The 2013 National Indigenous Under 18s Championship will kick-off this Sunday at the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence (NCIE) in Redfern with four teams from around Australia competing in a round robin format across two days.
An initiative of the Lloyd McDermott Rugby Development Team (LMRDT), the two day Championship aims to expose athletes from across the country to both Rugby and life skills; as LMRDT continues to build the profile of Rugby among Indigenous youth.
As well as competing on the Rugby field all 88 players will partake in a number of education initiatives including, Illicit Drugs in Sport, Nutrition and Coaching.
Funded by the Federal Government through the Office of Sport the Illicit Drugs in Sport session will provide the young players with education and support to help them make the right choices when it comes to illicit drugs.
ARU’s High Performance Unit will deliver a seminar on nutrition to support and maximise performance as well as provide information on the latest Strength and Conditioning insights.
Executive Officer of LMRDT, Tom Evans, said the two day Championship would provide the young Indigenous athletes with more than just a weekend of Rugby.
“The Championship offers the boys an opportunity to access the national Rugby pathway, receive important education and form life-long friendships,” Mr Evans said.
“At all of the tournaments the Lloyd McDermott Team run we try to ensure the Rugby is complemented by education.
“This year the boys will learn some important lessons about illicit drugs and nutrition as well as get the chance to secure their ‘Coaching Kids Rugby’ qualifications.
“All of the players and coaches will take part in a modified course, which once completed will allow them to coach 6-12 year olds.”
One of the new additions to the 2013 Championship schedule is the introduction of the Health Assessment pilot scheme.
Five Doctors and Health Workers from the Murri Health Organisation in Queensland will be attending the Championship and undertaking health assessments on all of the Queensland players.
“The Health Assessment pilot scheme is something that we are very excited about,” Mr Evans said.
“This year we’ll only be trialling the assessments with one team, however it is something that we would like to roll out for every player from every team in our underage competitions moving forward.”
The Championship will kick-off on Sunday at Midday when Combined States meet Queensland, which will be followed by NSW v Northern Territory.
Players who have been selected to play in the Championship have all been required to adhere to the strict school attendance policies.
“Since the LMRDT began operating all of our U16 and U18 players have only been able to be selected if they achieve an 85% or better attendance rate at school,” Mr Evans said.
“This attendance rate was in line with the Commonwealth Government’s No School, No Play program.
“While this program no longer exists LMRDT has continued to enforce the requirements that players who want to represent their state and play in the Championship need to ensure they’re meeting the attendance requirements at school.
“We are very clear with all the players, if they don’t meet the 85% attendance rate then they cannot be part of the Lloydies program.”
The National Indigenous U18 Championship draw and team lists are below.
MATCH DAY 1
Date
Match
Kick Off Time
Sunday
Combined States v Queensland
12:00
Sunday
New South Wales v Northern Territory
13:00
Sunday
New South Wales v Combined States
16:00
Sunday
Northern Territory v Queensland
17:00
MATCH DAY 2
Date
Match
Kick Off Time
Monday
Northern Territory v Combined States
9:00
Monday
New South Wales v Queensland
10:00
TEAM LISTS:
COMBINED STATES
FIRST NAME
SURNAME
Beau
Cubillo
Kieren
Webber
Brenden
Maxwell
David
Dixon
Bryce
Lee
Kirren
Roughly
Hayden
Stirling
Joel
Richards
Braeden
Smith
Tray
Blattman
Zac
Humphries
Steven
Tracey
Josef
Wilson
George
House
Will
Callan
Greg
McEwen
Brendan
Trudgen
Braiden
Byrnes
Jerome
Saffy
Kane
Brennan
Kenneth
Neale
Callum
Corey
Zengrey
Nona
Storm
Burazer
NSW
FIRST NAME
SURNAME
Lincoln
Mara
Braden
Kenny
Jackson
Parkes
Tyler
Austin
Dylan
Maynard
Arthur
Currie
Ryan
Gallop
Zac
Jarvis-Soars
Storm
Buazer
Carlin
Simon
Niko
Fiapuleniko
Daniel
Donovan
Dylan
Philips
Ben
Butler
David
Green
Isaiah
Enriquez
Nathan
McLeay
Lachlan
Falconer-Adams
Bruce
Wara-Terare
Tim
O'Connor
Keith
Donovan
Jarrod
Hoskins-McInally
QLD
FIRST NAME
SURNAME
Leonard
Snowball
Shaun
Laurie
Ikaika
Fa'aoso
Travis
Mullins
Freddie
Nona
Gerald
Phineasa
Callum
Enoch-Barlow
Paul
Cobbo
Moses
Sorevi
Trae
O'Neill
Joshua
Robinson
Carlin
Anderson
Jaidon
Schafer
George
McCormick
Christian
Ramsay
Kyle
Kris
Aden
Troxall
Elliot
Thompson
Daniel
Jennings
Nick
Duncan
Austin
Marpoondin
Bailey
Hayes
NORTHERN TERRITORY
FIRST NAME
SURNAME
Stephen
Quong
Ian
Manolis
Tom
Raymond
Paul
Lyons
Lawrie
Raymond
Simon
Davis
Matt
Pollard
Ray
Butterworth
Isiah
McLeod
Keenan
Pethybridge
Jimi
Harris
Brandon
Perkins
Trent
Kepple
Steven
Raymond
Will
Bohning
Juan
Garret
Phil
Harris
Kalkahi
Pehi
Jerome
Willis
Daniel
Chi-Clark
Daniel
Connop
Marshell
Gurruwiwi
The LMRDT is proudly supported by the Australian Federal Government through the Indigenous Sport and Active Recreation Program and the Illicit Drugs in Sport Program.