Having both played at a few State level carnivals previously, the last carnival was the under 13 veto tournament, which taught the boys new soccer skills and lifestyle changes to perform at a higher level.

Six teams were involved in the tournament, including Capital Football New Zealand, North West Tasmania, Northern NSW Hunter and Northern NSW Regional, SA Country and SA Metro.

The SA Country came third overall with the SA Metro coming first.

The experience was one to remember for the lads, both hoping to one day have the opportunity to do it again.

The following organisations should be thanked for allowing them to have the opportunity to perform at this state level: One Steel, Blackwoods, Whyalla Gift, Hahndorf Inn, Westland Shopping Centre, Topz Shopz Deli, Whyalla High, NASA, Lions Junior Soccer Association and McLeod's Motor Company.

Thirteenth-year- old Whyalla Croatian Knights player Cohan Morris, who has been a regular player with the Whyalla select and State identification teams, said he was delighted to have been given the opportunity to play with the eighth Australian Country Team that recently played in Newcastle.

He said it was a great learning experience to play against and alongside some of the best under 13 soccer players from around Australia and New Zealand, and hoped to have more of the same experience in the future to help develop his game further.

A personal highlight of the tournament was scoring two goals, one of which was a winning goal against the tournament winner, the Adelaide metro team.

The boys would like to say a big thanks to their families, team mates and coaching staff for a wonderful experience.