Magic Touch For Naidoc

Newcastle Herald

Thursday September 13, 2007

By KANE GORDON, TROY GORDON and JACK McDONALD

ON Friday, August 10, the annual NAIDOC Week Touch Football Carnival was held at Lyall Peacock Oval, Toronto.

Indigenous and Pacific Islander students from high schools in the Lake Macquarie region were involved. These included representatives from Toronto, Hunter Sports, Lake Macquarie, Morisset, Glendale, Cardiff and West Wallsend high schools, and Kirinari Boys' Hostel.

The boys' grand final between Hunter Sports and Toronto went down to a nail-biting 1-0 victory for the Toronto Boys in extra time, when Hayden Edwards scored in the corner.

This was the second year in a row that the Toronto boys' team took out the title.

The girls' grand final featured intense rivalry between teams from Toronto and West Wallsend, which was played out in a dynamic "drop-off"situation. With only three players on each side, Toronto's Amanda Gleeson stretched out across the line for the match-winning try.

The carnival has been running for four years. It was originally intended to give indigenous and Pacific Islander students an opportunity to ease community tensions and increase the interactions.

This was the third year the carnival was hosted by Toronto High School, with the event organised by Anita Barker, the Aboriginal Education Worker at Toronto, with assistance from Robert D'Elboux.

"The day wouldn't have been the success that it was without the support of the carnival's sponsors: Centrelink Toronto, Lake Macquarie City Council and Toronto Workers' Club," Mrs Barker said.

"Special mention must go to Warren Bull from Toronto Workers' Club, who organised the field, and to Russell, the groundsman."

The event was well-supported by the local community. Edward Smith was in charge of the barbeque, and Gillian Howie and Rae Dennis, from Centrelink, helped prepare food.

The Toronto boys' team consisted of Kane Gordon, Troy Gordon, Randall Briggs, Isaac Briggs, Cody Gordon, Cody Sampson, Jarrod Edwards, Matt Simon, Sonny Standing, Lewis Simon, Hayden Edwards, Shane Beale, David Briggs and Amos Simon.

The Toronto girls' team consisted of: Jamica Simon, Latrista Gordon, Amanda Gleeson, Tonika Johns, Termanie Johns, Brittany Edwards, Lacey Simon, Jayde Sampson, Lateeka Eggins, Jade Leary and Kirsty Sharp.

© 2007 Newcastle Herald

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