Carat overpowers IPG Mediabrands to win Agency of Origin

Arvind Hickman
By Arvind Hickman | 27 May 2016
 
Mediabrands (black and white) played Carat in the Agency of Origin decider.

Carat has defeated IPG Mediabrands 3-2 to defend its Agency of Origin touch footy title at North Sydney Oval on Thursday.

The event, hosted by The Footy Show's Beau Ryan, attracted more than 200 media buyers from 14 agencies.

Teams that took part included MediaCom, MEC, Mindshare, Match & Havas, Vivaki, Carat, Ikon & TMS, Dentsu & Aegis, OMD, PHD, Bohemia and IPG Mediabrands.

At the business end of the tournament, Carat beat MEC and Mediabrands accounted for MediaCom to make it to the decider.

Carat, the defending champions, ran in three unanswered tries in a dominant first half before IPG Mediabrands worked its way back into the game with a second half touchdown. 

Despite playing on "tired legs", Carat's stubborn defence had too many answers for Mediabrands, who managed to score a second try with the final play of the match.

Carat captain and Sydney managing director Dan Sinfield told AdNews his team's success owed much to the strength of its female footy stars.

"We have a good team of young and old (which is mostly myself), but the difference was the strength of our four girls," said Sinfield, who shares the same surname and win-at-all-costs mindset as former England rugby league great, Kevin.

"In the first half we got up 3-0, but Mediabrands put up a good shout and clawed it back a bit.

"It was a great day and brilliantly hosted by Nine."

This is the second year Nine has put on the Agency of Origin tournament and part of its aim is to generate a buzz around next week's State of Origin opener. 

Although Sinfield is rooting for the NSW Blues, he believes the Queensland Maroons will start out as "worthy favourites" - a burden that Carat must now carry into next year's Agency of Origin tournament.

Here are some highlights from the day.

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