The Goulburn District Hockey Association's run at the NSW Indoor State Championships reached a new level of success over the weekend, as two of its four teams came away winners.
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![Well played: The Goulburn Under 18s Girls shone in front of a home crowd over the weekend and claimed a well-earned Indoor State Title. Photo: Goulburn District Hockey Association. Well played: The Goulburn Under 18s Girls shone in front of a home crowd over the weekend and claimed a well-earned Indoor State Title. Photo: Goulburn District Hockey Association.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/ijfQKXbsEKgSKGW5xB5NiF/3b690746-1145-4e07-a999-99198797456f.jpg/r0_0_2813_1967_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The Under 18 Girls Division One side in Goulburn and Under 13 Boys in Orange both emerged victorious in their grand finals on Sunday and Monday respectively.
The Under 18s carried with them perhaps the highest expectations of any Goulburn team during the recent state championships.
"Probably the team that we had the most expectation for was the Under 18s Girls," GDHA president, Sharney Fleming, said.
"They've played together for a long time in indoor and outdoor, so we thought they'd be in with a shot. But they went through all weekend undefeated and came away with the gold."
The Under 18s Division One side scored four dominant wins on Friday and Saturday without ever appearing to be in danger.
It was only on Sunday, during the first round of finals, that they hit a stumbling block during a tough 3-2 win over Illawarra in the semis.
The grand final, against Central Coast, was equally challenging and decided by just two goals.
"They've got the experience and the runs on the board," Fleming said.
"But in some games they were stronger than others. In the final, they were put to the test, but they came through 4-2.
![Dark horses: The Goulburn Under 13s Boys looked unlikely to play just days out from the tournament, but managed to cobble together a championship-calibre side. Photo: Goulburn District Hockey Association. Dark horses: The Goulburn Under 13s Boys looked unlikely to play just days out from the tournament, but managed to cobble together a championship-calibre side. Photo: Goulburn District Hockey Association.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/ijfQKXbsEKgSKGW5xB5NiF/3466b99b-46ce-4a42-b52f-e826f8e280fe.jpg/r0_0_3000_2147_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"They played Central Coast, who were a very strong team. We were very proud of them."
Meanwhile, the Under 13s Boys' campaign got off to a disastrous start as they were nearly unable to field a side.
Three players were forced to pull out on the eve of the tournament due to COVID-19 close contacts. As they only had one sub to begin with, the team was supplemented by two players from Goulburn's Under 13s Girls' team.
Opening wins on Saturday over Bathurst and Nepean set the tone for the boys, who continued their good form on Sunday with further victories over Orange and Sydney East.
In their first four matches, the GDHA Under 13s Boys scored 22 goals and conceded just the one.
In the semi-final, they faced Bathurst once again and put them to the sword, 10-1.
The grand final against Nepean was the team's toughest challenge of the weekend, but they rose to the occasion again with a 7-3 win to claim the title.
"They did really well, actually," Fleming said.
"There was no expectation on them because a lot of them hadn't played indoor before, but they did really well.
"They brought it home. They've been a good group of boys, and their parents are very supportive. They've been training for a while and they've just bonded together as a team, so I think that helped them over the line."
Fleming also praised the performance of Caitlin Jones, who stepped up to coach the Under 13s Boys during the tournament.
The GDHA had two other teams play over the weekend. It fielded a Division Two Under 18s Girls' team, which finished fifth and narrowly missed out on finals, while its Under 13s Girls side struggled with three losses, one draw, and one win for the weekend.
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