AFL Darling Downs U17s: We name the standout players and stars from round 2 of competition
From midfield maestros to unstoppable goal sneaks we’ve named our round 2 AFL Darling Downs under-17 competition stars. Find out who cracked the list from your club here.
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The goals flowed freely and the action was intense in a thrilling round 2 of the AFL Darling Downs under-17 competition at the weekend.
Here’s our look at the star player including a seven goal star who was unstoppable in front of the sticks.
Girls
Amelia Kidd (South Toowoomba Bombers)
Worked hard on both sides of the ball contesting every possession and kicking a number of beautiful goals from distance.
Ellie Sharpe (South Toowoomba Bombers)
A threat in the backline all game Sharpe made a number of crucial tackles and was hard to beat.
Bianca Gillespie (South Toowoomba Bombers)
Worked hard in the midfield and regularly dropped into the backline playing a key part in the team’s defence.
Pippa Gore (Goondiwindi Hawks)
Playing in her first season, Gore has picked up the game quickly showing great positional awareness to create chances for herself and her teammates.
Gore is a great young athlete capable of putting points on the board when needed.
Gabby Banks (Goondiwindi Hawks)
An experienced and reliable player from Dalby, Banks took charge in the midfield leading by example and directing play.
Emily Wilkes (Goondiwindi Hawks)
Covering multiple positions Wilkes is a versatile and skilled player.
Made her mark on the scoreboard kicking two goals and a behind in the team’s win.
Lucy MacDonald (Goondiwindi Hawks)
Unstoppable in front of the sticks, MacDonald bagged her second five goal haul of the season.
Penelope Bruce (Downlands)
Fresh from a cameo performance for Toowoomba Tigers last week, Bruce skippered her side to a comprehensive win at the weekend.
Leading from the front she kicked four goals proving why she is considered one of the competition’s best young talents.
Talara Madua (Downlands)
Formed an excellent 1-2 partnership with Bruce in attack – kicking three goals.
Boys
Alex Roberts (South Toowoomba Bombers)
Drawing on his speed and athleticism around the contest he expertly set up attacking opportunities for his teammates.
Will Koelmeyer (South Toowoomba Bombers)
A high IQ player with slick skills, Koelmeyer was able to help his team switch from defence into attack in the blink of an eye.
Hugo Le Lievre (South Toowoomba Bombers)
Plays with heart and passion always contributing 100 per cent.
Le Lievre was strong at the contest, kept his feet, followed the footy and worked hard to help his teammates.
Hunter Dallinger (Toowoomba Tigers)
Lethal in front of goal kicking seven of the team’s nine goals.
Hawks
Cooper Watson (Goondiwindi Hawks)
A young dynamic and versatile player who punches well above his weight.
Showed his grit and experience against Bombers and never backed down from a challenge.
Zakius Boney (Goondiwindi Hawks)
New to the sport but already showing plenty of promise with his natural skills and fearless attitude.
Worked hard in defence and will be one to watch this season.
Beau Graham (Goondiwindi Hawks)
A leader in his action and attitude.
Another rookie in the Hawks squad whose IQ improves with every session, Graham impressed in defence and had a great passing game.
Downlands
It is hard to single out a lone player with Downlands producing another quality team performance.
Eight different players – Mikael Artavilla-Bennett, Devan de Beyer, Connor Lindenmayer, Ewan Peart, Edward Pringle, Lewis Sharp, Finn Smith and Murphy Vlok – kicked goals in Downlands 8.8 56 to 4.3 27 win over Toowoomba Tigers.
Round 1
Girls
Lilah Talbot (South Toowoomba Bombers)
Had impact throughout the game making some incredible tackles and working hard.
Jarkara Tapau (South Toowoomba Bombers)
Dangerous when she was in possession – making incisive runs.
University Cougars
Grace Venaglia, Georgine Nabasaka, Monica Chol, Adior Kur, Elizabeth Boland and Mary Dau all put in good stints in what was a tough game for Cougars.
Abbey Hall (Toowoomba Tigers)
Hall was the pick of the Hawks attacking threats scoring three of her side’s nine goals.
She was well supported by Lucinda Artavilla-Bennett, Penelope Bruce, Charlie Bucknell and Paityn Wilson who all chipped in with goals as well.
Boys
Jackson Blower (South Toowoomba Bombers)
Dominant in the ruck all day, Blower used his athleticism to great effect out of the ruck with strong clearances and solid possessions.
Beally Phillip (South Toowoomba Bombers)
A raw talent who has swapped soccer for Aussie rules this season.
Philip was rock solid in defence and provided quality rebounds for the attack.
Christian Moore (South Toowoomba Bombers)
Another young star who is new to the game.
He was a ball magnet in the midfield and showed quality and classy skills under pressure.
Murphy Vlok (Downlands)
Played off the half forward line but involved himself heavily through the midfield.
Moved smoothly in traffic, creating time and space for others with creative handballs.
Vlok produced a number of greats runs, had an effective kick and finished with two goals
Mikael Artavilla-Bennett (Downlands)
The skipper was solid in the midfield and rotated in the ruck.
He was a physical presence with a clean set of hands who demanded the footy with his astute positioning.
Turned defence into attack with booming kicks deep into our forward line and was unlucky to finish with just the one goal.
Devan de Beyer (Downlands)
The defensive-minded midfielder who consistently turned the ball over in Downlands favour with hard running and strong tackling.
Aerobically strong he covered all parts of the ground and used his overlap run to great effect in the second half.
Finished with two goals.
Luca Paget (Toowoomba Tigers)
Smart, silky and smooth through the midfield all game, reading the ball well through every ball up and had great usage going forward.
Consistently attacked the footy and was not afraid to take on defenders.
Hayden Lobwein (Toowoomba Tigers)
Worked hard on both sides of the ball running in attack and defence.
Positioned himself well to receive the ball and had countless positive possessions on the wing.
Will Anderson (Toowoomba Tigers)
Attacked the footy all game and provided great defensive pressure to go with it.
Showed great composure and accuracy working into the forward line.
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