Tamworth’s Dylan Clark, Barraba’s Zoe Darlington and Warialda’s Molly Kennedy could be winging their way to Perth later this year after impressing at the weekend’s Lloyd McDermott U17 Indigenous Sevens National Championships.
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Darlington and Kennedy were named in the Lloyd McDermott Rugby Development Team girls squad and Clark the boys, selected from the inaugural championships held at Farrer.
Queensland did the double, with Queensland Red winning the girls and Queensland Navy the boys. They defeated a NSW Blue side containing Moree’s Percy Duncan and Inverell’s Bailey Cosgrove 24-12.
Earlier the Red girls had won an all-Queensland final 17-7 over the Navy side.
Queensland and NSW both fielded three boys and girls sides each, with Combined States also fielding a side in the boys competition.
There was plenty of the regions talent on show with around 20 players sprinkled between the various NSW sides, and some sensational rugby played as LMRDT project coordinator Jordan Goddard commented during the presentations.
Named in honour of the first Aboriginal player to represent Australia, the LMRDT was established over 20 years ago and operates several different programs ranging from schoolboys and girls through to opens mens and womens.
“We’ve run similar programs for boys in the 16s and 18s in the 15s,” Goddard said explaining how the 17s tournament came about.
“The ARU recently introduced a National Sevens Championships for youth boys and girls. We were looking at it as a way to help select our sides for that.”
It also provides an extra pathway for players.
“We’re looking for it to become an annual fixture in the future,” he said.
The Nationals will be held in Perth in December. Before that the selected squads will play at the Central Coast 7s in a couple of weeks, following which they will be cut to the final 12 to travel to Perth.
The championships weren’t just about the rugby though.
“We had a welcome to country from the Gomeroi Dance Company,” Goddard said.
“They also delivered workshops about culture.”
There were also workshops on nutrition and question and answer sessions with Nathan Blacklock and Aussie womens sevens squad members, and LMDRT graduates Mahalia Murphy, and Taleena Simon.
“It was good for them to come back to where it all started,” Goddard said.
“They’re an example of what can be achieved.”
Another example is former Farrer student and Rio Olympian John Porch. He is a graduate of the schoolboys program.
