THE Shoalhaven Swans representative Australian Football teams did themselves and the region proud during the recent inter-league carnival.
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The Swans took on teams from the Illawarra, Sapphire Coast and the Central West.
Matches started on Friday, with games on Saturday and the finals were held on Sunday.
The AFL South Coast development team once again did a great job running the event.
The Shoalhaven under 17s won of their pool games, beating Sapphire and Central West to make the final against the strong Illawarra combination.
Their win against Sapphire 41-20 to make the final, was their most impressive, after losing Ryan Kelly with an arm injury in the previous game.
The boys tried valiantly in the final but went down 48-14 to Illawarra.
Some of the best players in this age group were Jack Hirst, Jack Batson, Rex Lee, James Phillips and Caleb Kersting who kicked 12 goals for the weekend.
The Swans under 15s lost their last pool game against Sapphire to miss the final, which was also won by Illawarra.
An earlier narrow loss to Illawarra proved costly, as they would have had a finals berth otherwise. They convincingly won the consolation final over Central West.
Best players in the under 15s were Fergus Priest who stood out with his dash and smart ball sense, Lachie Malcolm, Brayden Atkins and Hayden Muffett.
Ollie Halls and Evan Larkins played well and both kicked multiple goals.
The Shoalhaven under 13s was the unlucky team of the weekend, who played great football and just missed out on the final by a small margin.
After wins against Illawarra and Central West, a three-goal loss to Sapphire did the damage.
They teamed together well over the weekend and showed great spirit with Tom Lassua, Jackson Ingram, Oliver Driscoll and Taj Malmborg leading the way.
They also won their consolation final convincingly.
The Shoalhaven Youth girls tried really hard and improved greatly as the weekend progressed.
Their best performance was in the consolation final which they lost to Sapphire by three goals.
It was fantastic to see the competitive nature and ability displayed by the girls as they fought hard in each match.
Some of the better players were Maya Wood, Grace Hughes, Mel Staunton, Mia Clough, Kristelle Westbrook and Nayana Patmore.
Coach Lyn Robinson said she was really proud of the girls and they had a lot of fun.
Meanwhile, the under 9s and 11s all played round-robin matches at Tom Smith Oval at Albatross and had a great day which was hosted by Shoalhaven Giants.
All local clubs and carnival co-ordinator John Dyball are to be congratulated on another fantastic weekend.
Visitors to the area were most impressed how the over 650 players plus parents and helpers were catered for and will definitely be back.