Townsville Dominate NQ Junior Cup

Townsville teams have dominated the recent North Queensland Junior State Cup North event, claiming eight of the ten age divisions, including the pinnacle 18 Boys and 18 Girls titles.

The event was the first time since 2019 that regional-level representative matches have been played in North Queensland, with the COVID-19 pandemic cancelling most of the scheduled 2020 calendar.

Townsville club sides collected the trophies in both U10's and U12's divisions, the U14's, U16's Boys divisions, while Townsville representative sides claimed the titles in the U18's Boys and U18's Girls competitions.

The 2021 event marked the first time since the 90's that Townsville representative sides had competed in the junior event, previously having only been represented by local club sides in order to even up the playing field and provide more opportunity for the association's juniors to play the sport at a regional level.

The event also saw the return of the Under 18's age divisions, having been absent from the fixtures for over a decade.

For Townsville Coaching & Representative Coordinator, Jason Buczynsky, the event was the culmination of months of tireless work.

"We've been working towards it (the event) since the year began and it's been really great to see the results come our way in the end."

"The 18 boy's game between Cairns and Townsville was great game to watch and could have gone any way at one point."

The Townsville U18's Boys side had a hard fought first-half in their grand final match against Cairns Pirates, but were able to use their experience to take home the win after a dominant second-half display.

The side featured several current Colliers Shield Men's 1 and Men's 2 division players, highlighting the strong talent-base across the local Townsville competitions.

Buczynsky was proudest of all to see the all-Townsville affair in the Under 18 Girls final, where the association had it's best chance to showcase its talent in the age group.

An exciting display of skill showcased by both teams drove the match down to the wire, with the Townsville Green side narrowly taking the win by a single try in the closing minutes, echoing their earlier clash in the round game on Saturday afternoon.

For Buczynsky, the event is part of a wider plan to re-invigorate the junior representative arm of the association.

"The weekend served as a good way to kick-off our representative pathway for the year and was a good trial run for the Junior State Cup in Hervey Bay later this year."

"Several of the players from this weekend will be touring with us to Hervey Bay, and after this weekend's results we are very excited for the future."

Buczynsky also praised the volunteers who dedicated their time to the event, including the many coaches, managers, and referees who took to the field over the three days.

"We can't be successful without the support of our clubs, the coaches, and referees; they played a huge part in the success of our teams both on and off the field."

Many players and officials will be straight back into the action when the Colliers Sheild returns from holidays this Monday afternoon, with the rest enjoying a break until the 2021 junior season commences in August.

Representative players already named in the Townsville sides to play at the Junior State Cup in Hervey Bay will take some time off and then return to training ahead of the tour in July.

Townsville winners:

Redskins Lakotas Girls U10
Rum Runners Boys U10
Sharks Girls U12
Rum Runners Boys U12
Redskins Takenyas Boys U14
Brothers Boys U16
Townsville Boys U18
Townsville Green Girls U18

Full results from the weekend are available from http://results.nqtouch.com.au/