Page 128 - AFL Queensland 2014 in Review

PARTICIPATION NUMBERS
NAB AFL AUSKICK 1,265 SCHOOLS 5,850
CLUB 801
SOCIAL 72
TOTAL – 7,988
GRAND FINAL RESULTS
U12 Tweed Coast Tigers 12.3 (75) def. Byron Magpies 2.3 (15) U14 Tweed Coast Tigers 14.8 (92) Defeated Byron Magpies 3.6 (24)
HIGHLIGHTS
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NORTHERN RIVERS •
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• Murwillumbah JAFC and Casino JAFC both received considerable State and Local Government funding to carry out improvements to their facilities in line with the AFLQ Regional Infrastructure Strategy set out in 2013.
• A second AFL oval was also added at the Byron Regional Sports Complex which is home to the AFLQ regional office. The Byron facility has had a huge impact on the growth of footy in the region, hosting several key events in 2014 including The Byron 9s Invitational, Level 1 Coaching Courses, AFLQ Staff conference, AFL Northern Rivers Holiday Camp, Summer Development program, School competitions whilst also being the home of Byron JAFC and the Northern Rivers Storm AFC.
AFL Northern Rivers Juniors hosted the second Annual Women’s in Football Luncheon. The 90 guests in attendance were treated to some great food
and an insight into football from respected journalist Caroline Wilson - Chief Football Writer, The Age Newspaper and the AFL’s Dorothy Hisgrove – General Manager People, Customer and Community.
Forty players completed a revamped Summer Development Program in
2014 and players were selected in the 2014 U14 & U16 Northern Rivers Representative Teams. These teams played games against the Darling
Downs in Warwick on the Queen’s Birthday weekend in June and were both successful in winning their respective divisions in two very entertaining games of football.
• Participation across the region increased by 18% from 2013, with particularly strong growth across junior club football and a second consecutive year of 15% growth within the AFL Northern Rivers Junior League.
• The Inaugural Byron 9s Invitational was held in October and was an outstanding success with many of the teams travelling from interstate to attend. 23 teams competed across 3 competitions - Men’s, Women’s and Mixed in attempt to win their share of the $16,000 prize money on offer. The event had strong community support from Byron Shire Council, local tourism organisation ‘Destination Byron’ and AFL Northern Rivers Juniors and is sure to be a regular in the Byron Bay calendar of events for years to come.
The Northern Rivers community rallied behind the concept of AFL 9s which saw local AFL 9s competitions expand from one competition in 2013 (Byron) to three competitions in 2014 (Byron, Ballina & Pottsville). There is a bright future for the social version of the game in the Northern Rivers.