Three squads played hard-fought grand finals to finish runner-up, while a fourth Sapphire Coast squad claimed third in great displays of finesse and skill. 

“Historically at the carnival we've done really well, it's a credit to the clubs and the young players down here rising to the occasion,” SCAFL coordinator Jarrod Moore said. 

Moore said there were always players that shine under pressure and step up in tournament situations, but said he was impressed overall by the great displays of the Sapphire Coast’s five teams. 

Moore heaped praise on the under 12s, who went down to the Illawarra in the final to finish second. 

“Looking at their games, it was a really good all-round performance, five or six players were lifting in each game, but there was no real standouts,” he said. 

He said the 14.5s were the big-improvers of the carnival after a shaky start, but claimed third overall with a win in the consolation final over the Central West. 

The team were on the younger end of the scale and were facing more experienced and often bigger players across the competition, but rallied to boast a strong finish to the weekend. 

Meanwhile, Sapphire Coast had two girls’ teams entered this year, which Moore said has basically joined forces by the end of the draw. 

“Unfortunately we had a few late withdrawals, but a lot of the girls played for both teams and I think it’s a testament to their great sportsmanship and character, backing up,” Moore said. 

“They were buggered by the end of the carnival, but had joined forces and were walking around as one big team of 30 players.”

The ‘north’ girls squad finished second after a loss to the Central West, while the ‘southern’ girls squad succumbed to the Illawarra in the consolation final. 

The under 17s also finished runner-up after going down to the Illawarra by just a couple of goals in a close final. 

Moore praised Will Regan, who backed up from his recent rep experience as an emerging senior player at the Merimbula Diggers. 

“He was voted best on ground by our players,” he said. 

Moore also commended Jedd Martyn, Caleb Higgins and Tarni Evans who will compete for NSW at All Schools Nationals later this month.