In a battling campaign through the NSW Combined High Schools Sports Association Boys Touch Football Trials, North West 15s Boys manager Jeremy Budda-Deen praised his side's determination to improve.
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On Monday and Tuesday, the 13-strong North West School Sports Association squad travelled to Salamander Bay, just northeast of Newcastle, to take part in the trials which were played in a competition format.
The side was made up of five players from Glen Innes High School, three from Farrer Memorial Agricultural High School, two each from Inverell High School and Warialda High School, and one from Walcha Central School.
Historically, Budda-Deen said, the NWSSA teams have struggled in the competition due to touch football's relative lack of popularity in the region.
But despite no wins in this year's competition, the team's results reflected a big improvement on their 2021 bid.
Where in past years, top teams would often demolish the NWSSA sides by upwards of ten points, this week, the side restricted most of their opponents to margins between two and five points.
"Out of the ten teams, we normally finish towards the bottom," Budda-Deen said.
"I've been doing this for the last 12 years and only made the top four once.
"We're making inroads to compete better at this level compared to previous years, which is good. The development from our northwest areas is getting closer, but we've still got a bit of work to do."
More pleasing to see for Budda-Deen was the team's visible improvement in the span of just two days.
"In one game, they were running a lot of sweepers and scoring in the link hole," he said.
"So I said 'Okay, we need to go and fix the link hole and make them throw long balls'.
"We went from an 8-4 scoreline against North Coast, who finished fifth in the tournament, to 3-1 against Sydney North, who got beaten in the final."
Inverell High School's Zach Fraider was voted Players' Player for his "really good" performances throughout the tournament.
Greg Sieber, Carter Ferris (both of Glen Innes High School), and Reece Josephson (Farrer MAHS) were also singled out by their peers for their efforts over the two days.
"They were the main boys that stepped up and got that recognition," Budda-Deen said.
"Across the board they showed growth every game, which is good when you've got kids who don't play regular touch footy every week."
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