Sports

Grafton Team 1 finished joint premiers of Division 1.

Under 13 hockey boys top of the State

The last of the junior NSW Hockey State Championships wrapped up on the weekend with the Under 13 Boys championships being hosted by Central Coast Hockey.

Hockey in this age group is proving very popular and Grafton was able to field two teams for the championships. The Grafton 2 team competed in 4th Div, playing very well in an extremely close division, conceding only 3 goals in their round games. They finished the tournament well with a win over Lithgow.

The Grafton 1 team found themselves competing in 1st Div, after being promoted from 2nd Div after their successful tournament in 2021. The Grafton 1 team competed strongly in their round games, with 3 wins and 2 draws, placing them second in their pool, and qualifying for the semi-finals against Parkes. Parkes had won all their round games, so the Grafton boys knew they had a very tough opposition to overcome. But overcome they did, with Max Oxenbridge slotting the game winning goal, with a perfectly executed tomahawk.

Grafton Team 2 competed in Division 4.

Images: Contributed

The grand final saw Grafton 1 take on Newcastle 1, with the teams very evenly matched, and the game ended at 0-0, with the teams being named joint premiers of Division 1. This was a familiar feeling for many of the Grafton players, who were also joint premiers in 2021 (in 2nd Div). This is an amazing result for a team newly promoted to the top division, and the players, under the steady hand of coach Rob Third, should be extremely proud of their efforts. To top off the weekend, GHA also won the Respect Award for the tournament and Max Oxenbridge was awarded Champ of the Championship.

Angie Day