The North West secondary schoolgirls hockey side have been commended for their fighting spirit and rated a potential future force following day two of the State CHS Championships at Tamworth on Wednesday.
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The home side narrowly lost their two matches on Wednesday but team manager Kim Kelly praised the side for never giving up.
In their first match, North West went down 3-2 to Western after trailling 2-0.
They then lost 1-0 to Sydney North.
The side have had one win from four matches, beating Riverina 2-0 on the opening day of the championships on Tuesday.
North West play Sydney East on Thursday to decide seventh and eighth spots.
“They were great – they really dug in,” Kelly said in reference to the Western game.
“They scored two early goals and the girls came back to still be in contention, which is really good.
“They just worked so hard, so very determined. They didn’t give up.
“The workrate from all our girls was exceptional.”
In the second match, Kelly said North West were unlucky not to win.
She said the side had several good scoring opportunities that they could not capitalise on.
“They were just really unlucky not to put one in the back of the net,” she said.
“Their attack was fantastic.
“They came out a lot stronger than the first game, which was something I wanted to focus on.”
Kelly said the future was bright for the side.
She said a lot of the players would qualify for next year’s championships.
Some would also be available for selection for the 2018 championships.
“It’s a wonderful foundation,” she said.
“It’s something to work on over the next couple of years – that’s for sure.”
The North West side consists of six Oxley High School players, four Tamworth High School players, two Guyra Central School players and one player each from Armidale High School and Duval High School.
Ten teams are competing in the championships this year, including Hunter, Sydney North, Sydney South West and North Coast.
The other teams include Western and Sydney West.