Brad Smith and Zac McGregor are playing for NSW and the ACT respectively, and according to Crookwell Indoor Hockey sub-committee president Meghan McGregor, both boys have thoroughly earned their chances. 

“[Their selection] was well deserved,” McGregor said. “Brad was selected from the NSW State Championships, which were held in Goulburn, and he played for New England.

“He scored the winning goal for New England, ironically against Zac who was playing for Metro South West.” 

This year marks the first time that Zac has played for the ACT, as he previously competed for NSW, however the travel demands became too extreme on his family, so he decided to switch to the ACT ahead of this year. 

“Canberra has been closer for training and everything rather than going to Newcastle for training, it just started to take a toll on the family,” McGregor said. 

“It made it easier for him to train when he was in Canberra, so he switched over at the end of last year.” 

Both boys made a strong start to the tournament, with Zac recording two goals in his first match for the ACT against Victoria, which resulted in a 9-0 victory, while Brad scored one in NSW’s 10-1 win over Victoria, and McGregor said that she believes NSW to be the favourites for the tournament. 

Leading up to the Under 18s tournament, the Under 15s played a competitive and exciting brand of hockey which resulted in some thrilling results on Saturday. 

Both the boys’ and girls’ bronze medal and gold medal matches all took place in the afternoon, and following NSW’s dominance in the Under 13s division, the Under 15s provided a shock to the established status quo. 

In the boys’ competition, the ACT and WA played off for third place, while NSW and Victoria fought it out for first. 

While the Victorians managed to take the competition in a well-contested but ultimately decisive final, with the score at 5-3, it was the bronze medal match which caught the eyes and hearts of the spectators. 

The score was 4-4 when the final buzzer sounded in Veolia Arena, and WA clinched the medal in a similarly razor-thin shootout which finished at 4-3. 

In the girls’ tournament, it was Victoria and QLD Gold who fought it out for the bronze, and NSW and QLD Maroon for the gold. 

In the former match, Victoria emerged victorious 2-0, while NSW and QLD Maroon produced another nailbiter which finished at 2-2 and required a shootout before QLD Maroon emerged as the champions.