From Wednesday, 21 - Friday, 23 March, the 2018 Wheelchair Aussie Rules National Championship was held at Casey Stadium, Cranbourne East, VIC.
Six teams, including teams from SA, TAS and VIC as well as 2 ADF teams and a team from RSL competed for the title of 2018 National Champions.
In what was a fiercely contested competition, SA game away with their third consecutive National Championship title defeating runners-up Tasmania 133 - 86. Victoria finished with the bronze, edging out ADF 1 53-29 in the bronze medal clash.
DSA would llike to thank the ADF and the AFL for their continued support of Wheelchair Aussie Rules and we hope to see everyone back in 2019 for what is shaping up to be the best Nationals yet!
Summaries of Day 1 and Day 2
Day 1 of competition began with a rematch of last years Gold Medal game between South Australia and Tasmania with Tasmania beating the 2017 champions, 77 - 62. The home team Victoria then played Australian Defence Team 1 winning 102-20. South Australia held a major lead against RSL for their second game of the day winning 156-19. The final game of the day took place between the two Australian Defence Force teams with ADF 1 coming out on top at 52-42.
The second day of competition has seen yet another action-packed day here at Casey stadium with every team playing three games each. The day kicked off with games running on both courts, which saw Tasmania beat ADF 1 at 107-65, and South Australia taking a slow starting game with Victoria to win 86-23. Tasmania was in top form as they then took on RSL winning 115 - 8. Meanwhile a determined Victoria bet ADF 2, 92 points to 9 points. ADF 2 then scored 47 points against South Australia who won with 192, while ADF 1 beat RSL 110-14. A nailing biting match between Victoria and Tasmania, saw Victoria come from behind in the final quarter to win 46 - 44. During this, South Australia won their third game for the day, winning 154-57 against ADF 1. After a busy day of competition, the final game took place with ADF 2 receiving their first win of the competition against RSL, winning 76-19.
Head to our Instagram page for the results after each match and highlights of the day.
Competition Ladder
| TEAM | PLAYED | WIN | LOSS | DRAW | FOR | AGAINST | DIFF. | POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SA | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 650 | 223 | 427 | 12 |
| TAS | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 563 | 236 | 327 | 9 |
| VIC | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 269 | 159 | 110 | 9 |
| ADF 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 304 | 419 | -115 | 6 |
| ADF 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 223 | 575 | -352 | 3 |
| RSL | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 60 | 457 | -397 | 0 |
Competition Results
| TIME | COURT | TEAM 1 | SCORE | TEAM 2 | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday 21 March | ||||||
| 12:45pm | 1 | SA | 62 | vs | TAS | 77 |
| 12:45pm | 2 | VIC | 102 | vs | ADF 1 | 20 |
| 2:00pm | 1 | RSL | 19 | vs | SA | 156 |
| 2:00pm | 2 | ADF 1 | 52 | vs | ADF 2 | 42 |
| Thursday 22 March | ||||||
| 9:30am | 1 | TAS | 107 | vs | ADF 1 | 65 |
| 9:30am | 2 | VIC | 23 | vs | SA | 86 |
| 10:45am | 1 | RSL | 8 | vs | TAS | 115 |
| 10:45am | 2 | ADF 2 | 9 | vs | VIC | 92 |
| 12:00pm | 1 | ADF 1 | 110 | vs | RSL | 14 |
| 12:00pm | 2 | SA | 192 | vs | ADF 2 | 47 |
| 1:15pm | 1 | TAS | 44 | vs | VIC | 52 |
| 1:15pm | 2 | ADF 1 | 57 | vs | SA | 154 |
| 2:30pm | 1 | ADF 2 | 76 | vs | RSL | 19 |
| Friday 23 March | ||||||
| 9:30am | 1 | TAS | 220 | vs | ADF 2 | 49 |
| 10:45am | 1 | VIC | 167 | vs | RSL | 27 |
| 12:00pm | Bronze | VIC | 53 | vs | ADF 1 | 29 |
| 1:15pm | Gold | SA | 133 | vs | TAS | 86 |
Final Results
Gold: South Australia
Silver: Tasmania
Bronze: Victoria
MVP: Matthew Gregory (SA)
Best Forward: Richard Tebb (ADF 2)
Best Centre: Braedon Griffiths (ADF 2)
Best Back: Chris Simpson (SA)
Spirit of the Game: Joe Chivers (TAS)
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For further information, please contact Kelsey Singh at kelsey@sports.org.au or +61 2 8736 1221.