IT’S been a busy fortnight for the Griffith Junior Rugby Union Club with away rounds in Wagga and Leeton.
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The under 11s quest for a place in the final series has been dealt a blow following three losses in their past four outings, including a 35-14 and 37-19 loss to the first and second placed teams, Cootamundra and Young.
After going down early, Griffith bounced back as Jai Romeo steered the team to a 34-21 win over the fourth-placed Leeton.
Despite gutsy performances from Jasvir Singh-Clark and Oliver Randall, the under 11s lost 20-17 to Hay who are also in the hunt for a semi-finals berth.
The under 11s will need maximum points from the final round to have a chance to make finals.
The Griffith under 13s have maintained their position at the top of the table following inspired performances over the past fortnight which has seen the Blacks only concede 22 points in four games.
Three wins and a draw sets up a showdown for the minor premiership next round when the Blacks face the second-placed Wyalong Pirates.
The Griffith under 15s have been impressive the past two weeks.
The Blacks defeated Temora 29-12, Wagga 15-5 and Albury 17-10 and – in chalking up these wins – claimed the minor premiership. The fourth in this age division in as many years.
The most pleasing aspect for coach Aled Francis has been the improvements in players Stanley Hermann, Mathew Senes and Sonny Orake who are just beginning to realise their potential.
One of the strengths of the Griffith Junior Rugby Union Club is in the under 7s and the under 9s where the club fields two sides.
For the under 9s, the improvement over the past few rounds has been immeasurable and has seen the side notch a win over the competition leaders.
With such a large squad of players, coach Clint Robertson found it difficult to nominate standout players. However, he cited Riley Perkins for his all-round efforts, Freddie Faigafa for his punishing defence, Daniel Burke, Gus Argent-Smith, Xavier McLeod for their ball pilfering and Fletcher Robertson and Oliver Tagliapietra for making things happen.
Despite not picking up any competition points, the Viva 7s Blackbirds under 10s have continued to develop as a team and individually. Reese Vidler and Issy McCloskey threaten to score each time the ball is in hand and provide inspiration with their defensive efforts.
After coming off a 25-0 loss to the competition leaders, the under 16s Blackbirds had had a narrow 5-10 loss to Young and two drawn matches against Leeton. Sereana Maibola and Bethany Parsons were the Blackbirds best players.