Our Kanga Cup team consisted of 10 players from the Palerang Under 15 side, Angus, Tim, Harry F, Harry J, Adrian, Lachlan, Rhys, Tristan, Romney and Callaum along with regular Kanga Cup players Jeremy and Josh. With 6 matches scheduled in 4 days, it was going to be a tough going for the players, both physically and mentally. As team manager, Kylie Bunn, always says, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.” She was indeed right.

The Palerang side competed against teams from Sydney, Canberra and Orange and knew no match was going to be easy.

The First game was up against Marist United and although the team gave everything, the lads went down 5-3. It was an encouraging start to the tournament and as head coach Murray Smith says, “you’re never a loser until you quit trying.”

Match 2 was against Cranbrook School, Sydney. At half time we were down 2-0, but to their credit came back to win 4-2. Further words of wisdom from Coach Smith, “a trophy can carry dust whereas memories last forever. This was one of those days.”

Our next match was against Marist College, and was our best effort of the tournament. The result was a 2-0 victory. Smith then told the team, it’s better to win 5 games 2-0, than 1 game 10-0.”

Unfortunately, our previous form did not carry on to the next match against Harrington United. The bounce of the ball did not our way, but there were no excuses for our standard of play. It was a game not to forget, but one to take lessons from.

A sign of a good team: one that is well drilled and one that gets on well, is to bounce back from defeat. Our match against Orange proved this. The result was a 2-0 defeat, bur the result did not reflect our efforts. A draw would have been a fitting result.

Our final match of the Kanga Cup was against Sydney side, Pagewood Botany. Goals seesawed until the final whistle, where the result finished 3-3.

All in all, the tournament was a great success. 6 games played, 2 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses. The ladder finished as follows:  Harrington  18, Marist United 15, Orange 12, Palerang United 7, Pagewood Botany 5, Marist College 3, Cranbrook 1.

The grand final finished with a win to Harrington and Marist United. 

The Tournament Ball Award, signed by all the players, was a unanimous choice, our team manger, Kylie Bunn. Kylie organised the team and coaches sensationally during the week and it could not have happened without her. Thank you Kylie. Ellie Bunn was heard to say, “Mum, you’re not allowed to kick or play with the ball inside the house.” The Kit Bag Award went to Rhys Neate. Well done Rhys.

Thank you to the family and friends that attended the matches, your support was fantastic. Many thanks also to the Club Register, Bidda Jones, who did a lot of behind the scenes work. Thanks Bidda.

The wood raffle will be drawn at Palerang United Under 15’s next match on the 25th of July. Remember keep selling tickets.