For the first time in over two years, what was formerly known as the National Indigenous Football Championships returned to the community of Yuin and Dharwal Nations in South Nowra across the weekend.
This year saw over 20+ sides across the state feature in what was one of the biggest and best tournaments that saw Men’s and Women’s teams compete across three days of action while the Under 14 Boys and Girls played smaller 5v5 fixtures on Friday.
The competition kicked off on Wednesday afternoon with The Welcome to Country and Opening Ceremony being held at South Nowra Sporting Complex where First Nations Festival Director Bernie McLeod echoed his excitement of the First Nations Festival returning after a two-year absence due to COVID lockdowns and restrictions.
Former Socceroo and A-League Veteran, Jade North laced the boots one more time as he stepped onto the field alongside Adam Federici in what was an entertaining celebrity match that also featured former A-League referee Strebre Delovski.
The 41-time Australian representative spoke of the extreme importance these events have to the development of young indigenous footballers across the country.
“I’ve been a big supporter of this tournament down in Nowra from when it first started and for me, it’s important because it’s obviously football and I think unites everyone but also with our mob it’s a culture,” North stated.
“Using those two things together to express ourselves on the pitch and being indigenous, sport is our expression through dancing through culture, that’s what I love catching up with people, especially after COVID.
“With mob, you feel comfortable to express yourself but also, you play better as well because when you’re around people that you that you’ve grown up with or family or whoever it may be or your community and it gives you more confidence, more confidence turns into better outcomes on the field.
In what was a highly impressive Women’s final between the Central Coast Mariners and Newcastle All-Stars, it was the Yellow and Navy who came out on top by defeating the All-Stars 3-1 across two hotly contested 35min halves.
The Mariners scored back-to-back goals in quick succession that gave them one hand on the 2022 NIFF Women’s trophy and they later sealed the deal thanks to a tidy finish before half-time.
The play was halted for a short amount of time during the break due to a serious head clash however, neither side were able to capitalize in the second half with only Larissa Ryan clawing one back for the All-Stars.
Across the younger age groups, it was the Newcastle All-Stars who took out both the U/14 Boys and Girls competitions that were played across a 5v5 format over one day.
Newcastle All-Stars put on a dominant display in the Men’s final as they defeated Northern Nations 7-1 that included two-time Socceroo Mark Bridge and ex-Sydney FC defender Keifer Dotti.
Newly signed Lambton Jaffas forward, Josh Benson left nothing on the field after putting on a clinic on Saturday afternoon. Netting a near-perfect 3 goals, that included one spectacular strike from distance.
It was a demolition job from the Newcastle side, netting several goals across 70 minutes of play with Bailey Wells putting the icing on the cake finishing off a well-worked move that saw the 20-year-old round the keeper with ease.
The former Newcastle Jets product put on an impressive display across the tournament, putting his best foot forward to grab a number of goals in the Group Stage and finals series and with A-League officials present at the tournament the 20-year-old was nothing short of extremely impressive throughout the competition.
After taking out three of the four competitions, Newcastle All-Stars Director Mick Hugo was emotional post-match following the 7-1 victory over Northern Nations.
“We’ve been coming here since 2016 and finally this year was the year, our boys have just taken out a Grand Final with a great win and to be honest for me it’s a pretty special moment for myself, getting the run on the pitch with the young boy,” Hugo expressed.
“It tells you something a little bit about Newcastle and what we’ve got as a town as a city, we are no Sydney or big areas but all of our players come from around the area and they are all mates and they all know each but for Newcastle to take out three of the four it’s a massive achievement”
“For us, we just need to keep building we had three Males teams, two Women’s teams and an U/14 Girls team we’ve just got to keep building so we will get better and better and we keep getting young Indigenous kids involved in the sport.
Similar to Jade North, Hugo reiterated just how important Indigenous Football is to the growth of our next Socceroo or Matilda stating “Here comes the next lot”
“This is very key, it started in 2016 it’s the biggest thing that we need in the game and it’s so emotional mate, to be honest and today we had U/8’s playing so I’m just going here they come, here comes the next lot,” Hugo said.
“This tournament for all indigenous boys, girls, males and females across the state is a massive thing it’s an opportunity for these guys to come out to produce and show their talent on a big big stage.
“The biggest thing is about connecting with each other and the camaraderie between the boys and the girls, the mateships between the other teams so, it’s a massive thing.
