New Zealand teams shine at Australian National State Championships with three medals
It was a successful outing for our New Zealand teams at the Australian National State Championships on the Gold Coast, with three of our four teams coming home with medals. Well done to all our teams on a fantastic championships!
Check out the full results from the championships, here.
15&U Men - Gold
Our 15&U men put up a dominant display over the five days of competition, winning eight from nine games and taking home the gold medal.
The single loss came from a round-robin game against New South Wales, with the two teams going on to face off in the gold medal match. In the final, New Zealand got off to a stellar start, with the team developing a strong lead over the first two quarters before fending off a surging New South Wales team in the final quarter to take the win by a single goal.
Zachary Gleeson and Henry Moore led our U15 men's team for goals scored over the tournament, with Gleeson scoring 21 goals and Moore managing 20.
15&U Women - Bronze
It was bronze for our 15&U women on the Gold Coast, delivering seven wins from nine games over the course of the championships.
The bronze medal match showed our New Zealand team in a league of their own, dominating the team from the Australian Capital Territory to take the win by five goals. There was a great spread of players scoring goals throughout the tournament, with seven team members scoring in the final game alone.
Bridget Mihaljevich and Henrietta Yarrell-Stevenson were the joint top goal scorers for our 15&U women across the tournament, each scoring 14 goals.
17&U Men - Fourth Place
Our 17&U men put up a great fight to narrowly miss out on a medal and earn fourth place, taking three wins from nine games.
There were some tough round robin stage games for our 17&U men, however the team continued to develop as the championships went on, earning a spot in the semi-finals and then gaining the opportunity to fight for bronze. The team fought right until the very end in the bronze medal match to take fourth place by just two goals. With five of the team's nine goals scored in the final quarter, it was an impressive show of resilience and grit.
Jett Evans was the top goal scorer for our 17&U men over the tournament, managing 24 goals.
17&U Women - Bronze
Our 17&U women made it three podium finishes for New Zealand, earning six wins from nine games to take the bronze medal.
After going down to New South Wales by a single goal in the semi-final, our 17&U women left it all in the pool in their bronze medal match against Victoria - taking the win by eight goals. Despite the Victorian squad leading at the end of the first quarter, our New Zealand squad were in a league of their own over the following three quarters to take the bronze medal in convincing fashion.
Leni Webster was the top goals scorer for our 17&U women, with 16 goals earned over the course of the tournament.
