Sunday 14th August saw the mighty Dee Why Touch
team come up against our football neighbours, the Cromer Kingfishers, in the Division 2 Minor Semi Final. Dee Why came out on top 7-2, avenging an earlier loss to the Kingfishers during the season proper.

Dee Why moved into the Division 2 Finals played on the 21st August and we came away winners against the Checkers Resort in a big win 13-4, with everything we touch turning to gold.

With 2 wins in the finals series, Dee Why moved up into the Division 2A Grandfinal, played on Sunday 28th August against the Pittwater TFC. In a close Grand Final, played in great spirit, the scores were locked at 3-3 on fulltime and extra time was played, playing drop off of players each minute, which wasn’t required as Dee Why scored on the first set of 6. As the rules go, Pittwater were entitled to a set of 6 in an attempt to even the scores and after some anxious moments, Dee Why held them out for a second Grand Final win in a row.

We now turn our focus to the Summer Comp commencing Sunday 18th September.

The boys were all pumped for a much more solid performance than last week and from the start all of the supporters could sense that the boys were in the mood to play hard. Two tries in the first half resulted in a half time score line of 12 to 7. The talk by the coaches was to stay positive and enjoy the experience.

A slight breeze picked up after the break which gave us a chance to kick the ball deep in East’s half which enabled us to secure some good field position. A try was scored which resulted in the final score of Dee Why 17 East’s 5.

Overall great defence, good scrummaging and aggression at the breakdown showed all the boys what really is required to win big matches.

We are now into the grand final in 2 weeks time and all the boys thoroughly deserve their opportunity to enjoy the experience – Well done to all.

As we head towards the end of the season, it was a great team effort with plenty of passing between our players. The coaches stepped it up with no forward passing allowed making it an action packed game.

Max and Flynn L. had great defensive games with over ten tags each and Max also scored two trys.

Lachlan and Logan did some great passing to help set up for some of our trys.

There was a fantastic run by Will from one end of the field to the other to score one of his three trys. Cato scored a try with loads of tags during the game.

Josh and Alex had great all round games with lots of runs, tags, passes and three trys for Josh.

Special awards when to Flynn W. and Josh who both had great games in attack and defence. Congratulations boys!

The U7 Reds had a great game against Harbord. They continue to improve on a weekly basis both in defence and attack. On several occasions the Reds defended their own line and it was wonderful to see such great commitment. Great defensive efforts from the whole team especially Jackson Lill, Dylan Brownbill, and Sisilia Thomas and Will Green who all recorded big stats.

It was a great running game with plenty of tries. Try scorers were Harry Arcus, Jackson Lill, Kai Shimakage, Josh Zanelli and Sisilia Thomas. The Reds passing and running game continues to give them a stronger game over all. Reuben Welchs improvement is reflected in his passing and running. The bulldozer runs of Nathan Maxwell up the middle are a great asset to the team. Well done everybody!

Play of the day: Josh Zanelli ran the ball on the last play of the match stepping and swerving all of the Harboard players running down the sideline to almost score. Well done Josh, a great individual effort

Encouragement awards: Went to Harry Arcus and Josh Zanelli for outstanding performances on the field.

Special thanks to Kai’s Mum and Dad for providing oranges for last weeks match.

Training: Don’t forget there is a sausage sizzle on after Wednesday night training.

Will and Max tied with an awesome equal number of tags, passes, runs and both scored three great trys for our team. Cato had some brilliant attacking runs, as did Flynn L and Flynn W. Two trys were also scored by Alex and Flynn W. Well done boys.

Logan and Lachlan also had some really good runs and tags with another try scored by Lachlan.

A special mention goes to Josh who is always a great attacking player, he played a great defensive game with a high number of tags and passes and three trys.

The three encouragement awards were given to Alex, Lachlan and Max for great passing and teamwork on the day.

It is really nice to see the great sportsmanship shown by our players to the other team. Thanks boys for a fabulous game for the spectators.

Harry A ran around several defenders to score two tries. Other try scorers were Sisilia T, Kai S and Josh Z: very good ball runners. The Reds defence has become a great asset to them: especially on their own line. Dylan B and Will G both played good aggressive games in defence, showing their determination against bigger opposition.

These games make us confident that as the team moves up to U8s next year they will excel playing tackle football.

Encouragement awards: Congratulations to Harrison Arcus and Dylan Brownbill receiving awards this week

Favourite play: Joshua Zanelli ran to the defensive line drawing in three defenders. This created space outside and allowed a short ball to be passed to Sisilia Thomas who had a clear run to the try line. Although the play didn’t come off and the pass was missed, it was exciting to see them execute a planned move.

The second half commenced and a try to David and another to Adam saw the boys begin to play more confidently. Harbord however seized on another loose ball and despite a good chase of 70m by Angus they scored next to the post. Any chance of a come back was quickly dispelled with additional tries to David, Kyle and then a great team try with a number of contributors leading to Damon scoring in the corner – which was a highlight of the day. Adam scored the final try in another charging run which was duly converted.

The final score was Dee Why 56 Harbord 5 with Kyle kicking 7 from 7 and Jake kicking 1 from 1. The game really was played in the forwards as a result of the conditions so all the boys in the pack need to be praised for their strong go forward play. Special mention to Nic and Adam who both played very strongly and also to Jake who was awarded player of the day.

Well done to Kirstie and Alecia for their Soup and Pasta which was a huge hit and another good fundraiser for our planned end of season trip.

After Lindfield had taken the 1st game 18-17 in a tight series opener, last night was a must win for Dee Why to keep the series alive.

With the scores locked at nil-all at half-time, last night’s game was shaping up as being just as tight and we weren’t disappointed. After Michael Rand opened the scoring in the 2nd half with a successful penalty attempt to make the score 3-0, Lindfield hit back pretty quickly with a 5-pointer of their own. The rest of the game saw Dee Why constantly push the Lindfield defence to finally force another indiscretion from Lindfield within penalty range. Michael calmly slotted his second penalty goal to make the score 6-5 and Dee Why held on for the final few minutes to even the series.

The decider will be held at James Morgan Reserve on Wednesday 3rd August at 7.30pm. Special mention must go to Connor Milham, Jake Reneman and Michael Rand for making the step up from U17s to help the U85kgs team complete this great win.

Minis: All games have been cancelled this weekend

Juniors: All games have been cancelled this weekend

Oldies: Sydney Cup cancelled

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