There was an atmosphere of excitement and anticipation around the ground with the first matches of the season. Both parents and players alike, couldn't wait to get started. After weeks of training and practice, the first matches of full contact couldn't come soon enough. All the hard work had prepared the Nottingham Casuals U9s players for today's contest.
Melbourne arrived fully prepared, with a similar excitement and sense of expectation.
Casuals fielded two teams. Melbourne fielded one and together created a Barbarians team. Well done to Hedley, Freddie and Owen for volunteering and joining the other players.
Both sides during each match produced some great running, tries and tackles. What was great to see, was the commitment from every player in the tackle and the effort to keep going and keep trying. The epitome of this was Thomas. He earned Player of the Week for consistently well timed and powerful tackles and a produced a wonderful performance.
The crowd left buzzing. The players left smiling. The coaches left very proud.