The Tamworth Swans and the Gunnedah Bulldogs were crowned champions at the 2021 Crossroads Cup on Saturday.
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The Swans just pipped the Narrabri Eagles in a thrilling men's final as they won 5.3.33 to 5.2.32.
Coach Paul Kelly was "very happy with the win" after his side played 160 minutes of football throughout the day.
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"It's a long day, the boys had to play a lot of footy so to tough it out with a few players down at the end... I was really proud of all the boys," Kelly said.
"I think it was a big team effort. All the backs played really well - and the forwards. A lot of blokes had a run on the ball and changed around to do their bit for the team and everyone was happy to do it."
Kaleb Crowhurst was named men's player of the carnival despite missing the final due to an ankle injury.
Kelly was hopeful Crowhurst would be fine for the Swans opening round clash against Inverell at No. 1 Oval this Saturday.
"I think he'll be right for this week and we've got a couple more blokes to come back in," he said.
"We had fullback, centre half back and full forward out and we were still competitive - the blokes that filled those roles did really well."
In the women's final the reigning premiers picked up right where they left off in 2020 as they accounted for the Suns.
The Bulldogs were too strong for Moree as they took home a 8.7 (55) to 1.3 (9) win.
Coach Sam Proudfoot was "super impressed" by his side's first hit-out for 2021.
"Nothing but upside - really positive. They made some mistakes but they learnt from them and did that within the span of one or two games," he said.
While the Poochettes will be looking to claim back-to-back AFL North West premierships, they will have to do it with a different squad in 2021.
"We've lost a lot of experience. We've lost leaders. I've lost a co-coach in Lou Kestles but numbers wise we're good, the new girls are really keen to learn," he said.
And a couple of those new players impressed Proudfoot on the weekend.
"Nikki Bruce was a standout for us - she's brand new to the game - and young Chloe Sumpter, she's in year 11 this year but stepped up the seniors and had good run through the middle and did really, really well for us," he said.
"It's exciting to see where these new guys go and I've been really impressed the skill development."
Proudfoot said the women's competition looked like it would go to another level this season: "The structure, movement through the middle and skills were outstanding."
Moree's Colleen Fernando was rewarded for helping get the Suns into the final and was named women's player of the carnival.
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