The event took place at Epsom Huntly Reserve, Bendigo over two days on 24^th-25^th March.

51 Clubs from around Australia had teams representing them during Boys & Girls FC 2018 tournament.

After a blistering opening in Round 1 of the qualification round we found ourselves on top of the division with a 9-1 win recorded over Bendigo.

That win was the most resounding of the tournament for their age division and sent a fair warning to the competition that The Sky Blues had come to play.

Some brilliant link up play from the backline, through the middle and some very composed finishing really put the touches on a very fine display.

The squad was competently coached by Gareth Lewis and Justin Knott, and ably assisted by Ed Wildemast.

The boys in this squad have been under the tutorledge of the above mentioned coaches in the lead up to the tournament, and many of them for a few years beforehand.

Despite a few of the lads being new to the coaching regime, they all showed signs of that familiar style of Gisborne play that this age group has been customary to producing.

The Second round saw Gisborne meet up with Geelong Rangers. A very physical encounter saw Gisborne come out of many 50/50 decisions on the wrong side of the ledger.

Some squandered opportunities up front, and some loose possession in the middle enabled Geelong to gain a win 4-2 despite Gisborne dominating large parts of the game.

Round 3 saw Gisborne pitted against the eventual Cup Winners in Redsea FC. Once again, a match that could have gone either way, the scoreboard reflected a 4-1 score-line at the final whistle, which was not an indication of how close the game was.

Gisborne were the only side to score against Redsea throughout the carnival, and the tally of 1 goal would have been considerably more with any luck at all.

Going into day 2 there were lots of sore legs, cramp, muscle-twinges, and blurry eyes. (And that was just from the coaches!).

The “Knockout” stage had begun – we were into the Bendigo Plate Semi-Finals.

Once again, Gisborne started like greased lightning and were irrepressible.

The scoresheet reflected 6-1, most people watching the game thought that the game felt like a 10-1 victory.

Gisborne did not allow PRO IITHIAS FE to play their game at all.

Gisborne went through day 2 undefeated, taking down Montrose SC in the Bendigo Plate Final 2-1 in extra time.

Gisborne dominated the first half, but it was an agonising 19 minute wait before that first goal game.

The second half was much like the first, with Gisborne dominating everywhere but the scoreboard.

Amist a mess of arms and legs, and falling players, an unlucky penalty saw Montrose bring the score to 1-1 in the dying seconds of the match.

In the 5 minutes of extra time, every player just kept finding the will to continue. The winner came at the 4 minute mark and Gisborne were assured of victory.

The tournament organisers were impressed with both the quality of the players that Gisborne presented, but also the manner in which they conducted themselves.