TWO out of three ain’t bad is the new catch cry for local soccer giants Medowie FC.

Established in the Port Stephens region since 1979, the club is celebrating a Newcastle Football junior interdistrict championship double after clinching Grand Final victories in the Under 12 and Under 14 Division One competitions last weekend.

But there was no joy for Matt Morris’ talented Under 15 Division 1 outfit that suffered a 1-0 Grand Final loss to Kotara South Tigers at King Park.

“We can sit back and reflect on a bumper season for Medowie FC with two championship victories and finals appearances by many of our junior and senior teams,” a delighted Club President Eric Dorn told News Of The Area.

“Moving forward the depth of talent in our ranks augurs well for the junior players in our system and indicates a bright future for the club,” quipped the championship-winning Under 14s coach.

It was a special day for Eric and his family with sons Jonah and skipper Kynan collecting championship medals with their respective Under 12s and Under 14 years teams.

After a hectic build up to the finals, the Medowie Under 12s showed their champion qualities in a 2-1 victory over Charlestown Hammers in the trophy decider at Cooranbong Sports Complex.

Prolific striker Lincoln Prout opened the scoring before promising centre midfielder and vice captain Jonah Dorn added a second before the break.

Goal scoring whiz Prout confirmed his status as one of the competition’s best marksmen throughout the season with a bagful of goals as the Medowie boys avenged their recent Grand Final qualifier loss to the Hammers in a penalty shoot out.

Team manager Nathan Marriott praised the efforts of his squad members with Prout and Dorn and star fullbacks Owen Kempf and Tom Shorter in scintillating form.

Dorn’s creativity and ability to feed his strikers was a feature along with Prout’s radar boot and the bustling defence of skipper Kempf and Shorter.

What made the Grand Final triumph the more meritorious was how the team focused throughout the finals with coach Jaye Walker, a RAAF representative at Williamtown, on duty in Alaska before flying home and missing the big clash.

During that period young gun Shorter and his family relocated to Brisbane with team management and parents chipping in to have the emerging fullback flown back to Medowie each Friday to experience the thrills and spills of finals football alongside his mates.

Thrust into the role of caretaker coach, the astute Marriott was able to confide with mentor Walker and engineer a championship-winning formula.

Other players to impress were goalkeeper Jaxon Everill, left back Noah Davison, striker Quincey Wilson, midfielders Caesar Lewis, Isaac Le Milliere and Kobie Marriott, right midfielder Abbie Mackey, left midfielder Jack Blue, right fullback Taylor Walker and centre midfielder Tyler Lavender.

Medowie Under 14s captured the Division 1 championship title after a thrilling 3-2 extra time victory over the Lambton Jaffas at Cooranbong Sports Complex.

Both teams were locked 1-all at full time before key striker Jake Newman grabbed a second goal along with midfielder Ethan Morvell to give the Bumblebees the edge.

For coach Dorn and manager Adelaide Morvell and their mighty colts the championship win erased the memories of last year’s Grand Final loss to Kahibah in the Under 13s decider.

Medowie exacted revenge over Kahibah in this year’s finals series and were ably led by talented centre midfielders Kynan Dorn and Lachie Davies and top goalkeeper prospect Lachlan Munoz.

Other players to shine during the successful 2023 campaign were fullbacks Joshua Moxey, Wilson Hall, Ethan Forbes, Dominic Le Milliere, strikers Newman and Oscar Peterson, centre midfielder Isaac Ball, midfielders Morvell and Blake Williams and Under 13s fullback Harry Mathieson and midfielder Caleb Pacevski.

By Chris KARAS