This was the first year for the Cyclones in a grade that has scrums, lineouts and kicking. We had some new Cyclones join our whanau, with Melanie our expert winger and Kiani our offensive juggernaut wowing the opposition time and time again. The girls immediately fitted into the Cyclones group and were welcomed with open arms.

Positional play became more important this grade with Emelia darting off the scrum with her half-back runs, Indie directing the back line plays, Georgia running the mid-field attack, and Greta, along with BFF Florentia holding out any chance of the sideline being attacked.

The hard work starts up front and Maise, along with Charlie constantly ran terrific lines down the middle of the field to straighten up the attack with Zara and Lily smack in the middle of it all, taking any opportunity to run with the ball and fill their hands with rips.

We were plagued with early season injuries, but like all Cyclones would, JR and Taylor committed to showing up week in and week out despite being unable to play to support their team. They both eventually made it back onto the field and hit the ground running from their preferred position at fullback, where they scored some great tries and made some incredible try-saving rips.

A massive thanks to Craig for his tireless effort in supporting our girls either refereeing, coaching, or running the subs at game time. To Clare for her brilliant management of the Cyclones this year and holding up the entire confectionary industry in NZ. And, to all the parents, grandparents, siblings, and dogs for your role in supporting this incredible group of girls every Saturday.