THREE of Pirates fastest-rising women's sevens stars played a pivotal role in helping Central North achieve its best ever result at the country championships.
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Elee Bowen, Alice O'Connor and Erika Maslen helped Central North make the final for the first time and walk away with a second-place finish.
Meanwhile, fellow Pirates member Abi Murray did her club proud while representing the president's side at the tournament.
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Central North coach Dale Beattie said this was a breakout year for his side and a sign of things to come.
"It was a massive weekend," Beattie told the Leader.
"We had a really young side, so to make the final for the first time ever was just awesome.
"From last year's champs, we only had three girls playing, so it was virtually a completely different team.
"They ground it out in every game and if a couple of things had gone differently in the final, who knows what might have happened."
The honours did not stop there for the side, as Maslen and Central North captain Kearni Churchland were selected in the tournament's dream team side.
"Those girls put in an amazing effort throughout the tournament," Beattie said.
"Kearni, who plays for Inverell, leads our side really well and who knows what might have happened had she not been off the ground with a broken nose during the final.
As for Erika, she has put in a lot of hard work and really deserved the honour and the chance to be selected in the UNE Lions side.
"The results are a real credit to our junior systems and hopefully a sign of more success in the future."
Beattie said he expected Central North could become one of the strongest zones for women's sevens in the state.
"Each year it just continues to get better and better," he said.
"The way they all played in very wet, miserable and cold conditions indicated how much they enjoy playing the game.
"Our junior ranks are very strong, to the point where we had five under-18 players out of the juniors in our squad.
"Now those girls have got some country championships experience, there's no telling how far they can go."
Billy Jupp
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
