The Ozzy Cook Islands kept their winning streak alive in the Under 18s at the Harmony Nines, while a famous face in the crowd at the Under 16s grand final helped cheer on NSW Samoa to beat long-time rivals NSW Tonga.
The two junior female divisions produced plenty of story lines.
Westpac NSW Blues winger and four-time Penrith Panthers NRL premiership winner, Brian To’o, was at the Croom Regional Sporting Complex today to support niece Freedom Crichton Ropati as Samoa took down Tonga 18-10.
Tries to Jewel Faaui and Sienna Iosefa either side of halftime ensured Samoa broke free of the 6-6 deadlock to push the scoreline out to 14-6. The two sides traded another try each but Samoa had set up the buffer.
“It’s always good to see Samoa on top,” coach Justin Nio said smiling.
“Actually the girls didn’t get all the training sessions planned because weather rained us out a few times. So a lot of it was on Zoom calls and chats. But they turned up today. That’s what you get when a good calibre of players come together.
“And with the senior Samoa girls getting a win over in Suva (30-16 over Tonga in the Pacific Championships), then us today … it’s all about providing opportunities for the girls.
“This could be the stepping stone for them to go higher in their playing careers. The opportunities are now there – take them.”
There was plenty of feeling in the Under 16s today. Captain Amelia-Grace Filoa accepted the winner’s trophy with her right arm in a sling due to a second-half elbow injury, but still managed to hoist the cup.
The Cook Islands also meant business in the Under 18s final, especially Player of the Match Trinity Tauaneai, who scored a hat-trick in the 22-14 victory of NSW Maori.
“Never happened to me before in my life. But I need to thank the girls who passed me the ball each time,” Tauaneai.
“We’ve been playing together for a while now. And now we’ve gone back-to-back. I’m very proud of that.”
Cook Islands coach Michael Stuart was also a proud man – and a successful one at that. He coached the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs to a premiership in the NSWRL Westpac Lisa Fiaola Cup (Under 17s) in April.
Today’s win underlined the Cook Islanders fierce reputation with another Harmony Nines trophy.
“It was just smart football. We got on the front foot early, we held the ball, and we enjoyed playing a fast-pace game,” Stuart said.
“It’s great to be part of a continuing winning streak for the Cookies. They weren’t nervous. They knew if they executed what we wanted them to, they’d win the game.”
