Sport
6 March, 2024
Stanley River Wolves shine at Charleville
Stanley River Wolves junior rugby league players and teams had a memorable time at the annual Adrian Vowles Cup (AVC) in Charleville.
Stanley River’s U14 and U17 girls were in composite teams, which won their respective grand finals with identical 8-4 score-lines, while the Wolves also fielded U14 and U16 boys teams.
The games were 15 minutes long, while hot conditions meant the water runners were kept busy. An AVC ‘dream team’ was later named for each age group, with Wolves U14 girls duo Ruby Gauld and Cailin Darcy earning selection along with Wolves U16 boys duo Kaleb Strange and Cohen Cochran.
Cohen was also named Player of the Carnival, as chosen by the AVC committee.
He was also named best-and-fairest for his team, while Harry Hose was named best-and-fairest for the Wolves U14 boys.
This year was the first time the competition featured an U14 girls division, as well as the first time the Wolves took girls teams along. It was also the first time this group of Stanley River U14s took part in the Charleville-based carnival, while it was the third or fourth time for many of this year’s Wolves U16s.
Stanley River’s U14 girls merged with Outback to form the ‘Outback Wolves’, while Stanley River’s U17 girls merged with Highfields to form ‘Highfields-Stanley River’.
None of the Stanley River girls knew their teammates from Outback or Highfields, nor did they ever train together. The U14 girls division had three teams, while the U17 division had four teams.
The Outback Wolves had two wins and a scoreless draw against City Country Mt Isa, as well as two losses and a scoreless draw against Blackbutt-Yarraman.
Following a downpour of rain, the Outback Wolves turned the tables as they won the decider against the composite team from the South Burnett.
Meanwhile, the Highfields-Stanley River team was undefeated, having accounted for Dalby (twice), Outback (twice) and City Country Mt Isa (once), before defeating City Country Mt Isa in the decider.
The U17 girls played 9-aside games due to limited playing stocks, before the grand final had 13 players per side as some Dalby players joined the Highfields-Stanley River team.
Stanley River’s U14 boys had two wins, two losses and a draw as they were among 22 teams in this division.
Their opponents were Mitchell, Souths, Western Ringers, Highfields, and Valleys. Stanley River’s U16 boys had three wins, three draws and no losses as their opponents were Cities, Wallumbilla Surat Red Bulls, Chinchilla, Mitchell, Highfields, and Brothers.
Wolves president Mary-Anne Hallam said the Wolves players and their parents had an amazing time, while the 16-hour round trip wasn’t a deterrent.
“It’s just as much a bonding session for our parents and club volunteers as it is for the players,” she said.
