ASSUMPTION School had a double dose of glory recently by taking out both the boys and girls events at the Paul Kelly Cup’s Central West round.
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The teams booked a spot at the regional round of the competition, to be held next term in Blacktown, thanks to two tense wins at George Park.
Both Assumption teams dropped a match during the pool stage but saved their best footy for when it mattered most.
The girls' team prevailed 15-13 over Cowra Public School while the boys team scraped by Saint Philomena's 21-19 in an all-Bathurst finale.
Assumption School’s girls have previously enjoyed victory in the Cup, winning the tournament back in 2011.
Holy Family’s girls side also won the competition’s finale in 2015.
Paul Kelly Cup co-ordinator Casey White said it’s always an amazing sight to see so many Central West schools taking part in the competition.
“We had 23 teams from across 12 different schools across the Central West taking part. We would have had about 350 kids playing,” he said.
“It’s excellent to see a couple of new schools entering the competition as well. The competition was really strong, with a lot of great football being played.”
Another Bathurst school who enjoyed their share of success was Cathedral Primary School.
Although the two teams came up short of the finals teacher Ashley Boylan said the students will take a lot away from the experience.
It’s excellent to see a couple of new schools entering the competition ... [and there was] a lot of great football being played.
- Casey White
“It’s one of those events where it’s great for them to experience a competitive environment. The experience from a lot of other sports comes together in AFL, and even if they haven’t played much before they pick the skills up very quickly,” he said.
“Compared to when I was involved with the Paul Kelly Cup 10 years ago you can see there’s a lot more game knowledge now. There’s some rivalries of course with the other Catholic schools in Bathurst as well.”
Boylan is hopeful the exposure to the game encourages a lot of the children to take up AFL.
“They’re all really positive towards the game. Even when they’d lose it was great to see them eager to come back,” he said.
“I’m very passionate about the game so getting more people involved is an aim of mine.”
High school students will get their opportunity to face off against one another next month in Bathurst.
Six schools have entered in the secondary schools competition to be held on April 4 at Learmonth Park.
