It’s that time of year again. New South Wales mob from all over get together to celebrate our culture and enjoy a great weekend of footy.
On Friday, families and supporters started rocking up as early as 7.30am, getting a good seat for those 8.30am games.
As someone who hasn’t been to a Knockout before, it was truly special to see how much pride is taken in the game from the Under-12 grades all the way to the Women's. The Day 1 talent and skill on show yesterday really gets you excited for the rest of the weekend.
Gray’s Picks
My favourite game of the day has to go to the Under-15s Western Sydney United verses Maitland United. You could see clearly that both teams wanted to win as badly as the other, resulting non-stop hits, try after try and some of the best footwork and speed out there. Western Sydney United came out on top with a last minute try to end the match at 18-16.
Womens Matches
The Womens games were absolutely phenomenal and set a pretty high standard for the rest of the weekend.
The Moree Boomerangs verses Gular Giddyurais was unreal, not only because of the players' skill, but also the crowd engagement. You could see a real passion for community.
Like , these Women's matches at the Knockout are the reason behind starting the Women's competition in the NRL. I agree with him one hundred per cent and it would be really deadly to see these mob make that comp.
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You can see the players run out there with their heart on their sleeve, they smash it out through every run and show no fear with each tackle.
The flair in the Newcastle Yowies is going to be hard to beat so keep your eye on them, but don’t knock the other Semi-Finalists; Redfern All Blacks, Wellington Wedgetails and Castlereagh All Blacks who all had convincing wins throughout the day.
As it stands, I don’t think you can pick who’s gonna take out the Women's trophy this year but their Semi-Final games are a must watch.
Under-12s
The Knockout Footy that you always hear about was very much alive yesterday, from Under-12s I've got to give a shout out to Wiradjuri United who played so deadly all day; and in particular, the little Halfback that had the yellow first receiver bib on at the start of the game against the Newcastle Emus. He might have been one of the smallest fullahs out there but right from the kick-off, that didn’t stop him. He had three tackles under his belt in the first set and he started it with a textbook tackle on a bloke twice his size and that's the kind of play you love to see out there.
So hats off to him, but also to all the players in those Junior games, they all went hard out and gave 110 per cent in every second of the game. Some real potential across all grades and it’s just such a pleasure to watch.
Under-17s
I've got to give a mention to the Under 17s Combined Countries verses South Coast United Next Generation match. The game had countless big hits and the tension heated up in the end with a bit of a scuffle between the two teams after the siren had sounded.
Under-15s
The last stand out game for me before I get into the results was the Under-15s 2829 Boys verses Moree Boomerangs. The 2829 Boys hit the ground running with the right attitude and aggression but went a little bit too far and got some early warning for a dangerous tackle. From then on it was a brutal tug of war with both sides going at each other but in the end the 2829 Boys came out on top with the 10-8 victory.
Below are the results from Day 1 and be sure to tune in to all the action from the Friday and Saturday games on NITV’s YouTube and Facebook also don’t forget that games will be running on air from 9am Sunday and Monday on SBS and NITV (Ch. 34).
