Division One Youth League Season Review
This division has become very competitive and that can be seen by the fact that eleven of the twelve clubs were represented in the finals series this season.
Having said that, there is also strong evidence that there has been strong emphasis on the development of the players. The quality of the play across all age groups has noticeably improved to the points that it is rapidly approaching that produced in Super Youth League. Indeed, in an opinion shared by some astute observers, I believe that some teams from this division could compete in the Premier Youth League.
It is certain that some players will be looking for opportunities to take the step up to a higher division over the upcoming period of trials and many will be able to cope with the demands that will impose.
This season I have chosen a slightly different style for presenting this report. Rather than bore you with a wordy commentary, I have provided an outline of the performance of each club or team and followed that with a summary of their position and points and comparisons of the home/away and first/second round results, followed by a rundown on the finals series.
Club Championship
Sydney University won the Club Championship by six points after they had held a top five place from the very beginning and they moved into second spot from Round 6. At Round 13 they took the lead and never looked back, even though they were under consistent pressure.
Position: 1st with 243 points
Home v Away: 128pts v 115pts
First Round v Second Round: 111pts v 132pts
Finals: All five of their teams qualified for the finals series, three as Premiers and they had two teams in the Grand Finals.
Fraser Park were the runners-up and as a club they had the best attacking figures with 247 goals and the defensive figures as they conceded only 87 goals in 110 matches.
Position: 2nd with 239 points
Home v Away: 119pts v 120pts
First Round v Second Round: 122pts v 117 pts
Finals: They had all five teams in the finals series, two as Premiers. Three of their teams made it through to the Grand Finals and two of those emerged as Champions.
Mt Druitt Town Rangers were placed third and they were fifty-three points further back. They had led the way for the first two rounds and ten remained between second and fourth for the rest of the season.
Position: 3rd with 186 points
Home v Away: 96pts v 90 pts
First Round v Second Round: 97pts v 89pts
Finals: They had two teams in the finals.
Camden Tigers were six points behind the Rangers at fourth place. They had remained inside the top four for the entire competition and they were the leaders in rounds 3 and 4.
Position: 4th with 180 points
Home v Away: 88pts v 92pts
First Round v Second Round: 95pts v 85 pts
Finals: Three of their teams qualified for the finals. One of those made it to a Grand Final and they came away as Champions.
Rockdale City Suns were placed fifth and they were twenty points behind the Tigers. They have been locked into fifth position for the duration of the season.
Position: 5th with 160 points
Home v Away: 86pts v 74pts
First Round v Second Round: 87pts v 73pts
Finals: They had two teams in the finals series. and one of those reached the Grand Final.
Hurstville City Minotaurs did very well to finish sixth, seven points behind the Suns. The club did not have home ground and they were forced to play all their games at the opponents? venues. After a slow start they stayed between sixth and seventh throughout the season.
Position: 6th with 153 points
Home v Away: 0pts v 153pts
First Round v Second Round: 74pts v 79pts
Finals: Two of their teams reached the finals. One of those qualified for a Grand final and they were declared Champions.
St George were seven points behind the Minotaurs at seventh. They spent the first nine rounds wavering between eighth and ninth and then they moved between sixth and seventh for the balance of the season.
Position: 7th with 146 points
Home v Away: 75pts v 71pts
First Round v Second Round: 74pts v 72pts
Finals: Tow of their teams qualified for the finals series.
Stanmore Hawks were in eighth position and nineteen points behind the Saints. They had a good start to the season and then maintained a mid-table position for the balance of the season without challenging for a position in the top five.
Position: 8th with127 points
Home v Away: 68pts v 59pts
First Round v Second Round: 59pts v 66pts
Finals: One of their teams reached the finals series.
Gladesville Ryde Magic were five points astern of the Hawks in ninth position. They had moved between ninth and tenth places over the first eleven rounds and then they were locked into ninth place for the second half of the season.
Position: 9th with 122 points
Home v Away: 62pts v 60pts
First Round v Second Round: 56pts v 66pts
Finals: They had one team in the finals series.
