Hills Hornets Touch Football claims two southern conference Junior State Cup titles

The Hills Hornets Touch Football Association is thriving with the new format of the Junior State Cup, coming away from the southern conference finals with two titles.

Tommy Watson dives for the line for the Hills Hornets under-18 boys during the southern conference finals of the Junior State Cup. Pictures: Kathryn Johnston Photography

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The Hills Hornets Touch Football Association is thriving with the new format of the Junior State Cup, coming away from the southern conference finals with two titles.

In order to accommodate rising player numbers, this year’s Junior State Cup was split into southern and northern conferences.

The Hills’ under-12 girls and under-18 boys sides are champions at the southern conference finals in Wagga Wagga recently.

Matilda Bloomfield crosses the line for the under-18 girls.

The under-18 boys lost just one match on the way to a thrilling 12-11 grand final victory over Wests while the under-12 girls claimed the title without a single loss, beating Orange 12-6 in the final.

“The Hornets’ performance at the southern conference was exceptional …,” Hornets president Brad Mitchell said.

“Due to the new structure of the competition, the expectations were unknown (but) we always planned to perform well with some brilliant coaches at the club leading the talented players.”

Liam Haskins tries a spectacular dive for the corner.

As a result of their stellar efforts, the Hornets will have eight teams competing in next month’s state finals in Wollongong.

“Out of the 10 teams that could qualify for state finals, a total of 8 teams from Hills progressed which was fantastic for the club,” Mitchell said.

Hills Hornets under-18 boys were crowned southern conference champions.

“The under-12 girls will head to Wollongong as a top contender for the state championship (while) the under-18 boys (are) full of confidence knowing they can beat the best teams in the state.”