AFL Junior Schools Cup livestream: Boys take centre stage after Xavier High, Albury won the girls

The state’s best young footballers have battled it out across two action-packed days at the AFL NSW/ACT Junior Cup finals. Relive all 23 boys and girls games now in our exclusive replays.

The rising stars of footy have taken centre stage at the AFL NSW/ACT Junior Schools Cup finals.

And the KommunityTV team was on hand to broadcast all 23 boys and girls games in our exclusive live streams from Gungahlin and Amaroo in the ACT.

Relive all the drama now in our full match replays below.

REPLAYS AND REPORTS FROM WEDNESDAY’S BOYS GAMES

Grand Final: Xavier High School Albury 7.5 (47) d St Francis De Sales Regional College (Leeton) 3.0 (18)

Xavier High is the AFL NSW/ACT Junior Schools Cup boys champion.

In a surprisingly one-sided Grand Final, the Albury boys replicated their unbeaten round-robin form to outrun the equally fancied St Francis De Sales Regional College (Leeton) by 29 points.

Both sides entered the premiership decider after dominating their respective pools with three consecutive wins each.

But with four unanswered opening-half goals, Xavier headed to the break 27 points clear and with almost two hands on the silverware.

The success secured an impressive double for the Albury school, following Tuesday’s championship win for its girls side.

Xavier’s small forwards ignited from the opening bounce, slotting two checkside goals inside the first three minutes.

But for all their upfront prowess, Xavier’s victory was built on defence.

Up against a rampant St Francis forward line, which had accumulated 155 points in the earlier games, Xavier simply starved its bigger opponents of possession, continually rebounding the ball out of defence.

St Francis flipped the playbook after the interval, scoring three-straight goals. Trailing by 10 with six minutes to play, a miraculous comeback was on the cards.

But on a day when Xavier had all the answers, it quickly replied with the first goal at the non-scoring end of the ground and then rammed home another two to kickstart the celebrations.

Xavier coach Nick Morris said the competition had provided a great opportunity for his players to team up with their schoolmates and transition to senior school football.

“It was a fantastic day of footy,” Morris said.

“The boys have been champing at the bit to play – it’s a long trip to get up here from Albury, so I’m delighted the boys got to celebrate a premiership.

“A lot of the boys play football on Saturdays, but they don’t always get the chance to play in the same team as their school friends.

“Xavier has very talented players and a number will progress to the senior team next year.

“Out of our squad of 21, 18 are currently in Year 9 and will be available for senior selection next year.”

Xavier High School Albury 78 d Alfred Deakin 0

Xavier High has earned its place in the Junior Schools Cup Grand Final following a comfortable 78-0 win over Canberra’s Alfred Deakin.

For Xavier, the contest was a must-win to keep the school’s dream of collecting both the girls and boys titles alive.

It was never in doubt, as a clinical opening piloted the side to a seven-goal first half, before it coasted home with one eye on the decider.

St Francis De Sales Regional College (Leeton) 38 d Westfield Sports High 4

With a third comprehensive win, Leeton’s St Francis De Sales Regional College has advanced to the Grand Final of the Junior Schools Cup.

Up against a strong Westfield Sports High, St Francis flexed its premiership muscles with a three-goals-to-none opening.

The second major, when a one-on-one contest finished with the full forward snapping home on his left, is definitely worth another look.

Up 19-2 at half-time, the second half produced an identical score as St Francis marched to the premiership decider on the back of a 34-point victory.

Canberra High 22 d St John’s Catholic High School Nowra 6

Canberra High finished its campaign in style with 16-point triumph over St John’s at Gungahlin Oval.

The home side raced clear to a 16-0 half-time lead. But the Nowra boys matched them after the break in their best half of the competition.

Waverley College 48 d Central Coast Adventist 12

Coming off a loss to the fancied Xavier High, Waverley College rebounded in style to defeat Central Coast Adventist by six goals.

Four opening half majors put Waverley on course for victory, as it led 27-6 at the main break.

Central Coast was able to slow the momentum upon the resumption of play, before Waverley wrapped up the contest with a flurry of late goals.

St Francis De Sales Regional College (Leeton) 52 d Canberra High 14

St Francis De Sales rounded out its second big win of the day with a 52-14 demolition of Canberra High.

Once again, the Leeton school led from the front through their towering forwards to finish the opening half with a rush of goals and lead 31-7.

Canberra High steadied with a goal after the break. But St Francis proved far too difficult to contain, going on with the job to finish with another three majors.

Alfred Deakin 26 d Central Coast Adventist 16

Canberra’s Alfred Deakin has won its first game of the competition with a 26-16 victory over Central Coast Adventist.

Central Coast led 14-6 at half-time, before Alfred Deakin kicked into gear to storm home with the final three goals of the match.

