Local stars shine at Barry Cameron Memorial tournament as young talent puts on a show

Indigenous representatives from around the State gathered at Warwick Stadium to compete in the fourth annual Barry Cameron Memorial, with Geraldton taking out the senior men’s final. The Barry Cameron Memorial was established after Cameron’s death to commemorate his enduring contribution towards Indigenous youth through sport. Geraldton players enjoyed success as part of the Jambinu squad taking out the senior men’s A final with a win over the Magic in the grand final. They opened their tournament with a tight win over the Pioneers by three points before going down to the Magic by six in their next game. It would be their only loss of the tournament as they won three games in a row to easily qualify for the quarterfinals. There, Johny Narkle powered them past the Bindoowa Bulls with 21 points while Richard Bartlett led the way in the semifinal with 16 points to down the Reds. Facing Magic, who were coming off their own five-game winning streak, in the final, the result was never in doubt as Narkle posted 22 points, with four threes, with support from Tyrone Papertalk Jr, who added 12. Narkle finished as the top scorer of the tournament with 146 points. The women’s Jambinu squad also enjoyed a strong tournament, making it to the semifinals, before going down to eventual champion Binar Red in the semifinal. They suffered a tough one-point loss in their opening game before rebounding to beat Kalgoorlie by two to kickstart a three-game winning streak and finish in fourth place after the group stages. Against the Conquerers in the quarterfinal, 12 points from Allee Bartlett proved enough in a six-point win. They then took on the undefeated Binar Red team but they were outclassed and held to just nine points as only three players hit the scoreboard. Sienna Forsyth finished as the top performer with 52 points while Sakiya Cross contributed 48 and Allee Bartlett added 45.