The Sheffield Hallam Women Warriors this weekend competed in the Opal Series national finals right here in Sheffield, along with their development side the Hallam Rangers, nationally placing 7th and 12th respectively.
The flag football finals, a culmination of teams from all over the country who had ranked highest in their previous regional tournaments, took place on Saturday at King Edward VII Lower School, with teams in attendance ranging from East Kilbride in Scotland to Hyde Park, London. The Warriors qualified for the day having finished 3rd in the Northern Division with the Rangers just missing out on a place, finishing 7th.
The day before the event was due to take place, the Portsmouth Dreadnaughts were forced to pull out of the day, and so the Hallam Rangers were asked to fill their place.
The day before the event was due to take place, the Portsmouth Dreadnaughts were forced to pull out of the day, and so the Hallam Rangers were asked to fill their place.
Both teams played strong football, and were competitive throughout the day. While the Coventry Cougars' side, brimming with GB Lions, were once again Opal Series Champions, the Sheffield Hallam Warriors and Rangers can come away from the day with a strong sense of pride. And with so many rookies making plays on both sides, the coaches will feel very positive going forwards into next year's Opal Series and will look to improve upon this competition's good results.
Rangers coach, Tom Fowkes, who also coaches the Hallam Warriors' wide receiver corps, was delighted with how his side performed this series: "This season has arguably been one of my favourites.
"What surprised me this year with the Rangers in particular was that whilst being a 90% rookie team we managed to get 2 wins and take some good sides closer than anyone in the league would have expected of us, especially Nottingham Gold on the final day losing by just one point!".
"What surprised me this year with the Rangers in particular was that whilst being a 90% rookie team we managed to get 2 wins and take some good sides closer than anyone in the league would have expected of us, especially Nottingham Gold on the final day losing by just one point!".
Fowkes is excited for the next season already, with high expectations for his side: "If the rookies have performed like this in their first season I can see a lot more wins for the Rangers next year. Each rookie made some big contributions this season with touchdowns, interceptions and sacks which was extremely pleasing to see."
Whilst he wasn't keen on singling out people on the pitch for their efforts, as all of the players made plays and performed well, he did reserve a special mention for one person in particular as part of a group who have done more than their share of the work: "I'd like to do a big shout-out to the girls on the committee for organising everything this year and also for being leaders on the field, for the Rangers Charley Jamieson in her final year was a huge part of why this team did as well as it did".
Whilst he wasn't keen on singling out people on the pitch for their efforts, as all of the players made plays and performed well, he did reserve a special mention for one person in particular as part of a group who have done more than their share of the work: "I'd like to do a big shout-out to the girls on the committee for organising everything this year and also for being leaders on the field, for the Rangers Charley Jamieson in her final year was a huge part of why this team did as well as it did".