KIRWAN HAS YEAR TO REMEMBER

FROM raising the bar on a redtrack to final wins on the football field, Kirwan State School has had a year to remember.

After toppling Townsville ‘A’ schools athletic powers Ryan Catholic College to secure a first ever win in the Primary Inter-school Athletics in June, Kirwan was champion at the AFL Queensland Schools Cup North Queensland Championships last week in Mackay.

Defeating Ryan in the Townsville decider, Kirwan didn’t concede a single goal and repeated the dose in Mackay, to not only win the title, but let in only three points in as many games.

Holding Moranbah State School scoreless in their opening game in an 18-point win, Kirwan went on to defeat Taranganba State School 22-nil, before sealing the title with a 17-3 win over Gordonvale State School, who were undefeated until that point.

Praising her players’ commitment to defending, coach Emma Talbot said the girls were fierce in the contest.

“Our girls are very good at defending, very good at tackling, and they wouldn’t let anything past,” she said.

“They got to the ball first, and they just wanted to tackle ... they love it.”

Decked out in the schools’ boys guernseys which were worn at state-level in 2007, Kirwan’s players didn’t escape the watchful eye of Gold Coast Suns’ academy scouts.

Already producing current Suns Academy junior Stella Abbott, who now attends Ryan, Talbot was confident Kirwan could be on the verge of seeing more talent progress to elite junior ranks.

“I was told there were five girls they were looking at targeting, and this (pathway) is where it starts,” Talbot said.

However, Kirwan will now turn its attention to the “final four” State Championships decider set for on the Sunshine Coast in October, where they’ll come head-tohead with the code’s southern school powers.

While conceding the side had a lot of work to do, Talbot said anything was possible after its magical run.

“We are going to spend a lot of time sharpening our basic skills ... these girls don’t have an Aussie rules background, so they need to understand when to handball, when to kick, and when to shepherd,” she said.

“I’ve kept it very basic with them, but the kids have been training with the AFL Queensland guys, so we’ll continue to (get them in) to help.

“Our boys came second in Townsville (competition) to Ryan and I said to the boys (their top-two finish) surprised me.”