Grafton’s u15s hockey brave cold, distance to almost reach the top at state titles

One goal was the difference between relegation and almost winning the entire tournament, but up against huge squads, Grafton’s sole side made their town proud

Grafton under 15's girls hockey side who came second in the state at recent state titles

Grafton’s sole team in the under-15 girls state hockey team battled bitter cold, a long trip and tough opposition to almost come away with the top prize of all.

Facing strong teams from across the state, the girls lost the Division 1 final 2-1 to Northern Sydney Beaches, scoring in the last 10 minutes and pushing the strong Sydney team all the way to the end.

Manager Angela Hinterholzl said it was a mammoth effort from the Grafton girls who represented their small association with pride.

“We played mostly Sydney teams, and they’ve got really big areas to draw on,” she said.

“We don’t have a big area, but we’ve still got such good talent in our team. We were the only country team in the final, and we did so well - second in the state!”

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After a nine-hour trip to Lithgow, the girls played out a cold 0-0 draw, but a strong 3-2 win over Illawarra South Coast changed the momentum for the side on Friday night.

“It really lifted their spirits,” Ms Hinterholzl said. “Coming down here we had no idea of where we sat. We had a totally different group of girls coming through after not playing in 2020.

Grafton under 15's girls hockey side who came second in the state at recent state titles

However, a loss first up on the second day to Goulburn made them realise how close the division was, and how important their last pool game would be.

“They were a bit down in the dumps, but they knew they had to win that last game, and win big,” Ms Hinterholzl.

That’s exactly what they did, with a 1-0 win over Sydney South lifting them to the top of the table, winning the pool by virtue of the goal scored in that game.

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“It was such a close pool, and it was so even that if we had’ve lost that last pool game we could’ve ended up in a relegation match,” Ms Hinterholzl.

With a renewed focus, the side swept a strong Sydney East side 2-0 to make the finals.

Unfortunately, the side were put under pressure early by the strong Northern Sydney Beaches side, and went ahead by two goals.

With ten minutes left, Grafton clawed one back, and although they finished strongly, couldn’t find the equaliser.

“The girls had sat in the cold all day for the final, and meeting Northern Sydney Beaches who had a lot of state players in their team it was a tough match,” Ms Hinterholzl said.

The moment Grafton's Martina Williams struck her second goal of the grand final, putting NSW up 4-2 and taking her tally to a tournament high eight goals at the 2021 Australian Under-15 Girls Hockey Championships at Bathurst on Thursday, 15th April, 2021.

She paid tribute to her charges who went as the lone team from the association, and showed again the strength of Grafton hockey.

As an added bonus, the Grafton side had five girls selected for further honours from the tournament, with Ms Hinterholzl saying that many of them could have been picked such was the standard.

“We have had five girls make the state squads,” she said. “Maia Adamson and Alice Hughes as defensive players, Eliza Berrick and Caitlan Amos in the mid field in U/15‘s and Martina Williams in AAP (U/18’s) for 2022.

“They will now attend selection trials for state teams. Congratulations to the girls.”

Grafton will now host the under 13’s girls state titles starting next Friday at the hockey centre.