The StreetSmarts SUNS Academy had plenty to celebrate with both Talent League squads securing wins on Sunday at People First Stadium.

U18W v Murray Bushrangers

The Under 18 StreetSmarts SUNS Academy Girls defeated the Murray Bushrangers 9.11 (65) to 3.1 (19) to secure their first victory of the season.

After a falling short in several tight contests earlier in the campaign, StreetSmarts SUNS Academy Operations and Communications Coordinator Sal Carter said the result was well-earned.

“It was a fantastic reward for the hard effort from the last couple of games from the girls,” Carter commented.

“It all came together for this match, and we played really attacking footy.

“Our aim for the game was to really focus on our first quarter performance. We'd been quite slow to start in our last few games, and the girls came out fast and firing which set us up for the rest of the game.”

Serving across the SUNS territory as a small forward and midfielder in previous weeks, Sienna Burnham (16 disposals, six i50s) was clean in her first consistent outing as a midfielder.

Amongst seven goal scorers, Thursday Island talent Mistee Sagigi snagged her first major of the campaign.

Five Under 16 athletes including Harriet Howe and All Australian talents Lily Moana, Eliza Davenport, Ally McKenzie and Tigerlily Nixon featured in the SUNS side on Sunday and will be looking to push for selection again in Round 6 against the Tasmania Devils.

Best Players:

Sienna Burnham, Annabelle Foat, Lilly-ann Ryder, Amelia Ella, Sienna Clinch, Lily Moana

U18M v Murray Bushrangers

The Under 18 StreetSmarts SUNS Academy Boys claimed an emphatic 17.8 (110) to 6.7 (43) win over the Murray Bushrangers with a host of goal scorers contributing to the 11-goal domination.

StreetSmarts SUNS Academy U18M Head Coach Jarrod Cotton was pleased with the consistent brand of SUNS footy on display.

“It was a really solid four-quarter performance, probably the most consistent game we've played,” Cotton said.

“The Bushrangers are a good aggressive contest team and good pressure tackling team, so we matched them in that area, which was great. Then we were able to get them on the outside with our ball movement, which was really pleasing.”

Small forward Caleb Williams (18 disposals) was influential in the SUNS territory asserting a mountain of tackle pressure to go with three goals. Midfielder Isaac Mayne (24 disposals, six i50s) also nailed three of his own while Cooper Collins (26 disposals, eight intercept possessions) made an impact across half-back on return from Gold Coast SUNS VFL side.

The SUNS are comfortably perched three rungs above 14th placed Tasmania and will be looking to defeat the Devils this Sunday at Launceston’s Windsor Park.

“Tassie are always strong team, but especially playing in Tasmania will be a good challenge for the group,” Cotton added

“Now they’ve got two wins on the board and a bit of confidence in how they’re going about their footy, it'll be a good development game.”

Best Players:

Isaac Mayne, Leroy Kaesler, Cooper Collins, Cooper Johnson, Caleb Williams, Benjamin Crawford

U16M

The Under 16 StreetSmarts SUNS Academy Boys hit the track for the first time as a 30-man-squad on Tuesday afternoon, in preparation for the 2026 AFL Marsh National Development Championships in July.