The side, coached by Bec D’Ambros and Natalie Psarakis, has been promoted to the B Division and in an ironic twist plays the Jessie McKenzie-coached Tamworth As in the third game of the championships at 8am

tomorrow.

“It’s going to be a big challenge for the girls,” said co-coach Psarakis who had just finished playing in the North West CHS Girls’ Hockey Championship in Bathurst.

A young North West side lost its semi-final 3-1 to South Coast yesterday.

“We had a good week, finishing third was great for us. We were missing a few rep players and had a young side.”

She and Bec D’Ambros have a young side on their hands this weekend too.

“They are very young,” Psarakis said.

“They have all stepped up from last year’s Under 11 side. And they are playing in the A Division too. That’s a big challenge for them. It will be good for their development and experience and should be good fun.

“They’ve been training together for the past two months too and two weeks ago they had a Northern Lights tournament in Armidale. They went really well up there and didn’t lose a game.”

Psarakis’s weekend brightened up considerably when she and North West teammate Annita Cryer were named in the State CHS team.

NW coach Greg Allen said both deserved their selections.

He also said Melanie Courtney was his side’s most valuable player for the week.

Of the 3-1 semi-final loss he said NW had tried hard.

“It was a good game, an excellent game of hockey,” he said.

“I was very happy with the girls. South Coast are a good team and while they were beaten 1-nil by Sydney South West in the final, I’d like to think we took it out of them in the semi.”

He said North West did well with a “fairly young side”,

“We lose four Year 12 girls but we’re missing a couple of rep players as well, We’ll build up again for next year.”