Springwood United ended the season in tenth place, only two points behind Magic. After a healthy start to they season they moved amongst the bottom three clubs from Round 7 onward, despite a second round improvement.
Position: 10th with 120 points
Home v Away: 57pts v 63pts
First Round v Second Round: 50pts v 70pts
Finals: They had one team in the finals series and that team reached the Grand Final.
Hakoah were twenty-six points further back at eleventh. They remained between tenth and eleventh for the first seven rounds, climbed the table to be placed between sixth and eighth until the tenth round and then they returned to eleventh where they stayed form the eleventh round onward.
Position: 11th with 94 points
Home v Away: 47pts v 47pts
First Round v Second Round: 60pts v 34pts
Finals: They did not have team in the finals series.
Hills Brumbies were in twelfth place and they were seven points behind Hakoah. They spent the season anchored to the foot of the table even though they showed an improvement in the second half of the campaign.
Position: 12th with 87 points
Home v Away: 43pts v 44pts
First Round v Second Round: 36pts v 51pts
Finals: They had one team in the finals series.
Grade 13
Sydney University were the Premiers after they took out the competition by a margin of five points. They had the stingiest defence in the competition, giving away just twelve goals in the season. They had moved in and out of the top five over the first eight rounds and they broke into the top group in Round 9. they continued to surge and after they had remained unbeaten in their last fourteen games, they took the lead for the last three rounds
Position: 1st with 52 points
Home v Away: 25pts v 27pts
First Round v Second Round: 21pts v 31pts
Finals: They lost the Major Semi Final in extra time and then lost the Preliminary Final.
Fraser Park were the runners-up and they had the best attacking figures in the competition after they scored forty-seven goals. They had been in the top two teams all season and they fell away slightly over the last four rounds.
Position: 2nd with 47 points
Home v Away: 25pts v 22pts
First Round v Second Round: 28pts v 19pts
Finals: Won the Preliminary Semi Final on penalties, won the major Semi Final in extra time and then won the Grand Final.
Rockdale City Suns were two points further back in third place. They had spent all but one game inside the top three in a season of fairly consistent performances.
Position: 3rd with 45 points
Home v Away: 24pts v 21pts
First Round v Second Round: 22pts v 23pts
Finals: Lost The Preliminary Semi Final on penalties and then lost the minor Semi Final.
Hills Brumbies were placed fourth and they were six points behind the Suns. They had a slow start and they broke into the top five between rounds six and ten before dropping out for a period of five weeks. When they returned to the top group they kept going.
Position: 4th with 39 points
Home v Away: 21pts v 18pts
First Round v Second Round: 15pts v 24pts
Finals: They lost the Elimination Semi Final.
Springwood United finished the season in fifth place and they were only one point behind the Brumbies. In a roller-coaster season they were in and out of the top five several times before they finally secured fifth place in the last game of the campaign.
Position: 5th with 38 points
Home v Away: 15pts v 23pts
First Round v Second Round: 16pts v 22pts
Finals: They won the Elimination Semi Final, won the Minor Semi Final and won the Preliminary Semi Final before going down in the Grand Final.
Mt Druitt Town Rangers were two points behind Springwood at sixth place on goal difference. They had spent the first twenty-one points of the season inside the top five but they dropped out in the final game for the year.
Position: 6th with 36 points
Home v Away: 20pts v 16pts
First Round v Second Round: 26pts v 10pts
Hurstville City Minotaurs were in seventh position on goal difference. They had settled into a mid-table position and then briefly visited the top five before returning to a spot in the middle of the pack.
Position: 7th with 36 points
Home v Away: 20pts v 16pts
First Round v Second Round: 16pts v 20pts
Camden Tigers were nine points further back in eighth place. They had a healthy start to the season but they could not keep pace with the top group and so they slipped back down the ladder.
Position: 8th with 27 points
Home v Away: 13pts v 14pts
First Round v Second Round: 16pts v 11pts
St George were in ninth position, one point behind the Tigers. They had spent the season in the middle of the table without really threatening any of the top five teams.
