This was my second year of coaching a Northcote team and it was great to have a core of players back from last year’s J8 Maroon. We had a few new players as well so we had a mix of experience. A number of our players are still very young only being 5 but we still managed to compete with teams a lot older and bigger than us. Sometimes being little and fast is harder to catch!

I really enjoyed watching the new boys learning the rules and aspects of Rippa so quickly and competing against more experienced players. Learning how to rip and getting back onside quickly as well as turning and passing smoothly when ripped. We showed great support play all year with a number of tries being scored by players following the ball and being on the spot to receive the ball. Everyone was playing for each other which makes me really proud as a Coach. One of the highlights was the Snow White Tournament. We made it into the Plate final which was our 5th game of the day and the boys gave it their all even though they were getting tired. (Thanks to our parent helpers for supplying sweets to get them through!). We, unfortunately, lost a close game to Silverdale whom we hadn’t played that year. They all had a great sporting attitude which is what the tournament is all about. Another great time was the tackling clinic run by Vyron from North Harbour. The boys really enjoyed learning a few new skills and techniques. Bring on the J6 tackle next year!