Amaroo Primary School marked the end of term three with the finals of its AFL Survivor competition.
Throughout the term, year six students competed as members of their tribes on the footy field each Friday afternoon, with the grand final winners crowned last Friday.
The day started with a grand final breakfast sausage sizzle for year six students, before each of the four tribes – Wattle, Dianella, Bottlebrush and Kangaroo Paw – had the opportunity to run through their respective banners in front of the whole school.
The teams then took the field, with Kangaroo Paw and Bottlebrush playing off in the ‘curtain raiser’ to determine who would finish the season in third place.
With a mix of players of all different skill levels and interest in football, the match was a competitive affair.
Both teams regularly rebounded the ball from end to end with the respective defences holding up very well.
With the lead changing several times throughout the game, it was hard to pick a winner until the final term when Kangaroo Paw took control to claim the 50 to 41 win.
The day then continued with the main event, the grand final between the two strongest clubs across the whole competition, Wattle and Dianella.
With Dianella’s star player Max Ireland sitting out the first quarter, Wattle took full advantage and piled on the forward pressure to take a commanding lead.
With Dianella scoreless and behind by 45 points at the end of the first term, the team needed to lift and it did.
Led by Max in the midfield and quick forward Tommy Ugle, Dianella made its charge in the second term.
Heading into the final term it looked like Wattle’s early dominance of the game wasn’t going to be enough, but the team, led by Alby Bebbington’s long bombing and Katie O’Brien’s competitiveness, found another gear and kicked away in the final term.
When the final siren sounded, it was Wattle that came out on top with a 94 to 84 win in a high-quality and competitive game.
After the match, the players gathered for the end-of-season award ceremony.
PE teacher and competition umpire Will Hammond handed out the Brownlow Medal to the competition’s best player across the season, Dianella’s Max Ireland.
Wattle’s Alby Bebbington finished runner-up in the voting, while Kangaroo Paw’s Milla Harker and Wattle’s Katie O’Brien finished in third.
Milla, Alby and Max also took out their respective tribes’ fairest and best award, along with Bottlebrush’s Kyan Young.
Max also claimed the Norm Smith Medal for best on ground in the grand final.