Position: 9th with 26 points
Home v Away: 15pts v 11pts
First Round v Second Round: 14pts v 12pts
Gladesville Ryde Magic were eight points behind the Saints at tenth. After a reasonable start to the season they spent the majority of their campaign amongst the bottom three teams.
Position: 10th with 18 points
Home v Away: 8pts v 10pts
First Round v Second Round: 4pts v 14pts
Hakoah ended the season in eleventh place and they were ten points behind Magic. They had some difficulty in keeping pace with the standard of the Competition.
Position: 11th with 8 points
Home v Away: 1pt v 7pts
First Round v Second Round: 7pts v 1pt
Stanmore Hawks were four points behind Hakoah in twelfth position. They had not been able to meet the quality of this competition on even terms and so they spent the season at the foot of the table.
Position: 12th with 4 points
Home v Away: 1pt v 3pts
First Round v Second Round: 2pts v 2pts
Grade 14
Fraser Park were declared Premiers after they won the competition on goal difference by a margin of a single goal. They had the best attacking figures in this league as they had scored thirty-nine goals. They had spent the season in various positions inside the top five and they were engaged in a neck-and-neck tussle with Sydney University over the last four rounds.
Position: 1st with 46 points
Home v Away: 22pts v 24pts
First Round v Second Round: 22pts v 24pts
Finals: They won the Major Semi Final in extra time and then lost the Grand Final on penalties.
Sydney University were the runners-up in a close-fought battle. After a slow start to the season they really got going, losing only one of their last seventeen games.
Position: 2nd with 46 points
Home v Away: 26pts v 20pts
First Round v Second Round: 22pts v 24pts
Finals: they lost the Preliminary Semi Final, won the Minor Semi Final on penalties and then lost the Preliminary Final.
Mt Druitt Town Rangers were eight points behind the front two in third position. They got off to a reasonably good start and then they slipped back to a mid-table position for most of the season. A late rally saw them grab third place in the last three games.
Position: 3rd with 38 points
Home v Away: 17pts v 21pts
First Round v Second Round: 14pts v 24pts
Finals: They won the preliminary Semi Final, lost the Major Semi Final, won the Preliminary Final and then won the Grand Final on penalties.
St George were one point behind the Rangers at fourth. They had maintained a place in the top five up to round 10 when they dropped back. They made a return to the top group from Round 17 onward.
Position: 4th with 37 points
Home v Away: 14pts v 23pts
First Round v Second Round: 17pts v 20pts
Finals: They won the Elimination Semi Final and then lost the Minor Semi Final on penalties.
Stanmore Hawks were fifth, two points behind the Saints. They had spent the season inside the top five, occupying every position at various times.
Position: 5th with35 points
Home v Away: 14pts v 21pts
First Round v Second Round: 19pts v 16pts
Finals: they lost the Elimination Semi Final
Camden Tigers were two points behind the Hawks in sixth spot. They were placed among the top five teams for most of the season but they fell back to mid-table over the last three rounds.
Position: 6th with 33 points
Home v Away: 18pts v 15pts
First Round v Second Round: 22pts v 11pts
Hurstville City Minotaurs were one point behind the Tigers in seventh position. After a good start, they remained on the cusp of the top five, threatening occasionally and then dropping back.
Position: 7th with 32 points
Home v Away: 15pts v 17pts
First Round v Second Round: 18pts v 14pts
Rockdale City Suns were placed eighth and they were three points behind the Minotaurs. After settling into a mid-table position in the early part of the season, they reached the top five from Rounds 10 to 15 and then they dropped back again.
Position: 8th with 29 points
Home v Away: 10pts v 19pts
First Round v Second Round: 16pts v 13pts
Hakoah were five points behind the Suns at ninth. They had started slowly but they picked up a bit to move to a mid-table position.
Position: 9th with 24 points
Home v Away: 15pts v 9pts
First Round v Second Round: 16pts v 8pts
Springwood United were tenth and three points behind Hakoah. They had a fairly healthy start but then they fell away and stayed among the bottom three teams for most of the season.