Westfield Sports High 34 d St John’s Catholic High School Nowra 15

Westfield Sports High have rebounded from a heartbreaking opening round loss to defeat Nowra’s St John’s Catholic High School 34-15.

St John’s Catholic continued on from where they left off against Alfred Deakin, landing the first goal in the opening minute. But a determined Westfield applied the breaks then levelled the scores in the fifth minute.

Amid ferocious tackling, goals were traded up to the break with Westfield holding a slender one-point advantage.

Westfield extended the margin with the first two goals after the break, and unlike their opening round loss, they kicked on to record their first win of the day.

Xavier High School Albury 42 d Waverley College 9

Xavier High School Albury were forced to struggle early before overcoming a spirited Waverley College 42-9.

Both sides entered the clash coming off comprehensive round 1 victories and Xavier were first to strike before Waverley split the middle to lead by a point in the 11th minute.

A magnificent right-foot snap put Xavier in front just before the interval, and they quickly added another to crack the contest open 21-8.

Waverley had no answer after the break, and the boys from Albury went on with the job kicking another three goals.

St Francis De Sales Regional College (Leeton) 65 d St John’s Catholic High School Nowra 0

A five-goal first half has propelled St Francis De Sales Regional College to a massive 65-0 defeat of Nowra’s St John’s Catholic High.

With a tall and mobile forward line, the St Francis’ midfield set up a feeding frenzy. A goal in the opening minute was quickly followed by a booming 40m bomb, and with a further three, the Leeton boys opened an unassailable 33-0 halftime lead.

The second half was a repeat of the first, as the Nowra boys struggled to slow their bigger and more nimble opponents.

* KommunityTV apologises for the incorrect score being displayed on-screen during this game.

Waverley College 43 d Alfred Deakin 13

Waverley College got their Junior Schools Cup campaign off to the perfect start after easing past Canberra’s Alfred Deakin 43-13.

The boys from Sydney’s eastern suburbs rattled off the first four goals before the locals posted their first in the ninth minute. Alfred Deakin then kicked another to get within 19 points, but Waverley struck back on the halftime siren to lead 37-12.

Alfred Deakin stemmed the flow in the second half, but they were unable to break apart Waverley’s resolute defence and narrow the gap.

Canberra High 32 d Westfield Sports High 30

Canberra High have overcome a 14-point halftime deficit to surprise Sydney’s Westfield Sports High 32-30 in the first of six Group 1 matches at Gungahlin Oval.

The locals had the better of the early play and were rewarded with a fourth-minute goal before Westfield drew level five minutes later from the top of the goalsquare. Two more goals saw Westfield open a handy 20-6 lead at the interval.

But with four second half goals, Canberra stormed home to get their campaign off to a winning start.

Xavier High School Albury 85 d Central Coast Adventist 0

Inspired by their victorious girls combination, Xavier High stamped its authority with a comprehensive 85-0 victory over Central Coast Adventist in the opening Group 2 match at Amaroo Neighbourhood Oval.

The Albury school’s tall forwards dominated from the outset, and with three goals in the first nine minutes it was all one way traffic. Another two before the break saw the score blowout to 34-0.

Central Coast continued to match up upon the resumption but were unable to halt the momentum as Xavier slotted eight further unanswered goals.

REPLAYS AND REPORTS FROM TUESDAY’S GIRLS GAMES

Grand Final: Xavier High School Albury 4.8 (32) d St Mary Mackillop College 1.2 (8)

In perfect conditions for footy at Gungahlin Oval in north Canberra, Xavier High School ramped up their unbeaten round-robin form to comfortably account for St Mary Mackillop College in the final of the AFL NSW/ACT Junior Schools Cup.

Following a big day of qualifying, Xavier seemed to be on fresher legs from the outset and were never headed in a clinical performance as they raced to a 24-point victory over the previously unbeaten locals.

The Albury girls exploded from the opening bounce, winning the ball and racing into the attacking 50 metre zone. A behind was the result, but they kicked true two minutes later for the opening goal of the contest.

Xavier’s strength at the breakdown saw them break apart the match and a second goal followed in just the fourth minute of play.

The St Mary Mackillop girls finally found some open space and entered Xavier’s defensive 50 metres arc for the first time in the eight minute. However, Xavier had all the answers and rebounded the ball up field to kick their third major for a 21-0 lead.

A brilliant team goal in the final minute of the opening half showcased the best of Xavier’s skills and with one hand on the trophy, the Albury girls went to the break with a whopping 28-point advantage.

With two convincing preliminary victories, St Mary Mackillop didn’t roll over and held their heads high to score the only goal after the interval. They also found composure in defence and worked hard restricting Xavier’s rampant attack to just four behinds.

