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Koori Knockout Player of the Series Winners
by Teresa Mullan 8 October 2015
N
SW Fair Trading Commissioner Rod Stowe congratulated the winners of the men’s and women’s Player of the Series awards at the 2015 NSW Aboriginal Rugby League Knockout held over the October long weekend. Mr Stowe said Steven Walker (No. 10) of the Redfern All Blacks No. 1 side and Nakia DavisWelsh (No. 6) of the Redfern All Blacks women’s team were worthy
Koori Knockout winner - Nakia Davis-Welsh. All images supplied.
winners. Photographs attached. This was the first time Mr Walker played in a Knockout carnival and the fourth time the men’s Player of the Series trophy has been won by a player from a Redfern team since 2000 when Fair Trading began sponsoring this award. Ms Davis-Welsh is the daughter of former Balmain Tigers rugby league star Paul Davis. She represented Australia in an Indigenous Women’s All-Star team in February 2013 after having taken
up the game six weeks prior in 2012. She played touch football for the NSW under-12s when she was at South Kempsey Public School in 2008. This year’s Knockout was held on Apex Ovals at Caltex Park in Dubbo and featured 14 under 12s teams, 22 under 15s teams, 19 under 17s teams, 15 women’s teams and 63 men’s teams. “NSW Fair Trading is proud to have sponsored the men’s Player of the Series trophy for the past 16
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years and the women’s since 2005,” Mr Stowe said. “Our involvement in the Knockout is an important part of the agency’s broader engagement with Aboriginal communities across NSW. Fair Trading also hosts an information kiosk at the event and this year distributed more than 530 packs with advice on a range of consumer protection issues.” The NSW Aboriginal Rugby League Knockout Carnival is one of the biggest Indigenous gatherings in Australia. Many refer to the Knockout as a modern day Corroboree. The very first knockout was held at Camdenville Oval, St Peters, on the October long weekend of 1971 with eight participating teams. As champions of the 2015 Knockout, Redfern win hosting rights for next year’s carnival and $63,000 prizemoney. Men’s final details - At half-time the Newcastle All Blacks had a 22-6 lead. While Redfern fought back in the 2nd half it looked like the Newcastle All Blacks were going to be victorious 32-30. Right on full-time Redfern was given a penalty 49 metres out in front of their goal posts. Shane Nolan nailed the kick, tieing the final score 32-32 and taking the match into golden point (5 minutes each way). During the first golden point period both sides missed field goals, but with the clock ticking down Redfern managed to cross the line through NRL STAR and New Zealand Warriors centre Jonathan Wright. Women’s final details - In the women’s final, Redfern All Blacks
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Koori Knockout winner - Steven Walker
women’s team triumphed over a spirited Kempsey United. Leading up to the final match, Redfern won its preliminary rounds 38-nil, 36nil, and 54-nil. Redfern All Blacks
women’s team also won the 2014 event making this a Redfern double on the day. Half-time score was 18-4 Redfern’s way. Final score 28-10.