The joy of kicking a Sherrin around was relished by hundreds of newly arrived migrants and refugees at the 2016 Game On! AMES Australia Cup this week.
Hosted at Victoria University Whitten Oval in wintery conditions, the weather didn’t dampen the spirits of the participants who were keen to put their skills to the test in an AFL 9s style format.
In partnership with AMES Australia and the Western Bulldogs, the Game On! AMES Australia Cup aims to engage multicultural people through the vehicle of Australian football and provide them with the opportunity to make friends, establish community connections as well as practice English in a social setting.
In its second year, the Game On! AMES Australia Cup event brought together men and women from 20 different countries .
This year’s teams comprised of English language students from AMES Australia Centres from across Melbourne including Footscray, St Albans, Nobel Park, Werribee, Box Hill and Flagstaff and two teams from Dandenong.
The Western Bulldogs-backed Werribee team were unstoppable in the Pool A division, winning all three of its round robin matches to finish on top of the ladder over Dandenong 1, St. Albans and the second Bulldogs-backed entrant Footscray.
Dandenong 2 was the dominant force in Pool B, toppling a competitive Box Hill, Noble Park and Flagstaff outfits to advance to the Grand Final match.
In an east versus west Grand Final decider, it was Werribee who came out on top, taking home the second Game On! AMES Australia Cup trophy.
With the scores tied at the end of regular time, it was the Werribee side that broke the deadlock with a last minute goal in extra time to secure the trophy.
ABOVE: Werribee AMES Australia Centre tream celebrate their victory in the AMES Australia Cup.
ABOVE: AFL Multicultural Ambassador and Bulldogs half-back Jason Johannisen presents medals to the winning
Werribee AMES Australia Team.
ABOVE: Werribbe AMES Australia teammates celebrate the match-winning goal in the AMES Australia Cup Grand Final.
ABOVE: Werribee AMES Australia player burst from the back in the Grand Final match-up.
ABOVE: Werribee AMES Australia player kicks out from full-back in the Grand Final match-up.
