Jellyfish take spoils in Picnic 9s tournament
The AFL Darling Downs Picnic 9s attracted its biggest field of teams to date, providing an afternoon to remember at Queens Park.
Two divisions were introduced for the first time, with the Max (serious) and Mellow (social) groups attracting keen entrants.
Jellyfish secured the spoils in the Max division after downing Saints and Sinners 28-25, with The Rooties coming away with a 29-11 defeat of the Gundy Grunters in the Mellow group.
Troy Rissman captained the victorious Jellyfish side, composed of players from both the South Toowoomba Bombers men’s and women’s teams.
He said it was a great opportunity in the pre-season to get the squad together, as they went one better this time around.
“We were in last year and lost the final so we were pretty keen to come back again and make up for it,” Rissman said.
“The majority of us have been playing in this comp for the last few years.
“It’s been good fun. Obviously the money on the line is a bit of a bonus, but it’s good for fitness heading into the real footy season.
“We don’t get the chance too often for the men and the women to compete together, so this was a good opportunity for us.”
AFL Darling Downs game development and talent manager Jeff Neumann said officials were pleased with the response they were able to receive.
“It was great to see participants both male and female, junior and senior, and even a few masters all enjoying a great day of AFL9s,” he said.
“The growth was almost double on year one and is an event that is definitely here to stay. Planning on how to make 2021 bigger and better is already underway.”