Bianca and Indy Mulligan, Sarah Hofman, Mackenzie Abra and Tess Chambers were ambassadors at the Oceania Cup in Sydney.

As ambassadors the girls accompanied the players onto the pitch, and had the opportunity to talk to and get photos with the players.

“It was awesome,” Tamworth junior girls convener Lou Mulligan said.

“The girls loved it.”

They led the Papua New Guinea men’s side out for their game against New Zealand and the New Zealand women’s team when they played Australia, with Bianca Mulligan partnering one of the Hockeyroos keepers. She and Hofman also had the chance to have a run on the field at half-time.

“It was just a great experience for them all,” Mulligan said.

Another Tamworth junior Nick O’Connor has meanwhile been selected in the NSW U15 boys indoor hockey side to play at the nationals.

The NSW boys and girls sides to represent NSW in January were named following last weekend’s State Championships on the Central Coast where O’Connor’s Tamworth side made the semi-finals.

New England also performed particularly well finishing runner-up in both the boys and girls, and were rewarded at the selection table with Jake McCann and Nathan Czinner making the boys side and New England’s Lily Neilson and Chelsea Thornton the girls.