Sport
9 July, 2026
HOCKEY: Juniors star at state level
NORTH West Lightning, with three North Central juniors in the team, has finished an impressive third in the Under 12 Girls competition at the hockey Junior State Championships in Melbourne last week.
NORTH West Lightning, with three North Central juniors in the team, has finished an impressive third in the Under 12 Girls competition at the hockey Junior State Championships in Melbourne last week.
Lightning beat the Eastern Metropolitan Hotshots 6-1 in the play off for the bronze medal after finishing fourth with a 3-2 win-loss record.
A highlight was an 11-0 win over the North East Red Devils team number two.
Sea Lake’s Millie Pink was the goalkeeper for the U12s and played alongside St Arnaud duo Alice Batters and Indi Johns.
Seven North Central players were selected in the 15-person squad for the U14 Boys, a testament to the local junior programs.
Lightning comprises players from the Goulburn Valley, Hockey Central Victoria, Sunraysia and Wimmers districts as well as North Central.
The U14 Boys finished seventh in their competition, with Jakoby Saggers (Birchip), Riley Beattie (Calder United), Toby Bourke (Charlton), Sullivan Steel (Wedderburn) and four St Arnaud players Finn Evans, Ned Ezard, Samuel Greenaway and Lewis Lowe selected to play.
Chad Polkinghorn, from St Arnaud, had an outstanding tournament in the U12 Boys, scoring 12 goals for Lightning.
After the competition concluded, U16 Girls representative, Calder’s Ali-Jane Thompson, was approached by state selectors asking her to register for goalie selection.
Six U18 Girls from North Central were part of the 16-player Lightning squad.
The others were Morgan Beattie (Calder United), Victory Davis (Donald), Navaeh Pearse (Donald) and Amelia Watts (St Arnaud).
Sea Lake’s Benjamin Barbary and St Arnaud pair Forbes Kirk and Jesse James played in the U16 Boys team.
Cleo Velleley and Hayley Stringer, both from Boort, were in the U16 Girls team.
NCNA administrator Brenton Henderson said the selections highlighted the strength of junior hockey in the North Central association and bode well for the future of senior competitions.
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