Local juniors will don their boots for the last time this winter and make their bid for World Cup glory in the finals of the Mangonui JMB season at Arnold Rae Park on Saturday.
Among the sub union's best players strutting their stuff in the cauldron of finals footy inthe under-9 grade will be those from the Mangonui rep team; having played beside each other earlier this month but since returned to their respective clubs, players will find themselves up against former teammates.
Of this year's rep campaign, Mangonui U9s coach Robb Schrafft noted that while the team lost both its encounters, to Whangarei in Taipa on August 10 and Bay of Islands in Kerikeri on August 17, these up-and-coming stars enjoyed a great couple of games in Mangonui colours.
"They played like warriors," he said, noting it was an admirable effort considering most of the players had only been cobbled together a day or so beforehand, adding that selection into a sub union rep side provided these young guns with the opportunity of a lifetime.
"This is were it all starts," said Schrafft, adding special thanks to Alan Tubbs and Brett Larkin for their help during the campaign.
Back to the JMB World Cup finals on this Saturday, the event represents the last chance for teams to establish their superiority in under-7s, 9s, 11s and 13s grades, completing a three-week tournament with the previous two weeks of round-robin competition played in Taipa and Waipapakauri earlier this month. The day gets under way with the remaining games necessary to complete post section play kicking off from 9am, with the first of the four finals expected to take place from mid-morning, the last being completed shortly after lunch.
So, reader, do not be surprised to hear battle cries and haka resounding throughout the county this week as the various camps prepare for a final conflict where form counts for nought and passion everything.
"When can their glory fade? O the wild charge they made! All the world wonder'd. Honour the charge they made! Honour the Light Brigade."