Position: 10th with 21 points
Home v Away: 11pts v 10pts
First Round v Second Round: 8pts v 13pts
Gladesville Ryde Magic were one point further back at eleventh. They had been amongst the bottom three teams all season.
Position: 11th with 20 points
Home v Away: 10pts v 10pts
First Round v Second Round: 10pts v 10pts
Hills Brumbies finished twelfth, twelve points behind Magic. They had a great deal of difficulty in matching it with the other teams in this competition and they remained at the foot of the table for most of the season.
Position: 12th with8 points
Home v Away: 2pts v 6pts
First Round v Second Round: 2pts v 6pts
Grade 15
Fraser Park were the Premiers after they won the competition by ten points. They had led the table throughout the season and they had lost only one of their twenty-to matches. They had the best attacking figures with sixty-two goals and they also had the best defence as they conceded only seven goals.
Position: 1st with 55 points
Home v Away: 33pts v 22pts
First Round v Second Round: 29pts v 26pts
Finals: They lost the Major Semi Final and then lost the Preliminary Final.
Hurstville City Minotaurs showed fabulous character to overcome the very difficult circumstance of being without a home ground and frequently struggling to even find a place for training sessions. For all that, they still finished in second spot after spending the entire season inside the top five and then they took control of second place over the last three games.
Position: 2nd with 45 points
Home v Away: 0pts v 45pts
First Round v Second Round: 25pts v 17pts
Finals: They won the Preliminary Semi Final, won the Major Semi Final and then they won the Grand Final.
Rockdale City Suns ended up in third position on goal difference, three points behind the Minotaurs. They overcame a slow start to the season to earn a spot in the top five and stay there for the rest of the campaign.
Position: 3rd with 42 points
Home v Away: 21pts v 21pts
First Round v Second Round: 25pts v 17pts
Finals: They lost the Preliminary Semi Final, won the Minor Semi Final, won the Preliminary Final and then they lost the Grand Final.
Camden Tigers were placed fourth on goal difference. After a patchy start to the season when they were in and out of the top five, they became a part of the top group for the second half of the season.
Position: 4th with 42 points
Home v Away: 20pts v 22pts
First Round v Second Round: 18pts v 24pts
Finals: They won the Elimination Semi Final and then lost the Minor Semi Final.
Sydney University were one point behind the Tigers in fifth place. They had spent most of the season in the middle of the table then they put on a spurt in the second half of the competition to earn a place in the finals series.
Position: 5th with 41 points
Home v Away: 22pts v 19pts
First Round v Second Round: 15pts v 26pts
Finals: They lost the Preliminary Semi Final.
Mt Druitt Town Rangers were placed sixth, one point behind Uni. They had held down a place in the top five for a large part of the season but they fell away over the last four rounds.
Position: 6th with 40 points
Home v Away: 26pts v 14pts
First Round v Second Round: 19pts v 21pts
Stanmore Hawks were ten points behind the Rangers at seventh. They were inside the top five for the entire first half of the season before the fell back to the middle of the table and they never recovered.
Position: 7th with 30 points
Home v Away: 16pts v 14pts
First Round v Second Round: 20pts v 10pts
Gladesville Ryde Magic were in eighth place and one points behind the Hawks. They had spent the season in the middle of the table without ever threatening the top five teams.
Position: 8th with 29 points
Home v Away: 13pts v 16pts
First Round v Second Round: 10pts v 19pts
Springwood United were five points behind Magic in ninth position. After starting the year fairly well, they dropped off the pace to be situated in the middle of the table.
Position: 9th with 24 points
Home v Away: 15pts v 9pts
First Round v Second Round: 11pts v 13pts
Hakoah completed the season in tenth place and they were thirteen points behind Springwood. They had begun their campaign in the middle of the table and then they fell away to spend most of the season at tenth.
Position: Tenth with 11 points
Home v Away: 5pts v 6pts
First Round v Second Round: 8pts v 3pts
St George were three points behind Hakoah at eleventh. They never really seemed to come to grips with the competition and so they spent most of the season in the bottom two.
