ST PETER & PAUL’S RIGHT ON THE MARK

Illawarra Champions St Peter & Pauls AFL team are joined by their Sydney Swans heroes (from left) Barry Hall, Michael O'Loughlin, Nick Malceski and Paul Williams at the Paul Kelly Cup.

AFTER being crowned Illawarra Champions StPeter & Paul primary School recently represented the Illawarra region at the Paul Kelly Cup.

The competition, named after the retired Sydney Swan's captain and 1995 Brownlow Medallist, the Paul Kelly Cup, is the largest primary school competition in NSW and is open to entry by students in Years five and six.

Modified AFL rules such as restricted tackling are used on a smaller field with 12 players per side competing in a round robin format.

The aim is to ensure the safety of the participants and to provide a fun environment to learn the skills of AFL.

Ss Peter & Paul went on to win one out of three games defeating the eventual winner of their pool, and proving the future of AFL in the Kiama region is looking bright.

The standard of play was very high and officials attending described Ss Peter & Paul as being right on the mark.

In 2005 more than 10,000 children from 904 school teams across NSW competed in the competition and between March and June this year, more than 12,000 children have competed in local gala days across NSW.

Congratulations to the boys for their fantastic efforts, to the school and the Kiama Community for their support.