on the coaching techniques and practices however i also feel that we need to look at expanding our game. I am aware that there are people out there who go out to schools and teach Flag football and basic level 0 training which is exactly what this sport needs. But as leagues we should maybe consider starting up flag football competitions from 8 year olds onwards. It would be tough in the beginning not having any funding for marketing but this is probably the best way to build our sport up, my goal for this would be to make American football the primary sports focus rather than the secondary.[/quote]

I agree with you Hektos in relation to other sports having already captured potential players before we can realistically get our hands on them at 13/14yo etc. In regard to the flag leagues, again, it would be fantastic, but as identified in almost every thread ever written about the development of the game, it requires an increase in people willing to volunteer their time to be able to make this happen. Each state would be equally faced with enough time and human resource pressures that restrict what can be done at club level, let alone further contribute at league level (eg. run a flag competition). Realistically, our best chance at seeing the sport develop (particularly at flag level) is for schools to really take it on as legitimate competition - interschool flag etc. That is how lacrosse etc. has a following - it can be played at high school - it certainly doesn't have the benefit of an electronic gaming franchise, high profile US league etc. that can attract our teens (and earlier), but they can get into our schools. Ultimately Hektos, with your ideas and passion, I am sure you already working with your club and league to help our game grow,

RE: Junior World Cup qualifier

nzveritas — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 02:39:13 GMT

I hope the Australian Gridiron community will realize that it was actions of one man operating without mandate and not the New Zealand Gridiron Community at large that duped the Australian Juniors out of the JWC.

[url=http://www.thebear.com.au/Topic18426-19-1.aspx]http://www.thebear.com.au/Topic18426-19-1.aspx[/url]

RE: Junior World Cup qualifier

OlderDan — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 19:15:23 GMT

As much as I hate to kick a team while it's down, few things crossed my mind:

1. That's pretty awful tackling by a team that's theoretically supposed to be made up of our finest junior players. Shouldn't these guys be at least 3 year vets? If so, shouldn't they be better than this?

2. The AUS offense appeared to be running a triple option attack - If this was the case, I'm curious to know the logic behind running an offense that requires lots of practice and discipline when there was only apparently 4 days to prepare.

3. Curious play calling on the goal line in that first fumble situation. Apparently Australia had good field position all day but couldn't punch it in more than once.

I hate to be an armchair QB with only 3 minutes of game footage, and again it sounds like sour grapes, but with eveyone here posting things about the selection process and training etc - it seems to me that the Australian team maybe got outcoached? Can people associated with the nationals team verify/explain exactly what happened?

RE: Junior World Cup qualifier

HailToTheRedskins — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 19:28:12 GMT

Video match report of the qualifier, for those interested.

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=Wh7CY9kdPbY

RE: Junior World Cup qualifier

Hektos to the Maxos — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 19:22:01 GMT

I think the problem is also what has been proven on this thread, there are alot of people with opinions and alot of different views on how this should be done, yet there hasnt been any two people say the agree with each other on how to improve.

One other issue we have to contend with is players playing other sport. The dedication to being fit and active is there but the dedication to this sport is not because the sports these players (im looking at the junior level) have grown up with take precedent over everything else. The nature of our game means that juniors can only start playing American football at 13-14years old. By that stage in what ever sport they are playing rep teams become a big part of their sporting career and so the transition to another sport to take it seriously becomes alot more difficult. Every kid that i have coached over the years loves our sport once they are involved and making state sides, but they arent ready to dedicate themselves because they still have park footy on the Sunday.

I still believe an overhaul is required on the coaching techniques and practices however i also feel that we need to look at expanding our game. I am aware that there are people out there who go out to schools and teach Flag football and basic level 0 training which is exactly what this sport needs. But as leagues we should maybe consider starting up flag football competitions from 8 year olds onwards. It would be tough in the beginning not having any funding for marketing but this is probably the best way to build our sport up, my goal for this would be to make American football the primary sports focus rather than the secondary.