Position: 11th with 8pts
Home v Away: 3pts v 5pts
First Round v Second Round: 2pts v 6pts
Hills Brumbies were placed twelfth, one point behind the Saints. They had a great deal of difficulty in coping with the standard of the competition and they spent the season in the bottom two.
Position: 12th with seven points
Home v Away: 1pt v 6pts
First Round v Second Round: 5pts v 2pts
Grade 16
Sydney University were the Premiers after they won the competition by a margin of five points. They had the most potent attack in the competition as they had fifty-three goals to their credit and their defence was also the best as they conceded only fifteen goals. They had led the way until Round 9 when they dropped back to second place where they stayed through to Round 20 when they resumed the front-running position.
Position: 1st with 48 points
Home v Away: 26pts v 22pts
First Round v Second Round: 24pts v 24pts
Finals: They lost the Major Semi Final, won the Preliminary Final and then they lost the Grand Final on penalties.
Fraser Park were the competition runners-up after they claimed second place on goal difference. They had a slow start but they broke into the top five in Round 5. They moved between third and sixth places until the last round of the year when they grabbed second spot.
Position: 2nd with 43 points
Home v Away: 18pts v 25pts
First Round v Second Round: 19pts v 24pts
Finals: They won the Preliminary Semi Final, won the Major Semi Final and then won the Grand Final on penalties.
St George were placed third on goal difference. They had applied constant pressure to the leaders until Round 10 when the Saints took over at the top of the table. They were able to maintain the front-running position until Round 20 when they slipped backwards as a consequence of taking only two points from their last five games.
Position: 3rd with 43 points
Home v Away: 29pts v 14pts
First Round v Second Round: 25pts v 18pts
Finals: They lost the Preliminary Semi Final, won the Minor Semi Final and then lost the Preliminary Final.
Hurstville City Minotaurs were five points further back at fourth. They had an inconsistent start to the season as they moved back and forth between sixth and ninth over the first twelve rounds and then they broke into the top five from Round 13 onward.
Position: 4th with 38 points
Home v Away: 21pts v 17pts
First Round v Second Round: 17pts v 21pts
Finals: They lost the Elimination Semi Final.
Camden Tigers were fifth and three points behind the Minotaurs. They began slowly and maintained a mid-table position until round 11 when they entered the top five. They slipped out of the top company four a period of three weeks and then made a return in the last two rounds.
Position: 5th with 35 points
Home v Away: 16pts v 19pts
First Round v Second Round: 18pts v 17pts
Finals: They won the Elimination Semi Final and then lost the Minor Semi Final.
Stanmore Hawks were placed sixth, two points behind the Tigers. They maintained a place in the top five for most of the season, dropping out in the final round after they had taken only one point from their last three games.
Position: 6th with 33 points
Home v Away: 26pts v 7pts
First Round v Second Round: 18pts v 15pts
Mt Druitt Town Rangers were two points behind the Hawks at seventh position. They remained in the middle of the table and they were always within striking distance of the top five without quite making the jump.
Position: 7th with 32 points
Home v Away: 14pts v 18pts
First Round v Second Round: 14pts v 18pts
Hakoah were in eighth position and seven points behind the Rangers. They had found a place in the top five for nine of the first ten rounds but then they fell back to a comfortable mid-table position.
Position: 8th with 25 points
Home v Away: 9pts v 16pts
First Round v Second Round: 16pts v 9pts
Rockdale City Suns were two points behind Hakoah in ninth place. They had held down a place in the top five for the first five games and then they dropped back and never threatened again.
Position: 9th with 23 points
Home v Away: 19pts v 4pts
First Round v Second Round: 14pts v 9pts
Gladesville Ryde Magic were tenth and two points behind the Suns. They were inside the top five for the first seven games and then they fell off the pace and dropped back.
Position: 10th with 21 points
Home v Away: 10pts v 11pts
First Round v Second Round: 14pts v 7pts
Springwood United were six points further back at eleventh position. They dropped from the middle of the table to spend the last eighteen rounds in eleventh position.
Position: 11th with 15 points
Home v Away: 7pts v 8pts
First Round v Second Round: 4pts v 11pts
Hills Brumbies were twelfth and seven points behind Springwood. They spent all season at the foot of the table.
