Fresh-faced under 15s set for 'red-hot crack' at State Championships

During the Tamworth Frogs open men's successful state championship campaign last weekend, the junior boys were invited to watch, and ended up taking part in their post-game cooldowns.

"We went out [to the Tamworth Hockey Centre] on Sunday," under 15s coach Reg Straw said.

"We had a team meeting and watched them play, then Richard [Willis, open men's coach] got all the boys to come around and help them with a warm down and got them included in the team song ... which was really good."

This year's side is almost entirely different from the 2021 u15s team, which came runner-up in last year's state championships.

Only two players from that bid remain in 2022, and Straw fully expects this weekend's tournament to provide invaluable lessons to the young team.

"The main thing is to build a bond between the youngsters," he said.

"The goal is to develop some skills and get stronger as a side ... we're going to give it a red-hot crack."

The two players who have remained in the team are Jack Marshall and Blake Scicluna, both of whom Straw described as "very strong" players.

These two, he said, will take on leadership roles within the team this year as the two elder statesmen of the squad.

"Those two are going to be real leaders on the field and off it as well," Straw said.

With the likes of Metro South West, Canberra, Illawarra South Coast, and Sydney South rounding out the rest of Tamworth's pool, Straw knows his team will not have an easy game in the tournament.

In addition, the team will have to acclimate to shortened 22-minute halves which have been put in place for this competition, instead of the usual 15-minute quarters.

But despite the daunting opposition and unusual format, the Tamworth boys are in good spirits.

"They're looking forward to it," Straw said.

"It's not just about the hockey, it's about the downtime with each other. We're trying to show that we're representing Tamworth hockey and our individual clubs, and they're looking forward to spending time with each other, both off the field and on it."

The under 15s will get their division one bid underway on Friday from 9.40am, with a clash against Canberra.

They will be joined in Grafton by a division three team, which will start its tournament on Friday at 8.50am against the Wagga Wagga Combined side.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: