The Under 16s Division One Kiama Knights team will take on the Wests Devils in the Major Semi Final on August 24, and a win will take them one step closer to history.

The same team has won the competition two years in a row and a win on Saturday will put them through to the grand final and give them a chance to win their third competition in a row.

“It’s been over 20 years since the last Kiama Junior Knights Division One team achieved back-to-back premierships in 2001 and 2002 under the coaching of Stephan Timms and Allan Piper and the Captain was Matt O'Brien, who will return to the Senior Club next year as First Grade Coach,” says team manager Bianca Guevara.

The team lost only two games in the 2024 regular season and finished as minor premiers. One of their losses was against Wests, the team they’ll face on Saturday, but team trainer and assistant coach Cindy Brookfield says that if they stick to the game plan, they will have no problems.

“I feel like if they stick to the plan that the coaches have set for them and if each player completes their role then they’ll be able to find success. They’ve just got to believe in each other and work as a team as they’ve been doing all year,” she says.

Brooksfield attributes a lot of the team’s success to their coaching staff which includes herself, Benny Brookfield and former NRL player Josh Starling.

“The boys have really thrived in the environment. The coaches always take them to a challenge point and the boys always want to learn more. Because of the level of coaching they have, they’ve been able to expand their drills and make sure that the boys’ knowledge and skills are progressing,” says Brookfield.

But she also credits both the close knit nature of the team and the community feel of the Kiama Knights football club as contributing factors to the boys’ success.

“The boys all mainly go to Kiama High, so they’re always around each other which creates a great spirit of camaraderie. It's (Kiama Knights) a good community club and the boys are very happy to help out the younger boys. They’ll get to training early and kick the ball together and it’s good to have that sense of community,” says Brookfield.

The U16’s Division One team will take on the Wests Devils at Chittick Oval on August 24 at 12pm. If they win they will be through to the grand final, if they lose they will get another chance next week.