Expanded SCU Cup football competition returns for 2016

The Southern Cross University Cup high school football competition has been expanded in 2016, with Alstonville joining the race to find the region’s top high school team when the teenagers take to the field this week.

The Southern Cross University Cup kicks off tomorrow (Wednesday July 27) (boys) and Thursday July 28 (girls), from 4.30pm both days.

The Cup’s inaugural year in 2015 saw students representing Trinity Catholic College and St John’s College Woodlawn, along with teams from The Rivers Secondary College (including the Lismore High, Richmond River and Kadina High Campuses), go head-to-head in a round robin tournament.

Trinity Catholic College came out on top in both the boys’ and girls’ divisions.

“Trinity are again looming as the side to beat but with tight contests a regular feature of the inaugural Cup and the addition of the strong Alstonville team, they’ll face tough competition for this year’s title,” said Scott Collis, Southern Cross Football Centre general manager.

“We saw some great games last year so it’s exciting for us to welcome Alstonville to an expanded competition.”

Southern Cross University will again host the Cup tournament under lights on the world-class synthetic field at the Southern Cross Football Centre.

The Southern Cross University Cup was the brainchild of local teachers Tony Wilson, John Eakin and Jim Holmes who wanted a local football competition to complement the hugely successful Bill Turner Cup which already attracts teams from all over NSW.

“The Bill Turner is a fantastic competition but it is a knockout so many local schools have only a short involvement and have limited opportunities for other games,” said Kadina High's Tony Wilson.

“The beauty of the round robin SCU Cup is that school teams get to play consistently over six weeks.”

Mr Collis said the competition start time of 4.30pm was good for families.

“Most parents rarely get to see the children play for their school. We are extremely grateful to a wonderful group of teachers who are giving their time outside of normal school hours to enable families to support their sons and daughters,” he said.

The SCU Cup finals will be played on August 31.

Photo: St Johns College Woodlawn (left) playing The Rivers Secondary College Kadina High Campus during one of last year's SCU Cup games.