Narungga Electorate

Mr ELLIS (Narungga) (16:12): Winter sport grand final season has just wrapped up in Narungga and I thought I might take this opportunity today to rise and put on the record the wonderful successful teams and pay them the respect they deserve for a wonderful season, as well as all the other teams around the electorate that have participated in finals and the season at large.

We know the 2020 season was a difficult one, with a number of different competitions cancelling their season as a result of the COVID pandemic and the difficulties that came along with that. Most were back up and running this year, albeit with some different restrictions in place. It is a real credit to the leagues around the electorate of Narungga for pushing ahead, finding ways to solve problems and making sure that everyone had their opportunity to participate in sport and to access their outlet on the weekend so that they could enjoy their weekends once again.

I would like to start with the Yorke Peninsula league and what was a cracking game at Yorketown last Saturday between Moonta and the CMS Crows (Curramulka, Minlaton, Stansbury), which saw the Crows win the A-grade flag by one point. It was a fantastic game of footy, with a really good crowd there, and Moonta kicked 11 goals 13 points and the Crows kicked 13 goals 2 points to win by one point. It was a tremendous effort by the Crows.

The Crows also took out the B-grade flag, with a late goal in that game as well, so a wonderful effort by the Crows with the Maitland Cougars, and a wonderful result for Wallaroo with the Wallaroo Junior Colts taking out the junior grades.

I would like to run through the netball quickly and to start by saying that the Crows won the A and D-grade netball, so it was a wonderful year for a strong club down there at Curramulka, Minlaton and Stansbury. I know they have some great work going on trying to build a new clubroom at Minlaton Oval, which will solidify the community spirit they have going on in that club and, hopefully for them, lead to some more sustained success going forward.

The Crows won those two grades in the netball as well, with Leah McDonnell getting best on court in the A-grade netball. Moonta won the B-grade, while the Southern Eagles won the C-grade. There were a few different winners in the junior grades, so it was a wonderful day down there.

I would like to take the opportunity to mention that the size of the crowd necessitated the Yorketown community—the YPFL and the Southern Eagles Football Club, that sort of group—putting in a COVID management plan, which really is a difficult thing. One of the unfortunate realities of the restrictions with which we live at the moment is the impost placed on volunteer organisations trying to adhere to those restrictions and trying to enforce those restrictions upon their guests.

It really was difficult and that group of people did a wonderful job getting their COVID management plan organised. I think they had 2,500 people at capacity. I note that they met with a couple of the organisers over the day and they had managed to find an app that had a live counter so that at any one time they knew exactly how many people were in the oval precinct, how many more they could have and how many more had left. It was a real credit to that group.

They did a great job trying to enforce those rules, in what can be quite a difficult set of restrictions, and having to defend them sometimes when they might not necessarily believe in their utility, so congratulations to the Southern Eagles Football Club and the Yorke Peninsula football and netball leagues on making sure the grand final went ahead and so many people were able to view it.

I would also like to touch on the Northern Areas football and netball. Their grand finals were held at Crystal Brook. The Port Broughton football club had all four grades represented in the grand final on Saturday and managed to win three out of four, going down in just the A-grade football. They were shooting for a clean sweep on the day and managed to fall just one game short, unfortunately. They won the A-grade netball against Jamestown, so it was another strong showing by a really strong community club.

They have had some wonderful work going on building new change rooms for their facility, which will complement their clubrooms really nicely. They have a brand-new facility there in what is a really strong club that has done some really good work over the past couple of seasons, so congratulations to the Port Broughton football and netball clubs on their successful grand final teams.

In the Adelaide Plains league, Mallala had a wonderful season going through undefeated, but unfortunately they were not able to get through to the grand final and had to settle for a terrific regular season. That is another really strong club, in addition to Long Plains in that same league. Unfortunately, after the election, if I am lucky enough to be re-elected, those clubs will move into Frome, but it has been a pleasure getting to know the people at those two clubs. Congratulations to Blyth in the North Eastern league, who have had a good year, and BSR who I will pick up next election if I am lucky enough to be re-elected.

I do not have time to mention every sport, but the hockey was on at Kadina over the weekend as well. In the men's game, the Kadina Rebels won 9-0 against the Moonta Lions, with Tim Millard being best on ground. In the women's, the Kadina Bears beat the YP Tigers 2-0, with Mel Harris being best on ground.

Congratulations to everyone who has participated in winter sport across Narungga. It is really good to see it back up and running after a hiatus for some leagues the year prior. I am looking forward to getting stuck into summer sport around the electorate.