RE: Junior World Cup qualifier

OlderDan — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:57:48 GMT

[quote][b]Hawkpeter (27/01/2009)[/b][hr]It seems that some people didn't get the information from their GA reps that the camp leading up to the game was for any player age eligible nominated by their club coaches and submitted to the Head Coach for consideration. The original camp had over 90 players nominated which was to be then cut to 45 for the game. As it turned out I think money and availability became the biggest force of attrition, which is what it is.[/quote]

Please explain - I was asked for a list from our rep and I gave him 6 names, and only one of them was apparently sent off to the HC for consideration.

Rock, my figures are from 1999 so I don't know what teams now do 10 years on by we did about 150 hours of actual practice, 1 hour of film per week during the season (which I know has gone up), and for those who did weight training outside of practice, that was 1hr 2-3x a week. Maybe crazy teams in Texas pull that kind of stuff of a billion practice hours. Didn't happen at my school.

Regarding the committment of players I'll say this:

It is up to the coaches to get their players to practice. A good coach will instill a love of the game in the players to the point where they WANT to turn up each and every day. A bad coach will make players think what's the point? Now, obviously there are extenuating circumstances (bad weather makes everyone stay home), but by and large attendance at training is a reflection on the coach, rather than the players.

Further the coach has to be able to tell his players they won't play if they don't train. It's really that simple. The dedicated ones will show up while the part timers will gradually fall off. Most often, those part timers are doing more harm than good to a program anyways, so it's best to cut the dead weight. Tough but fair is the only way to deal with the situation, IMO.

Now as for rep football:

Clearly, we all agree that the challenge of getting a team together to play well with a limited playbook is exceedingly difficult. Therefore, I suggest the solution to be to nominate players a full year in advance of the tournament. That will allow for two things: Allow them time to get funds together AND allow for a few practices before the actual game. While other players may make their way into the league later on, choosing the roster a year in advance gives people plenty of time to prepare. The team can run a mini-camp over school holidays a few times a year to build the playbook and skills up. It's not the ideal situation, but it has to be better than what's currently in place.

RE: Junior World Cup qualifier

Hawkpeter — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:42:29 GMT

I doubt that a survey would lead to much, alternatively we have to decide how do we want to structure our sport for the incoming players, for those who have not started playing the sport yet, less so the ones who are already participating.

If the reality is that our Senior football is largely based on the commitment level decisions made by the players themselves then the only shot we have to form the habits we expect is at a Junior level.

RE: Junior World Cup qualifier

Dman — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 13:39:00 GMT

If we could get our game that serious it would be by now. Its going to be a slow process, but we have to attract better quality athletes at age 14-15 latest if they are to be worth anything at 17-18.

Also yes a lot of players are products of their coaches, but i don't think the Australian coaching squad was "fat and ignorant" there were a lot of good quality coaches there. Hell i think the fact it was close might have something to do with that...there seemed like an obvious disparity in terms of physical talent between the two teams.

RE: Junior World Cup qualifier

Rock — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 06:05:21 GMT

Hawkpeter I totally agree.

I do not think that we as a sport in Australia are putting together a focused effort to try and get better.

There is not enough unity in our country.

Some people play for fun, some coaches coach so they can drink beer with their buddies and smoke cigarettes at practice. Other coaches take alot of pride in what they do at club level.

The thing is that we have one Division of Senior Football and One Division of Junior Football and we have to cater for all levels of committment for players & Coaches within that division.

The Fundamental issue with this is that a High Level Coach would only get frustrated with a Football Player that only wants to turn up to practice 50% of the time and not want to get any better. (Vice Versa)

For the record a respected Gridiron Coach in QLD just retired and went to coach Rugby League and the reason he did this is because he was not getting enough "gain for his pain" as there was some days that he would turn up to coach and their would only be 6 players at Practice.

So why does a coach with so much enthusiasm leave the Sport? it is because he is dealing with players who just want to play Hit and Giggle Football.

Any coach who trys to set standards in this country gets shot down for being too hard. It is a pity that our sport is dominated by people who just want to play the game instead of playing the sport. yet these same people want to represent their state and country and brag about how good they are.

Then there are the coaches who think that being a good coach is by blowing smoke up everyones backside and telling them how good they are when in fact they are quite mediocre at best. I am not saying that coaches have to be hard on players but Please Be Honest...