Day 1 Results*
Under-12s
Round 1
Gomeroi Allstars 32 | 06 Redfern All Blacks
Castlereagh Connection 14 | 00 Dubbo Apollo Estate Black Astronauts
Goodooga Magpies 30 | 06 Kamilaroi Galamaay’s
Moree Boomerangs 36 | 00 Bundaburrah Warigals
Kempsey United 10 | 04 Koori Birray United
Round 2
Condobolin Sandhill Googars 00 | 38 Butucarbin Warriors
Gulargambone Rovers 10 | 24 Mindaribba Warriors
Newcastle Emus 10 | 30 Wiradjuri United
Kempsey Sharks 28 | 10 Terry Hie Hie Connection
La Perouse Panthers 22 | 04 Yellowbelly Buraaygalang
Narwan 16 | 06 Goodooga Magpies
Moree Boomerangs 26 | 10 Kempsey United
Redfern All Blacks 12 | 6 Castlereagh Connection
Round 3
Butucarbin Warriors 28 | 14 Mindaribba Warriors
Wiradjuri United 22 | 00 Redfern All Blacks
Kempsey Sharks 04 | 12 La Perouse Panthers
Narwan 30 | 10 Moree Boomerangs
Under-15s
Round 1
Bathurst Young Mob 00 | 34 La Perouse Panthers
Wiradjuri United 10 | 08 Queanbeyan Canberra United
Redfern City 00 | 28 Newcastle Emus
Gomeroi Allstars 36 | 06 Kempsey Dunghutti Brothers
Round 2
Blacktown Western Warriors 00 | 32 Cabbage Tree Island
Dubbo Apollo Estate Black Astronauts 00 | 60 Kempsey Sharks
Goodooga Magpies 34 | 06 Goodooga Magpies ARLFC
Butucarbin Warriors 06 | 16 2829 Boys
Kempsey United 04 | 06 Moree Boomerangs
La Perouse Panthers 22 | 06 Wiradjuri United
Western Sydney United 18 | 16 Maitland United
Newcastle Emus 10 | 06 Gomeroi Allstars
Round 3
Cabbage Tree Island 00 | 22 Kempsey Sharks
Goodooga Magpies 04 | 10 La Perouse Panthers
2829 Boys 10 | 08 Moree Boomerangs
Western Sydney United 04 | 16 Newcastle Emus
Under-17s
Round 1
Queanbeyan Canberra United 06 | 24 Kirinari Brothers United
Koori Brother United – Dallas Clayton Memorial 06 | 34 Wiradjuri United
Orange United 10 | 16 Tingha Native Tigers
Round 2
Campbelltown Ghosts 16 | 06 Castlereagh All Blacks
Kempsey Sharks 16 | 12 Newcastle Emus
Redfern City 04 | 16 Maitland United
Kempsey Dunghutti Brothers 04 | 30 Western Koori Eels
Mungindi Grasshoppers 16 | 08 Hannah McGrady Memorial
Combined Countries 08 | 00 South Coast United Next Generation
Gomeroi Roos 04 | 28 Kirinari Brothers United
Wiradjuri United 22 | 18 Tingha Native Tigers
Round 3
Campbelltown Ghosts 04 | 22 Kempsey Sharks
Maitland United 12 | 24 Kirinari Brothers United
Western Koori Eels 24 | 04 Mungindi Grasshoppers
Combined Countries 10 | 11 Wiradjuri United
Womens
Round 1
Western Sydney United 18 | 06 Nanima Common Connection
Round 2
Maitland United 12 | 10 Yuin Fitt
Wellington Wedgetails 34 | 06 Central West Mob
Moree Boomerangs 00 | 16 Gular Giddyurais
Shoalhaven Sharks 18 | 00 Bhawaa Miyaay
Taree Biripi Sharks 00 | 40 Castlereagh All Blacks
Newcastle Yowies 22 | 04 Western Sydney United
Redfern All Blacks 08 | 00 Nambucca Valley Rams
Western Sydney Red Belly Blacks 20 | 00 Campbelltown Ghosts
Round 3
Maitland United 00 | 24 Wellington Wedgetails
Shoalhaven Sharks 00 | 28 Castlereagh All Blacks
Gular Giddyurais 00 | 42 Redfern All Blacks
Western Sydney Red Belly Blacks 04 | 12 Newcastle Yowies
*All scores from the KO app.
The Koori Knockout will be live on NITV (Ch. 34) on Sunday 30 September from 9am-5.30pm and live on both NITV and SBS Monday 1 October from 9am - 5.30pm
Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter using #KooriKnockout. Replays will be available via SBS On Demand after broadcast.
Grayson McCarthy-Grogan is an NITV Digital Producer and reports stories on Sports, Politics and Indigenous Affairs. For more articles by Grayson or to contact about stories, find him on Twitter @GraysonMcG
