Hockey: Tamworth under-15 boys finish runners-up in Division 1 at State Championships

The Frogs As were beaten by a strong North West Sydney side 2-nil in the final on Sunday to finish runners-up in Division 1.

Coach Craig Mackay said it was a great effort from the boys and they did Tamworth and themselves proud.

He highlighted the way they fought right to the end in every game.

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"The boys competed and stayed in the contest the whole tournament and gave maximum effort through the whole tournament," he said.

That was especially apparent in their semi-final against Met South West, a goal from Sam Holmes with around 13 seconds remaining securing a 2-1 win and their spot in the final.

Mackay said if the game had finished in a draw they would have been out with Met South West accumulating more points through the round games.

The goal was a bit controversial, he said.

"There was a collision in the circle with one of our strikers and their goalkeeper and both players were brought to the ground," he explained.

"Sam jumped on the ball and put it in the goal for us."

There were a few nervous moments as the umpires deliberated over whether or not the goal should stand, but it was awarded.

The Frogs were then right in it in the final, holding North West Sydney to 0-all until the third quarter. They then only slotted the second with about five minutes remaining.

It was their only loss for the tournament.

They finished runners-up in their pool after posting a draw and three wins from their four games.

Knowing what the side was capable of, Mackay had gone into the championships with the expectation of, at a minimum, reaching the semi-finals.

As well as the way they just kept fighting, he was really pleased with their team play and the way they played for each other.

He thought NSW reps Jack Marshall and Blake Scicluna, Cameron Reading and Mitchell Scott, particularly, were strong for them but said it was a really great team effort.

It was a good weekend for the local associations with the Hockey New England side coming runners-up in Division 2.

After finishing the pool matches undefeated, they took on a strong Canberra team in the final.

Canberra got away to a strong start, posting four goals before New England hit back with one of their own.

The New England side kept Canberra scoreless in the second-half of the match but couldn't claw back in front and settled for a 4-1 loss.

The Tamworth B's meanwhile beat Parkes (2) 3-nil in their Division 3 play-off game to finish their campaign on a winning note.

Tamworth junior umpires Peyton Abra and Imogen Hislop were also given the whistle for the Division 3 final with Abra going on to be awarded the Umpire Development Award for the carnival.

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