Far North Coast 1 were runners up in Division 2 after today’s Grand Final defeat to Grafton at the U18s Women’s NSW State Field Hockey Championships in Goonellabah over the weekend.

FNC 1 had a good campaign after a shaky start drawing with Bathurst 1, then after copping a loss to Grafton in round 2, the team rallied to take the next three games, defeating Port Macquarie Hastings 3-0, Manning Valley 2-0, and Central Coast 2-1 this morning.

FNC 1 were fired up this morning and defeated Central Coast in the semi-final 2-1 to give them a place in the Grand Final.

The girls had a quick recovery session, refuelled, and prepared to face-off with Grafton.

Manager Shirilee Matthews said having previously played Grafton in round 2 they knew it was going to be a very even game and would probably come down to one goal. 

“This is what happened but unfortunately the one goal went to Grafton.”

A controversial yellow card in the middle of the last quarter left FNC 1 with only ten players on the field for five minutes. 

“They held on well and conceded no more goals however we were unable to put one in Grafton’s net and went down 1-0.

“It was a great game, and awesome to have the Grand Final between two country teams where a lot of the girls on both teams are friends with each other off the field. 

“Overall, it was a fantastic weekend and was amazing to have the support of the home crowd,” Ms Matthews said. 

FNC 2 in Ballina. Coach Tony Meldrum with (not in order) Abby Brunton, Shannon Rose, Zoe Nisbet, Megan Harris, Abigail Griffiths, Lilly Munce, Jade Knight, Eliza Blunn, Charlotte Weissel, Franchesca Smith, Charlotte Morris, Tahlia Halliday, Aeryn Peiti, Harriet Freund and Manager June Blunn. Photo: Shez Napper

Far North Coast 2, in Division 3 opened the championship with two consecutive losses to Metro South West 2 (4-0) and Illawarra South Coast (3-0) on Friday yet the women picked up on Saturday to win the next three games against Sydney East 2 (1-0), Bathurst 2 (1-0), and Southern Highlands (2-1).

Manager for FNC 2 June Blunn said her girls went ‘really, really well’.

“The girls combined really well as a team, great attack with strong defence,”

Coach for FNC 2 Tony Meldrum was proud of his team’s effort over the weekend. 

“We finished 3rd in the pool and 5th over all in the event. 

He said the draw pitted FNC 2 against the strongest Sydney sides up first which was a steep learning curve for the girls.

“They improved over the weekend. 

“Got the hardest teams up front, and fought back strongly on Sunday to win over the Sydney sides,” 

Mr Meldrum praised his team in their final match against Southern Highlands, commenting that even though Southern Highlands scored in the first quarter, FNC 2 stayed them and then scored twice in the last quarters to take that game.

“After the first hard games I think it really shows the girls grit and determination to keep fighting.

“They really deserved that win,” he said. 

“We also have the CAD (Centre of Development) program running in regional areas – it won’t be long before our girls will be on par with the city teams and qualify to be in the higher divisions.”

Tournament Director Cheryl Dollin said the tournament brings to Lismore around 1500 people, made up of players, coaches, trainers and officials.

“We didn’t run it last year due to COVID so it’s wonderful having everyone back out on the turfs,”