A return foray to the Junior Country Championships for the Goulburn Valley Hockey Association’s under-18 girls squad has delivered in spades.
Under the guidance of coach Rachelle Collins, the GV team dominated the tournament at the State Sport Centre in Parkville, Melbourne, winning all seven matches and clinching gold in a nail-biting final against Geelong on Sunday.
The GVHA’s run to the title kicked off with four games on Saturday, starting with a 0-0 draw against Hamilton before defeating Sunraysia (2-0), North Central (4-0), and West Gippsland (1-0).
It beat Geelong (2-0) and Ballarat (3-1) to sew up top spot and a position in the final.
The championship was sealed by Sukhseerat Khehra's crucial goal in the final, while GV's rock-solid defence maintained its tournament-long dominance, conceding one goal across all matches and securing a hard-fought 1-0 victory.
The group fused rising underage talents with a core group of gold medal winners from GV squad’s past, wasting no time in gelling together.
“It was the first time GV had entered the under-18 girls JCC team for a number of years,” team manager Cameron Druitt said.
“It was uncharted territory for us as a team and Rachelle as a coach. A couple of the older girls had played under-18 for other associations, so this is the first time for the GV in a number of years.
“They came together really well as a team. A lot had played under-16s together the last few years, and we had won the gold medal in the last two years.
“The more experienced girls really welcomed the lesser experienced girls, including a few under-16s, who came up, who were well-supported.
“Shout out to Rachelle and her coaching ability and how she managed the group. They all enjoyed the camaraderie and the social aspect.”
The under-18s weren’t the only side to fly the flag for the GVHA, with the under-14 girls and boys hitting the field for a dash at their respective titles.
The boys finished top of Pool B with two wins over Sunraysia (9-0) and East Gippsland (3-0), advancing to a semi-final bout against Hockey Central Victoria.
Finn McLeod hit the GVHA’s sole strike in the gallant 3-1 loss before narrowly missing out on third place honours in a 1-0 result against Hamilton.
The under-14 girls made a strong account of themselves with a third-place finish in Pool B after also snatching two wins before signing off on the JCC campaign with a 1-0 win over Ballarat in the 7th-place playoff.