I think the first thing we need to do is run a Survey on the bear website that monitors the standard of where the players and coaches want the Level of the sport to be played at. Then we could ascertain what level of acheivement we want to aspire to.

Division 1: Practice 3 times x a week, (2 practices and 1 Film session)
Off season Strength and conditioning Program which incorporates Strength,Power,Speed, Agility and Flexibility and even some skills camps. Also have a pre season weekend camp with two a days.

Division 2: Practice 2 times a week, (1 practices and 1 Film session)
Off season Strength and conditioning Program which incorporates Strength,Power,Speed, Agility and Flexibility and even some skills camps.

Division 3: Practice 1 time a week, during season.

We have to stop trying to just get by and set some standards with concrete plans on how to get better.

RE: Junior World Cup qualifier

Hawkpeter — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 23:39:38 GMT

To answer your question about developing players, there is no direct strategy from GA to develop players per se, there is no funding of a development squad or whatnot and such a thing is not economically feasible. GA lays out annual alternate year National Championships for each tier of the game and organizes National teams and Development tours. Having said that, if there were such a thing as a Development Squad or Academy, and this addresses the other aspect of being able to develop players; having the structure and impetus or the skills to do so, there is not enough knowledge of what it takes to prepare an athlete for football in the coaching community for it to be a success.

I'm not sure if I could put it any more crudely than the observation that fat ignorant coaches breed fat ignorant players.

But lets get to making things better. No country has a success model that we could directly transplant into our own country. We have to problem solve ourselves. As long as the sport is largely self funded mature aged players then I think we're going to continue as we have. Whats needed is greater effort by those individuals, not on their own game at the mature age level but on developing the younger age bracket below them. It would require largely acts of selflessness.

One thing worth examining is whether value for money is gained with international tours and development squads. These are significant leakages from the football economy and it cannot be a good thing for these to act as catalysts for player improvement, moving from sendentary football fan to dedicated knowledgeable athlete is not a one step process. Whilst it will always be hard to get good natural athletes to try our sport the ones that do come along to try it need to be immediately met by a strong culture of attention to physical preparation and mental aptitude for the game.

RE: Junior World Cup qualifier

Hektos to the Maxos — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 22:34:56 GMT

Could the fact be that we as coaches and administrators in Australia are behind the 8 ball in terms of our knowledge and skill set and as such pass this onto our junior players.

Now we all do the best we can and put a great deal of effort into these guys but are we potentially the reason for this.

Hawkpeter, could the rut be as a result of coaches being unable to develop these players at a club level...should there potentially be an overhaul of the way coaches train their squads and look at making the level 1 and 2 more difficult with a set criteria to focus on development and identification of talent. I think so, i think there is alot of potential for our country to be successful on the world stage, but not within the next 5 years and not at a senior level for 10 years.

At the end of the day, it was always going to be tough for the Australian junior side to be successful when they come into camp 4 days before the game with limited preparation and unfortunately not being able to field the best side possible with depth due to monetry constraints. The trip was an incredibly expensive trip for alot of the players to afford. But never the less, they were competitive and gave it their all, that is the Australian way.

RE: Junior World Cup qualifier

Hawkpeter — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 06:16:22 GMT

It seems that some people didn't get the information from their GA reps that the camp leading up to the game was for any player age eligible nominated by their club coaches and submitted to the Head Coach for consideration. The original camp had over 90 players nominated which was to be then cut to 45 for the game. As it turned out I think money and availability became the biggest force of attrition, which is what it is.

Having said all that, the theme that I see amongst all the problems is that Australian Gridiron is caught in the rut of representative teams, squads and tours being the beginning of the player development process, rather than the end of it.

Players go on tours and get selected to teams and then the realization occurs that they need to be working a lot harder to be competitive at the sport they claim to love and be devoted to. We're not providing pathways locally to improve these kids from the beginning.

