Oztag: Northern Rangers under 16s girls reach finals of Junior National Championships

The Northern Rangers under 16s girls' coach heaped praise on his side following their quarter-final effort, and said they were an "absolutely champion group of young ladies".

After winning three of their six round games, the Rangers qualified for the finals series.

There, they met a strong East Coast Orcas outfit and lost 5-1, but that did not lessen Sharpe's elation. Indeed, the coach was thrilled not only with their performances, but their effort in spite of lowered numbers.

"We went away with 13 players, and then picked up a broken arm on day two," he said.

"We only played [the last of the round games] with 12. Because it's such a highly competitive age group, the girls get a little too keen, so they did really well.

"In the quarters ... we were down to 11 because I lost another one to really bad blisters."

But given the strength of their quarter-final opponents, who had a number of Sydney's top players in the age group and had previously won state and nationals titles, Sharpe knew there was nothing for the team to be ashamed of.

In fact, his highlight of the under 16s' campaign was not their last match, but their round game against the Orcas, which they won 2-1.

"Three years ago, that side beat us 15-0 in the nationals and now the girls have worked really, really hard," Sharpe said.

"To have a really good win against them was definitely a highlight for me."

The under 16s were one of four Rangers teams to attend the finals, but the other three struggled.

The under 9s boys and under 11s girls did not win a match between them, while the under 14s girls claimed a solitary victory and another draw.

Tamworth junior oztag convenor, Katrina Davis, was not disheartened by the results, however, and said the experience was simply a learning opportunity for the teams involved.

"It was a good learning experience for them and lots of fun," Davis said.

"The majority of those [under 16s] girls have been there before and know what intensity they need to bring to it. It's a learning curve for the younger ones, so they'll develop and improve along the way."

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