KommunityTV will exclusively stream all 13 matches from two venues on Wednesday (boys), and with replays set to follow, viewers won’t miss any of the action.

St Mary Mackillop 60 d Ulladulla High School 21

Canberra’s St Mary Mackillop College have overrun Ulladulla High School 60-21 and will now challenge Xavier High School Albury in the final of the Junior Schools Cup.

Backing up after a comfortable first match victory, the locals kept the foot on the accelerator to open a 29-0 halftime advantage.

Ulladulla held their heads high and struck back with three second half majors, but it was all St Mary’s as they went on with the job to round out a one-sided performance.

Endeavour Sports High School 23 d St Pius X 20

In the game of the tournament so far, Endeavour Sports High edged out St Pius X with a late goal to secure a thrilling 23-20 win at Gungahlin Oval.

The Newcastle-based St Pius X scored the only goal of the first half, a quality length of the field team effort, to lead 7-4 at the final turn.

Endeavour bounded out of the halftime gates with two quickfire goals before St Pius struck back with a double to lead 20-17 in the final five minutes.

With their first win almost in the bag, Endeavour struck late, breaking their hearts for a three-point victory.

Xavier High School Albury 39 d Mount St Benedict College 14

Xavier High School have earned their place in the Junior Schools Cup final following a comfortable 39-14 win over Sydney’s Mount St Benedict College.

The girls from Albury showed their class to put the game beyond Mount St Benedict’s reach with four unanswered first half goals.

Mount St Benedict’s were tireless though, and opened the scoring after the break following a strong pack mark and quickly scored another to trail 27-14.

With the pressure mounting, Xavier regained their composure and struck back with two on the bounce to round out a hat-trick of wins to finish on top of the Group 1 table.

Xavier High School Albury 27 d St Pius X 8

Xavier High School kept its hopes of making the final alive with a comfortable 19-point win over Newcastle’s St Pius X.

Two early goals in the opening five minutes, including a right-foot snap from close range, proved a handy buffer for the girls from Albury who took a 13-2 lead to halftime.

After the break, they opened the game up with their speed and precision kicking to score another two majors before St Pius struck back with one of their own in the closing minutes.

The goal of the match went to Xavier, an astonishing solo effort from 40 metres out.

St Mary Mackillop 42 d St Francis De Sales Regional College (Leeton) 21

St Mary Mackillop eased past St Francis De Sales Regional College to open their Junior Schools Cup campaign with a 42-21 win at Amaroo Neighbourhood Oval.

The Canberra locals opened a 10-point first quarter lead and kicked two goals to one in the second quarter for a 24-7 halftime lead.

Another goal to St Francis upon resumption narrowed the deficit, but St Marys struck back to lead by 20 at the final change.

Goals were shared in the final quarter as St Mary’s began planning for a must win final group clash with Ulladulla High School.

Endeavour Sports High School 37 d Mount St Benedict College 0

After a goalless opening appearance, Endeavour Sports High rebounded to win their second pool game with a comprehensive 37-0 defeat of Mount St Benedict College.

Backing up straight after their first round win, Mount St Benedict College had no answer to the pace and height of the Endeavour Sports girls as they kicked two majors to lead by 16 at halftime.

Endeavour continued to press forward after the break and added another three goals, including a well timed strike from a set shot in the final minute of play.

Xavier High School Albury 6 d Endeavour Sports High School 0

Xavier High School Albury kicked off its campaign with a gritty six-point victory over an equally talented Endeavour Sports High.

In the first of six Group 1 matches at Gungahlin Oval, Xavier scored the only goal of the contest midway through an end-to-end opening half.

On a fast track, the second half played out much like the first with both sides clinical in shifting the ball out of defence.

Endeavour entered the attacking 50 in the final minute of play, but were unable to convert as the siren sounded.

Mount St Benedict College 15 d St Pius X 10

Sydney’s Mount St Benedict College were forced to hold off a fast finishing St Pius X to win their opening clash by five points.

In a dour first half, St Pius held the majority of the field position but only had two behinds to show for their efforts.

Trailing by one at halftime, Mount St Benedict’s split the game open with the first two goals of the final stanza and looked headed for a comfortable win.

But an amazing St Pius boundary line snapshot reduced the margin to less than a goal, and the girls from Sydney were forced to dig deep in the closing stages of an entertaining contest.

St Francis De Sales Regional College (Leeton) 54 d Ulladulla High School 7

St Francis De Sales Regional College showed their title credentials with a comprehensive 47-point victory over Ulladulla High School in the opening Group 2 match at Amaroo Neighbourhood Oval.

Played over 15 minute quarters, St Francis’ four goal opening term put the contest beyond doubt.

On a heavy pitch, the girls from Leeton marched to a comfortable 34-point halftime advantage and kicked further ahead with three goals to one in the second half.