RE: Junior World Cup qualifier

Love To Run — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 04:29:50 GMT

Congrates to NZ Comisserations to the OZ boys, Now if we want to win the next one we better start planning now. You must plan to succeed!!!:D

RE: Junior World Cup qualifier

Rock — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 22:00:35 GMT

Hey older dan if they are not the numbers for your program then i would be interrested to know what the numbers actually were.?

RE: Junior World Cup qualifier

Dman — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:49:32 GMT

edit

RE: Junior World Cup qualifier

OlderDan — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:30:46 GMT

^ Where did you get your numbers? I never did that much in high school. No one on my team did!

I know one of my players couldn't make the trip due to expenses. He was our team MVP and one of, if not the best OLB at the junior level in Victoria.

Wihout knowing anything about the player make up, I would certainly point to what I know of the selection process to be part of the problem. To my knowledge, a player had to play at Nationals in order to be eligible to play Worlds. That's simply not fair. Players could have missed the last nationals for a variety of reasons - for them to not be invited is just wrong. On our team I have 4 players who did not join Gridiron until after the 07 nationals tournament who I think would certainly challenge for a spot on the outback squad. If the point of the team is to have the best available, why limit it to those at nationals? I can't imagine it's a rule from IFAF - they barely have representative football in the USA - and even then - it's mostly for recruiting purposes!

Regarding finding the coaching staff, and I know this sounds like sour grapes, but I volunteered to coach the squad last May. I was rejected, for reasons unknown. Now, I'm sure the team had a fine coaching staff, but why is anyone in this sport turning away anyone who wants to vounteer? I sincerely doubt the team had coaches for each position, an O-co and a D-co. Even if it did, I'm sure more help is better than less.

From my count, NZ has 11 senior teams and 16 "junior" teams, though the ages go from under 20 to under 17. Australia has more than double the number of teams. The talent pool from which to draw from should therefore be twice as deep. Even though these all-star games are equal from a preparation perspective with no training time, the talent level alone should make this type of matchup a gimme. There's a reason you hardly ever see a D-I lose to a D-IAA (though yes, I realize it does happen). No individual can be blamed for this loss - it's a failure of how we do football in this country.

In any case, congrats to NZ on a hard fought win, and tough luck to the Aussies. Best of luck next time around.

RE: Junior World Cup qualifier

Rock — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 08:25:42 GMT

[quote][b]Rock (26/01/2009)[/b][hr]While playing each other might be good for the excitement of international Football. The real deal and what really counts is the preperation.

Australia can play New Zealand 100 times and it will not make a real difference unless the the International Players and coaches go back to their clubs and increase the intensity of it.

The Average High School kid in the USA practices about 500 Hours per year.

150 Hours - Skill, technique and Scheme
50 Hours - Video Analysis
250 Hours - Weight Room (Strength and Power)
50 Hours - Speed, Agility and Plyometrics and cardiovascular conditioning.

The question that we should ask ourselves is why are we playing International Football?

Is it because we want to play against better competition?
Or is it because we want the experience of it?

I think both are good reasons but I would like to add a 3rd reason..and that is to be able to compete and be the best in the world.[I think both are good reasons but I would like to add a 3rd reason..and that is to be able to compete and be the best in the world./quote]

RE: Junior World Cup qualifier

Rock — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 08:23:09 GMT

While playing each other might be good for the excitement of international Football. The real deal and what really counts is the preperation.

Australia can play New Zealand 100 times and it will not make a real difference unless the the International Players and coaches go back to their clubs and increase the intensity of it.

The Average High School kid in the USA practices about 500 Hours per year.

150 Hours - Skill, technique and Scheme
50 Hours - Video Analysis
250 Hours - Weight Room (Strength and Power)
50 Hours - Speed, Agility and Plyometrics and cardiovascular conditioning.

The question that we should ask ourselves is why are we playing International Football?

Is it because we want to play against better competition?
Or is it because we want the experience of it?

I think both are good reasons but I would like to add a 3rd reason..and that is to be able to compete and be the best in the world.

RE: Junior World Cup qualifier

Dman — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 08:16:26 GMT

Was a fun game to watch. The NZ haka was amazing...sometimes wondered if that was the best executed thing all day. I was just so impressed at the quality of side NZ were able to travel over with...let alone win the game.

