Last weekend the annual State Age Netball Championships were held with the three venues being Maitland (Division 1), Newcastle (Division 2) and Charlestown (Division 3).

Group 14 had its rep squads in the Under-12s, Under-14s and Under-15s.

The championships were held over three days with the teams averaging about 28 games for the weekend.

Squad members of the Under-14s team were Tayla Dunn, Demi Jeffery-Hawley and Carla Wright (Nyngan), Ashley Foran, Imogen Morrisey and Emma Gilmour (Gilgandra) and Tegan Cain and Emma and Ashley Varty of Coonabarabran. This team was coached by Sandra Varty of Coona.

Each club had its own supplied marquee and this made for a happy gathering of the clans. Our catering team of Noelene, Roz, Karen and Sandra organised the food with Marty Carthew always being on hand to keep the billy boiled.

It was a bit of an eye-opener when we witnessed the lengths a lot of the bigger city clubs go through in order to take out the prestigious event.

The Under-14s finished in 19th position out of 29. They played great netball and certainly made some of the bigger clubs sit up and take notice. Considering how often the girls train together as a team (zilch) they put on a mighty performance and deserve a big pat on the back.

The girls had victories against Gunnedah, Forbes, Temora, Lower Clarence, Lithgow, Mount Druitt, Narrabri and Nambucca Valley with a few close games where they only lost by one or two points.

It was frightening when you saw the size of some of the opposing team’s players and although our girls looked like midgets at times they played well above their size and are to be congratulated for not taking a step back.

The Under-15s weren’t quite so lucky, but did manage to finish ahead of a few other teams. These girls played in Division 2 so they were up against some of the State’s best.

Coach Nerida Morison was extremely proud of her team made up of Chez Morison, Amy Beetson, Brittney Burt, Dana Collins (Nyngan), Shaye Cain (Coonabarabran), Maddie Gillman, Shayana Naden and Sarah Foran (Gilgandra). The team was victorious over Cowra, Dubbo, Great Lakes and Casino with some very close results in other games. Once again the opposing teams were amazed at how well the 15s played considering the amount of times the girls get together to train.

Overall it was a great weekend away and we look forward to next year’s State age. Congrats go to the Under-12s who finished an incredible second. You girls rock.