U16 National Champs Roundup

A rest worked wonders for Tasmania’s teams at the Hockey Australia Under 16s championships in Adelaide which wrapped up last week.

Going into the back half of the competition winless, the sides knew they could do more after their return from the competition rest day.

The boys team showed their intent early when they came up against the NSW Blues as Tom Groom scored just two minutes into the game. Cruze Gray was best afield for Tasmania and scored twice, while Fergus Doerner was among those who stepped up when NSW rallied late in the game with two quick goals. The game finished with Tasmania on top 5-2.

Tasmania’s girls team also came up against the Blues in game four and had some strong passages of play but could not get on the scoreboard, going down by four goals. Frances Boyles was player of the match continuing her strong tournament, with solid performances by Matilda Bellinger and Harriet Sproule.

The momentum from their first win gave the boys plenty of confidence in their match against the ACT and again it was Groom who was first to score with a classy field goal. Maitland Sayer was strong across the half line and pushed the side into attack repeatedly as the best-on-ground for the team, with Cruze Gray, Joey Bush and Peter Mackey all scoring in a 4-0 win to Tasmania.

A determined girls team took to the field against the Victoria Development side and despite Victoria being first on the scoreboard, they continued to play good hockey and levelled through Claudia Windsor 26 minutes in. Victoria got back in front but a late goal from player of the match Harriet Sproule saw Tasmania grind out a draw and their first points of the tournament, with Frances Goulding also a strong contributor.

The boys came up against Western Australia Black in their classification game, fighting for a seventh position finish, and didn’t let an early goal to the Sandgropers dull their energy. They levelled through Cruze Gray before a maiden goal from Lachlan Rafferty saw Tasmania in front. It looked like going to the break level after a W.A. goal, before Gray streaked down the field for a second late in the second quarter. The Tassie defence stepped up and repelled multiple attacks, while best-on-ground Peter Mackey worked both ends of the field and sealed the match with a goal in the third. The strong performance saw the boys finish in seventh out of the 12 teams at the tournament.

The girls team came up against the Northern Territory in their classification game for eleventh place, and played some of their best hockey during the game. Claudia Windsor added to her tally with a goal in the 10th minute and this proved to be the difference in a 1-0 victory to Tasmania. Frances Boyles was again the best-on-ground for Tasmania, with strong performances from Meg Brewer and Mia Greatbatch.

In the boys team the most valuable player of the tournament went to Cruze Gray, with the coach’s award going to Zeppelin Barnard, while the joint MVP for the girls was shared by Harriet Sproule and Frances Boyles, with the coach’s award going to Lucy Meikle.