Position: 12th with 8 points
Home v Away: 5pts v 3pts
First Round v Second Round: 1pt v 7pts
Grade 18
Sydney University claimed the title as Premiers after they won the competition by twelve points after they spent much of the season unbeaten, only dropping points over the last four rounds. They had the best defensive figures as they conceded only nineteen goals.
Position: 1st with 60 points
Home v Away: 33pts v 27pts
First Round v Second Round: 33pts v 27pts
Finals: They won the Major Semi Final and then lost the Grand Final.
Fraser Park were the competition runners-up and they had the best attacking figures after they scored sixty-three goals. They had a reasonably good start to the season and they moved back and forth between second and fifth until Round 19 when they were locked into second spot.
Position: 2nd with 48 points
Home v Away: 21pts v 27pts
First Round v Second Round: 24pts v 24pts
Finals: They won the Preliminary Semi Final on penalties, lost the Major Semi Final and then they lost the Preliminary Final.
Camden Tigers were five points further back at third position. They had matched it with the leaders for the first six rounds and then they moved between second and fourth places until the last four rounds when they secured third place.
Position: 3rd with 43 points
Home v Away: 21pts v 22pts
First Round v Second Round: 21pts v 22pts
Finals: They lost the Preliminary Semi Final on penalties, won the Minor Semi Final, won the Preliminary Final and then they won the Grand Final.
Mt Druitt Town Rangers finished in fourth place, three points behind the Tigers. They had stayed with the leaders for the first four rounds and then tussled with Fraser Park and Camden as they moved between second and fourth until Round 19 when they were locked into fourth place.
Position: 4th with 40 points
Home v Away: 21pts v 19pts
First Round v Second Round: 24pts v 16pts
Finals: They won the Elimination Semi Final and then they lost the Minor Semi Final.
Gladesville Ryde Magic were six points behind the Rangers at fifth place. They had spent all but one round inside the top five and they locked themselves into fifth position from Round 9 onward.
Position: 5th with 34 points
Home v Away: 21pts v 13pts
First Round v Second Round: 17pts v 17pts
Finals: They lost the Elimination Semi Final.
St George were placed sixth and they were two points behind Magic. They had applied consistent pressure to the teams above them and they provided a genuine threat to them until they were locked into sixth spot of the last five games.
Position: 6th with 32 points
Home v Away: 14pts v 18pts
First Round v Second Round: 16pts v 16pts
Hakoah ended up six points behind the Saints in seventh place. They had hovered between seventh and tenth places before locking themselves into seventh position late in the season
Position: 7th with 26points
Home v Away: 17pts v 9pts
First Round v Second Round: 13pts v 13pts
Stanmore Hawks were in eighth place on goal difference and they were only one point behind Hakoah. They had spent the season moving between seventh and eleventh before finally settling into eighth in the last game.
Position: 8th with 25 points
Home v Away: 11pts v 14pts
First Round v Second Round: 10pts v 15pts
Hills Brumbies were placed ninth on goal difference. In a season of ups and downs they had risen as high as fifth but never dropped below the ninth position which they had held for the last five rounds of the season.
Position: 9th with 25 points
Home v Away: 14pts v 11pts
First Round v Second Round: 13pts v 11pts
Springwood United were three points further back in tenth place. They had been on a roller-coaster ride all season as they went as high as fifth and dropped as low as eleventh.
Position: 10th with 22 points
Home v Away: 9pts v 13pts
First Round v Second Round: 11pts v 11pts
Rockdale City Suns were in eleventh place and only one point behind Springwood. After showing some reasonably good early form they slipped down the table and they could not recover.
Position: 11th with 21 points
Home v Away: 12pts v 9pts
First Round v Second Round: 10pts v 11pts
Hurstville City Minotaurs were nineteen points behind the Suns at twelfth place. They had a tough time of the season and they were never really competitive.
Position: 12th with 2 points
Home v Away: 1pt v 1pt
First Round v Second Round: 1pt v 1pt