New Zealand did their best to give the game away it seemed at times fumbling inside their own ten throwing what seemed like passes intended for the defenders. Props to the Australian defense though. Their MLB saved countless big plays he was a sure tackler.

I think with some hard work though that NZ team has some real physical talent. Needs a lot of work, but there is definately a lot of talent, size and speed there.

Was good fun to see and I hope to see another game between the two sides soon!

Good luck in the WC NZ.

RE: Junior World Cup qualifier

Kiwi Wayne — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 04:24:34 GMT

We're all, exceptionally proud of our guys over here, winning this game and going to the World Cup is a big thing and the hope is that it might get our game back on track over here.

Interesting observations by Peter and I recognise and respect the truth he is telling.

While we have varying degrees of difference between the sports in our respective countries, basically we have the same challenges.

We will always be strident opponents on the field, but I'd like to see us work together more to improve the standard of the game down here.

We should be playing each other more, should share expenses in bringing coaches down here and upskilling our own coaches and players, maybe even embarking on a joint ANZAC tour to the likes of the US or Europe.

Despite the thrashing handed out by your seniors, I think our strengths are similar to each other and we should be testing ourselves against each other at every opportunity. If we build on that rivalry and make each other as strong as we can, it will have a positive effect for both. We wouldn't have to travel to the other side of the world to get decent opposition or one.

NZ's biggest challenge is to use this victory in a positive manner that will benefit the game in NZ. An Aussie with wounded pride is an unhappy animal - you need to get on that plane soon and come over here to seek revenge.

RE: Junior World Cup qualifier

Hawkpeter — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 03:48:00 GMT

Nice venue and set up by Gridiron Australia, and ACT Gridiron by the sounds of it requires the majority of the thanks for making it happen.

Watching this game, there is still a long way to go for both countries to be competitive internationally.

As with all representative games, curing the problems associated with only having a few days together in camp to prepare is near impossible, and that was always going to be evident. There no doubt will be silent and not so silent questioning by players, parents, spectators and coaches as to why a better performance can't be mustered or expected of our National team.

What we already knew....

* The national squads will continue to miss some of the first choice athletes due to expense.

*Selected athletes lack many fundamental skills, not to mention basic athletic competencies. Often they cannot execute what they are being coached.

*Coaching a representative team requires skills from coaches that are unique and cannot easily be fostered in club football.

Here is where one questions the worth of focusing on the negatives rather than on the positives, but the elephant in the room is whether our national teams and general level of competitiveness is improving or are we replaying the same effort over and over again?

By my count Australia had just 71 yards of offense from 51 plays. 4 straight delay of game penalties on special teams. Lost a game in which the turnover margin was 4-0 in favor and achieved as many first downs by penalty as it did on offense.

The lack of any passing game from either team was troubling. While a team can destine itself as a run first focus offense, the inevitable defensive response must be counter-punched with a further adjustment; and that wasn't there for either team. Horrible pass as it was, the willingness of the NZ team to at least attempt a deep pass was rewarded with a long first down into Australian territory late in the fourth quarter and as Coach Ludvigson was quoted as saying, that play broke open the game. Australia was not able to execute the offense that was implemented.

Has hindsight of previous representative teams been built apon? I dare say no it has not. Will hindsight of this game lead to something different?

No doubt players and coaches will feel like they could have performed better yesterday, but once the pang of a bad performance subsides what is to be done differently? What I will do relates to my own backyard. Something I can definitively effect. My club had 6 players representing yesterday and I stand by their opportunity to be nominated and compete for a spot. Nothing however would have pleased me more than them being beaten out of a spot in the team by a better player. The reason I say this is that not one of them could look me in the eye and say that they couldn't work harder to get better, be more athletic, learn more about the game and do better for themselves and their country. That they are ready to take on committed players from other countries and say they are truly worthy opponents.

Each of the 6 I expect to double their efforts from now on, they are taking on roles as coaches, officials, athletes and team mates; indeed they have been amongst the best at my club in the last 6 months. However it is late in the game when we are talking about football at the Junior level and we are not going to get better until Junior Development has a greater focus of our scarce resources.