After claiming the U12 title in 2014 the Stingrays went one better in 2015 taking two titles while being the most successful league at the carnival.

Football operations coordinator Jarrod Moore praised the hard work of all involved.

“It was a fantastic weekend for the league and shows that at a junior level the competition is extremely strong and in good shape with some great players coming through the ranks.

“The jobs done by Doug Martyn (12s)' Glen Baker (14s) and Mick Clothier (16.5s), their teams and support staff were absolutely fantastic and all members should be ecstatic with their achievements over the weekend,” Mr Moore said.

The U12 side started the carnival extremely well claiming wins over the Central Coast and Shoalhaven before succumbing to eventual champions Illawarra in the pool round.  In their semi final the Stingrays came up against a determined Central Coast side that held off the fast finishing Stingrays 9 to 11.

For the U14 side their carnival was a tale of two different days.  The stingrays started the carnival with a remarkable draw against the Central Coast before falling to the Shoalhaven and Illawarra in two tight contests meaning a third place finish in the pool.  After a couple of changes the Stingrays did the impossible defeating Illawarra 38 to 27 in the semi final before claiming the carnival title defeating the Shoalhaven 58 to 57 after extra time in a remarkable final which saw ups and downs throughout the match for both sides.

“The boys were absolutely fantastic being able to turn around a tough Saturday to claim the title on the Sunday.

“The team knew that if they kept working hard for one another and were able to hit the scoreboard with goals then they could overturn their close losses against Shoalhaven and Illawarra and to their credit they did just that in an epic grand final,” Moore said.

The U16.5 Sapphire Coast Stingrays were unbeatable at Artie Smith Oval, with the highly skilled stingrays easily accounting for Shoalhaven and Illawarra in the group stage before a big second half in the grand final saw the boys claim the U16.5 title against Shoalhaven 54 to 30 to remain undefeated for the duration of the carnival.

“The 16.5 boys played brilliantly throughout the whole weekend going undefeated and having 22 players that went above and beyond what was expected for the weekend!

“There is definitely some great players in among the group who will go on to bigger and better things in their football careers,” Moore said.

In another great sign for Sapphire Coast Football 11 girls put on the boots to take part in the South Coast youth girls carnival on the Saturday. The girls were competitive all weekend although unfortunately went down to the Central Coast and Hunter region in the pool games.

“It was a credit to the girls and the local clubs in getting 11 girls to the carnival after we had three girls compete in 2014.

“Hopefully what was on display on the weekend is a sign of great things to come,” Moore said.