Hi Rangers,

With the girls finishing their season one week earlier, six Rangers teams took to the park on the weekend for the final time in 2011.

The under 12 boys defeated Riverside to finish the season in third place. Congratulations to Jason Reid and Josh Hinds on a job well done. Jason and Josh have persisted with pass and move football at an age where it doesn't always bring the rewards at the end of the match. The foundations can now be built on further in 2012.

Hi Rangers,

Starting with the under 16 boys this week, and the Reds had the bye. Importantly, the Southern Raiders took a point off Olympic with a draw, and the Reds are now back in the hunt. The equation is simple: win both remaining matches, against the Blues and Olympic, and win the league.

The under 12 boys regressed after a fine performance 7 days ago, and had to scrabble for a late goal to earn a 3-3 draw against Riverside. Passing was off, and first touches were also poor, with a number of opportunities in front of goal being lost to a poor first touch. Movement off the ball was a little lazy, making the work of the ball carrier more difficult and forcing decision errors. Need to change up a gear next week.

Hi all,

A round to forget!

Illness, forfeits, and the success of "bomb it long" made for a forgettable round of NTJSA matches this weekend.

Under 12 boys got over George Town 7-1, and now sit third on the ladder. They play the top side on Saturday, and will need to be at their best to win. The boys have been good in patches this year, but their lack of consistency has been a problem. They have the potential to beat any side in the competition, and would push division 1 sides as well, but potential counts for nothing if they don't bring their A game when it counts.

Under 12 boys got up for a good win over their Southern Raiders opponents, 6-1 I believe. Matthew Collins has made the right wing his own, and Callum Vanderkley was again very good. Didn't quite nail some of the basics in the first half but improved as the match went on.

Under 12 boys defeated Southern Raiders Pirates 4-0. Against a very spirited opponent, playing with only 9, the boys were always going to get the points. It was just a matter of how far, and how well they played. They had too many shots to count in the first half, dominating play, but were only 1-0 up at the half, due to some of finest goal keeping I have seen at that level in a long time. Whether she knows it or not, the young Pirate keeper is state quality, and not a bad field player either. She had a run in the second half, and despite her replacement being pretty handy himself, Rangers slotted 3 more for an easy win. Matthew Collins and Tyler Worthington were busy for Rangers.

Under 12 boys went down to the Westside Shamrocks 3-0 in what was an evenly fought contest in general field play. Conceding 2 penalties was also going to make the job more difficult. However the boys battled right to the end, and the busiest player in the last 10 minutes was the Shamrocks goal keeper who made a couple of fine saves to deny Rangers a goal from their many thrusts forward.

Northern Rangers juniors scored 20 points from a possible 21 in the NTJSA round 3 of league matches on Saturday, with only the highly fancied under 14 Red Rangers coming away with a score draw, while all other teams took 3 points. The Red Rangers had key defenders out, and fell victim to the persistence of counter attacking football and a few well placed long shots. The boys created more opportunities, and while not at their best, played the better football, and shouldn't be too disappointed with the result.

Mixed results for Rangers in round 2.

With seeding matches and pre season cups behind us, Northern Rangers got down to business on Saturday winning all 6 matches in league round 1.

Well done to the Northern Rangers Under 14's who took out their age groups McDonalds Cup on the weekend, triumphing over Riverside 2-0 in a fine effort.  NTJSA manager Rod Foulton said after the game, “The game never reached the standard it should have, but if you can win a pressure match like this playing well below your best, the season ahead looks promising.”

Mitch Billing has been working with these boys all year and this is a great reward for the teams commitment and dedication so far and we look forward to more success during the season.

In other NTJSA news,

Under 12 boys were better organised in defence this week and made some nice moves down their wings. Josh Hyatt was best in a a 3-1 win, with the opposition goal coming later as the boys began to tire, which is a problem that the team is addressing.

Under 14 Red won the McDonald's Cup final 2-0, in an underwhelming performance. The game never reached the standard it should have, but if you can win a pressure match like this playing well below your best, the season ahead looks promising.

With the season just around the corner, the news for the NTJSA sides is as follows.