Castlereagh All Blacks win National Indigenous Touch Football Knockout

Prestwidge was a member of the victorious All Blacks side who took out the National Indigenous Touch Football Knockout in Dubbo.

Castlereagh made it four successive titles by defeating Newcastle Yowies 6-5 in the grand final on Sunday, November 5.

Prestwidge, who represented Australia at youth level earlier this year said it was a challenging but rewarding experience lining up alongside some of the best players in the country.

"It was my first time playing and I'm very grateful for the opportunity," she said.

"I got to play with some Australian open touch players who I got to learn so many things from.

"Personally I had to play a new position so learning that through the weekend was nice and keeping up with the boys is hard sometimes but I did my job and just listened to what I had to do.

"I think the highlight was just getting to play with an amazing group of players who I've always looked up to and taking in all their knowledge they provided throughout the weekend."

In what was a repeat of the 2022 final, Castlereagh had to fight hard to hold on against their Hunter opponents according to captain Harry West.

"Yowies threw everything at us and we threw everything at them," West said.

"That game came down to the last 10 minutes and that's when you've got to grind and everyone has to pick their games up.

"It's all about those one percenters. It's no just about running holes, it's so precise and strategic.

"Yowies were so good but that's four-in-a-row and it's really good."

West also reserved praise for Prestwidge's performance.

"Madi [Drew] is a gun. Caitlin Prestwidge killed it and so did our girl wingers," West added.

"It all comes down the girls and we're not going to do it without them. If they drop a ball out on the wing it's costly but they're catching absolute rockets."

Pambilang Coastals won the under 12s and the under 16s divisions, the latter in a brilliant final which finished in a three-v-three drop-off after it finished level at full-time.

In the opens, Castlereagh finished top of a division that featured 11 teams.

"It's all about the youth coming through and we're trying to breed a good generation because they'll take over very shortly," West said.

"To see those two Newcastle going to a drop-off in the grand final was unreal.

"It's a good tournament. There was people who threw teams in two or three days ago. They got 10 or 12 people together and then these kids were just running around.

"The best thing about this is everyone is inclusive and they get around it. There's no bad behaviour and it's a really good environment."

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