Narellan Rangers U/13s: The Best from the West

The accolade, which is given once a year to the best junior Club team across the Macarthur district, is sponsored by Wests Campbelltown Club and handed to the team displaying excellence in sporting achievement.
A large number of sports including swimming, triathlon, rugby league, baseball, cricket, soccer and more take part in the athletic driven initiative.  Different associations for the many sports present their monthly nominations to the Wests Sports Council who have the task of choosing the winner. The monthly recipients, who become the finalists for the year, are further reviewed before the true champion is given their award.
The yearly awards are broken up into six segments: Junior Club Team, (any team below U/18s), Senior Club Team, (any team at or above U/18s), Junior Sportsperson, Senior Sportsperson, Spirit of Sport and the Volunteer Award.
The U/13s were this year?s Junior Team of the Year and were on show to receive the award at the West Campbelltown club over dinner last May.
Head Coach Howard Lloyd believed the team really deserved the award while praising the initiative by Wests.
?I am extremely proud of the boys,? said Howard, ?They have worked hard and stayed focus for the past few years and this award really highlights their efforts.?
?The work done by Wests and Wests Sports Council is amazing; they do so much for junior sport in the Macarthur area.
?They [Wests] go above and beyond, even contributing in part to the cost of running advertisements in the local paper where they have a regular section,? added Howard.
The Narellan Rangers U/13s play in the Macarthur local competition and have won the division one title since 2006, reaching the semi finals of the state wide Champion of Champions in 2008 and securing first spot with a massive 13 point lead ahead of second place.
?The team scored 71 goals last year and conceded a mere nine? said Howard, ?That?s a plus 62 goal difference.?
?They play with good intensity on the field and although we have no one stand out player, the team works as a unit and that is why they are so successful,? said Howard who is into his fifth year with the same squad.
With the team made up primarily of kids who began playing  for Narellan at age six or seven, the team remains local despite the loss of eleven players in the past three years who have gone on to play youth league football.
The U/13s are playing well again this season and although they still have a long way to go, they certainly hope next year?s Junior Team of the Year award heads back to the team they consider the ?Best in the West.?
-By Caetano Lima