Kanga Blog #4

So it's a fine day and the only shame is we are back at the poor Calwell Park. Adelaide City are a South Australia academy team with no obvious weak links but the opening 20 minutes are even with chances at both ends. Ben outpaces their defence but can't find the target while good wing back play from Scott O linking with Connor is pleasing but ultimately we get no reward on the board. It's a fierce contest and the boys are toiling hard, AC sneak a break down the right and squeeze home a goal, and alas we are exposed in the same manner before the half is over. Nathaniel, Keelan and the two Scotts toil hard against their opponents who have pace and guile. The second half is more of the same battle, AC are hot to handle but Lachy, Jimmy and Cameron throw themselves into everything and the only disappointment is that as well as good football the AC team and management have a whine like a 747 on takeoff and a degree from Steve Waugh College in sledging. AC score a third and as they relax we rip forward, Lachy gets a right foot cracker as Harrison and Greg harass the back four but that is all we can manage in reply.  I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the superb job Tom did with the gloves, and Henry who dropped in at several positions to cover without a concern. At the end there's some distraught young men who have given their all but have only the Kanga Fair Play award (as judged by the tournament referees) certainly not the prize they hoped for.

The past 4 (I'll skip the first) games have all been valuable lessons, whether it's the different conditions, the standard of the opponents or the pressure of producing a result in an elimination format. We've played much better teams than we've seen back home in the past three years and got results off some of them.

More comment later on that, the camp chef calling that dinner is ready.

Kanga Blog#3

Up early and we're off to Calwell to take on locals, Woden Valley. A win would set us up to top the group. We start the brighter, but can't quite create the needed opening to turn possession into goals.

WV are no mugs and have a discipline in their overstaffed defence, on a quick break they catch us stretched and take a one goal lead. We continue to have the play but can't get an ounce of luck. The second half is more of the same and a very poor pitch is no help for our touch players, it's a leveller and disappointing and frustrating. They scramble a second at a corner and with the game nearly over a third to rub salt into our wounds. So our afternoon game against Apia Leichhardt beomes a qtr final.

There's a change in goal due to injury, Tom with the gloves and at the back Ben jumps in for the unwell Keelan. We are again good from the first whistle, Connor plays Alex in for the nerve settler after 10 minutes and we're good value for a two goal lead when Alex takes down a lofted ball from Lachy and fires home from 15 yards out. AL have a few ball players and given room down the right they pull one back.

We're still on top and a Lachy bullet means we are 3-1 at the break. There's no addition to the score in the second half but the injury tally grows with Connor and Scott E taken in poor tackles. Team resolve gets us home though with Spike and Jimmy gritty in the middle of the park with determined work from Harrison, Greg, Nathaniel and Henry while Tom is very strong as the last line of defence.

So a semi final against Adelaide City awaits a happy but very sore team.

Kanga Blog #2

First it was the vuvuzela's, last night it was the Greek Wedding
party that tried to upset our sleep patterns.

All to no avail tho' as we have 15 boys raring to go, determined for
a bright start to the competition. There's light rain on a cool day
to welcome us to the University playing fields. We have Kiama first
up and coaches & parents are nervous as we embark on the unknown.

Inside the first minute Connor wins a penalty and Lachy tucks it
away, the perfect start continues when Lachy takes advantage of
their hesitancy to steal a second. From the restart we win a corner
and Jimmy's cross is met powerfully by Lachy. Four minutes in and we
have a 3 goal lead. We are strong across the park with two more
goals before the break, Connor with a lovely outside of his foot
finish and Ben outpacing the defence over 40 yards to complete a
fabulous first half. The second is more of the same, Nathaniel
strong on the right flank in tandem with Henry while on the left
Greg, Harrison and Cameron work well with Alex up frot keen in his
work. Greg helps himself to our sixth and some set piece pressure
sees an OG as our 7th. At the back Tom, Keelan and the two Scotts
are sound in their work. We wrap up with a fourth from Lachy, 8-0
the damage. A fine morning burning off a few gallons of cabin fever.

