West Arnhem talent on show at Kurrung Sports Carnival
The ninth annual Kurrung Sports Carnival brought hundreds of competitors to Jabiru in a thrilling tournament full of action recently.
In the results, it was West Arnhem’s Minjilang and Warruwi teams that took the Kurrung Sports Carnival trophies, demonstrating there is plenty of talent hailing from the small islands communities.
Hosted by West Arnhem Regional Council, Kurrung Sports Carnival is the largest regional sports event and is a highlight event on the West Arnhem sporting calendar which brings communities together.
Exactly 20 teams competed in either the men’s AFL and men’s and women’s basketball over two huge days in Jabiru, with participants representing Jabiru, Kakadu, Gunbalanya, Minjilang, Warruwi, Maningrida and St John’s College.
The carnival kicked off with the men’s basketball at the Jabiru courts with reigning champions Jabiru Heat returning to defend their five consecutive titles, however it was the Warruwi Storm who proved to be the strongest team on court to take out gold.
The Warruwi women’s basketball team demonstrated why they are defending champions for six consecutive years, winning the grand final game once again in a fierce grand final match against St John’s College.
Meanwhile, Minjilang was back on a mission to defend their title in the men’s AFL and proved why they are reigning champions to take out the grand final against Gunbalanya GSFG.
Event Coordinator Seide Ramadani said, “this tournament just gets better and better and the impressive performance of the teams over the weekend shows the hard work they put in to prepare for the competition. What’s more, the weekend brings the communities together and each year we see such a positive, inspiring display of sporting prowess, new friendships and exemplary sportsmanship. And that is such a big part of the beauty and pride of the Kurrung Sports Carnival story.”
Though there could only be one winner of each competition, there was certainly plenty of sportsmanship displayed over the weekend.
The ‘No More’ campaign was also present throughout the carnival, with representatives Marcus and Adrian standing together with the teams against violence in the communities. AFLNT was also onboard to offer AFL umpire training to footy teams.
This year’s carnival once again ran in conjunction with the Mahbilil Festival which is a regional celebration of local lifestyle and culture.
West Arnhem Regional Council wishes to thank all supporters and sponsors of this year’s carnival, including the Northern Territory Government, Australian Government Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Starwin Shopfront, Boots For All, Kakadu Lodge, Mercure Kakadu Crocodile Hotel, Energy Resources of Australia, No More Violence Campaign and CatholicCare, Jabiru Area School, BP Jabiru, Jabiru Foodland, Maningrida Progress Association, Jabiru Bombers, RISE Ventures, Demed, Team Health, Gunbalanya Sports Club, Gunbalanya school, Collingwood FC, Gold Coast Suns, White Ribbon, Ajurumu store and ALPA.
MIGHTY MINJILANG TOUGH TO BEAT
The all-day AFL got under way on Brockman Oval on Saturday and as the day progressed, the competition got tougher and tougher.
With the scores almost level all the way through between Minjilang, Gunbalanya and Jabiru it came down to the last match as to who would compete in the grand final.
Jabiru narrowly missed out leaving Gunbalanya and Minjilang to battle it out for the coveted Kurrung AFL championship trophy.
“Gunbalanya put on an impressive performance throughout the competition. Last year the team was at the bottom of the ladder and through sheer determination, they worked their way up to make it to the top 2 in just one year,” Seide said.
The Minjilang team was tough to beat, showing their strong experience at the finals level of competition, taking out the tournament championship 21-7.
WARRUWI SEIZE TITLE
It was a tense evening of basketball at the Jabiru Courts on the Friday as seven teams battled it out in the men’s basketball competition which was the official opener event of the Kurrung Sports Carnival in 2018.
2017 reigning champions Jabiru Heat went on to win many of their games to secure their position in the grand final game against Warruwi – a first for a long time.
And, there was a great crowd cheering the teams on in the grand final
The mighty Warruwi went on to make history, breaking Jabiru’s winning streak for the first time in 6 years winning the competition 14-8.
WARRUWI’S HAILING CHAMPIONS
The women’s basketball competition in 2018 was one of the biggest to date with over seven teams in the draw, demonstrating how popular women’s basketball is in the communities.
Decked in their team uniforms, there was a great the big line-up of players representing their communities including Maningrida All Stars, Gunbalanya A and B, Minjilang Lightning, Djagana, St John’s College and Warruwi Storm.
Defending champions, Warruwi Storm came out too strong, and continued their winning streak to take out the grand final against St John’s College.
St John’s College fought hard and strong until the last minute, but Warruwi held their title with the final score 11-4.