From obviously a club without a town coming through to what is a fancier league as they class in the RFL and for us to showcase our club today was the biggest outcome.
- Jamie Parr
Premiership Osborne coach Jamie Parr says the club showed its junior firepower on a bigger stage in claiming the AFL Riverina Championship grand final on Saturday.
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The Ostriches survived a mini-comeback from Leeton Whitton in the final quarter to claim an 8.11 (59) to 6.6 (42) win in the under 17.5 decider at Wagga's Robertson Oval.
"It means a lot, from obviously a club without a town coming through to what is a fancier league as they class in the RFL (Riverina Football League) and for us to showcase our club today was the biggest outcome of it all," Parr said.
Osborne is a long-time Hume League powerhouse, at both senior and junior level.
COVID-19 forced the cancellation of all community football leagues south of Wagga, including the RFL and Hume, which is based in southern NSW.
The Hume League boasts smaller communities than the RFL, which takes in major centres Wagga and Griffith.
AFL Riverina comprised five RFL clubs, as well as Osborne, for a six-round regular season, plus a three-week finals campaign.
The Ostriches were unbeaten in the regular season, but fell to Leeton by four points in the second semi.
The club then toppled Turvey Park in the preliminary final before holding off the Crows in the decider.
"We just played as a team and that's what I entrenched in the boys, young kids want to take the game on, so instead of taking the game on, we used the numbers and rolled as one," Parr said.
That team ethic was highlighted in eight individual goalkickers.
"Eddie O'Connell through the middle, he's got a bit of first grade experience and he added a bit of class, Harry Wichman on the wing, it's not very often you get a kid that can play the wing position, he plays it really well and Royce Hunter down back, just the general, organising everyone and doesn't let anything through," Parr said.
Unfortunately, Osborne couldn't make it a perfect record in the under 17.5 netball, falling to Ganmain Grong Grong Matong 33-30.
"I think they were hungrier for it right from the start, when we made errors, they used their possession and capitalised," coach Sally Hunter said.
"Grace Kennedy had a great game in defence, Louise Madden's always a good target at GS (goal shooter) and then Alice Gooden's always a pocket rocket through the mid-court."
Meanwhile, another Hume League product in Jim Grills (Holbrook) was terrific in Wagga Tigers' 21-point win over Leeton Whitton.
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Grills kicked three goals, featuring like Albury team-mates Brayden O'Hara, Jake Gaynor and Shaun Driscoll.
"That's why Albury's been so successful with players doing well in big games."
