IT was a case of instant success for the All Stars Junior Girls team at this year’s Port Stephens Oz Tag Grand Finals at Fingal Bay Oval.
Suiting up for their rookie season of Oz Tag, the talented bunch of all round athletes combined to capture the Junior Girls title at their first crack.
The slick and gifted lineup consisted of promising netballers and touch footballers aged 12-13 years with athletic prowess – a formula for premiership success.
Making a smooth transition from the netball courts, the All Stars quickly discovered a winning groove to win the local Port Stephens competition undefeated.
The girls demonstrated their skill, pace and stamina throughout the series and capped a memorable debut season by carving out a 6-2 Grand Final victory over the Samurai Sisters.
It was the All Stars third triumph over their fiercest rivals after earlier downing the Samurai girls 5-2 and 6-4 in the preliminary rounds.
Under the astute coaching of Sarah Matthews, the All Stars proved a force to be reckoned with – connecting from the outset with their tenacity, speed and tagging skills.
The squad featured talented prospects in Carla Peachey, Zoe Peters, Sailor Jenkins, Macey Matthews, Emillie Weaver, Brynne Dagwell, Kalani Spackman, Scarlett Lui, Alannah Timney, Maeve Lewis and Marley Lester.
Young gun Emillie proved a stand out throughout the 2025-26 series and showed her class in regular season victories over the Hollaback Girls (10-1 and 8-2), Rebels (11-5, 11-0 and 10-0 in a semi final) and the Ocean Girls (10-2 and 14-0).
The spring-heeled Weaver continued her purple form patch at last weekend’s NSW Junior OzTag State championships at Coffs Harbour, where she received the Coaches Award for the Port Stephens Under 13 Girls representative team.
After toppling the Ocean Girls 10-3 in a semi final, the Samurai Sisters performed strongly in a hard fought Grand Final and gained plenty of admirers with their never-say-die attitude.
By Chris KARAS
You can help your local paper.
Make a small once-off, or (if you can) a regular donation.
We are an independent family owned business and our newspapers are free to collect and our news stories are free online.
Help support us into the future.