The afternoon sees us at Hawker artificial to take on SW Queensland.
Right from the word go we are again dominant, but on the slick
surface and super sized pitch we are lacking the finishing touch and
not playing the game tight enough as a result we are still all
square at the break. The second half is more of the same, Jimmy and
Cameron dominate the midfield and create chances that we criminally
squander again and again. At the back Davey makes a couple of tidy
saves to thwart SWQ before we finally get our reward. Jimmy the
supplier for Greg and we have completed the perfect start we desired.

Tomorrow it's another double header and just another win will secure
a semi on Thursday.

Kanga Blog #1

It's all been some Australian subterfuge so far. Australians of every walk
of life determined to upset our team. On Saturday it was their national
carrier, Qantas, delaying flights and seeing us held up in Sydney for two
hours waiting for a subsequent flight. On day two it's the Opening Ceremony
and the organisers that don't play the music we supplied for the National
Anthem. Funny how their anthem didn't suffer the same fate of malfunction.
That aside the team put on an awesome haka for the 224 teams assembled and
some 5,000+ supporters. Day 3 and the Kanga folk themselves are in on the
job, a last minute draw rewrite doesn't get advised to us. So we're up early
out at Belconnen for a match with SW Queensland and wondering where everyone
else is! Stand down boys we have the bye. So instead we head to support the
other Kiwi teams, we cheer Coastal Spirit on to an 8 goal spanking of some
local misfits and then to the NZ High Commission for an official reception,
afternoon tea and a blood curdling haka. So tomorrow it's a double header of
Kiama and then SWQ. Just hope the idiot with the vuvuzela doesn't play solo
at 4am again, if he does he might be taking a trip to A&E for a little
extraction.

Thks BM

Our 14th grade JPL team head to Canberra on Saturday, July 3rd to compete in the Kanga Cup. They are amongst over 200 junior teams from Australia, New Zealand and Asia that will spend a week in the Asutralian capital.

Games start Monday the 5th and on the Sunday evening the team will perform a haka and also sing the national anthem as part of the official opening ceremony - in front of some 4,000+ people. Over the coming week we'll highlight on a daily basis how the team is faring.

The team and their parents have had a busy 2 months fundraising for the trip and would like to thank many businesses that have supported them. The winner of their naming sponsor raffle was;

Central Yuasa Batteries, 453 Hutt Road - (ph 566 2674) and also

Faiveley Transport & Upper Hutt Car Sales for their generous support.

Other businesses that we encourage your support of are;

Lifestyle Gym Lower Hutt, Tricia Baugh t/a Golden Homes, Ducted Heating Supplies,

Guy Smith Academy, Yellowfever.co.nz, Agenda Limited, Four Kings Bar, Tuffy Auto Ctre,

Hutt & City Taxi's, Baldwin Asphalts, Alpha Specialised Movers & Alpha Specialised Equipment,

Pertronic Industries, Newport Light Engineering, The Tender Centre, The Car Company,

Collier Sendall Ltd, Vehicle Safety Systems, Miro St Panelbeaters, Horticulture NZ,

Morrison Kent, Deloitte, AllFinanz, Motosafe Services, CPA Spares, Upper Hutt Car Sales,

Proactive Rehab, August Insurance Brokers, Valley Tyres Firestone, Housemart,

AB Equipment Ltd, Signplus Design Ltd, NZVD Transport, Orb Communications,

Bay Engineering, MK Electrical, Aquamax, Ian Rattray Building Consultant, Collins & May Law,

Gary's TAB, Total Siteworks Ltd, Bremwick Fasteners, Mainland Glass, Mr Glass, Printlink,

Nichibo Japan NZ Ltd, McCullough Ltd, MJH Engineering Flaunt International &

MacPac.