North West Plains Polocrosse names players to compete at NSW Zone Championships

North West Plains Polocrosse has named the 41 players who will travel to compete at this year’s NSW Zone Polocrosse Championships in Dunedoo on Saturday and Sunday, August 6 and 7.

The zone’s team lists were released on Monday night and include players from all three Narrabri Shire clubs.

Twenty-three Narrabri Polocrosse Club players were selected, as were 13 players from the Galloping Gully Polocrosse Club and five players from the Cubbaroo Polocrosse Club.

Thirty-six of the 41 are spread across six teams, and the remaining five will line up in the pool competition that will run across the weekend.

The six teams include a sub-junior side, two in the junior mixed, one in the junior open, a senior mixed side and a senior women’s team.

North West Plains Polocrosse’s secretary, Steffi Lilliebridge, told The Courier that the zone was thrilled with the quality across the board, from the youngsters in both the sub-junior and junior sides all the way up to the senior squads.

“It’s really good to see so many quality players coming from our zone, considering we’re quite a small zone compared to others in NSW,” she said.

“I think all of our teams are in for a really good shot.

“There are some really experienced players amongst all teams, including the juniors.

“Hopefully we can come away with some wins.”

Many players included among the North West Plains Polocrosse zone’s 41-player squad travelling to play at the Zone Championships in Dudedoo early next month recently lined up at

Narrabri Polocrosse Club’s carnival on Saturday and Sunday, July 9 and 10, and Cubbaroo Polocrosse Club’s carnival last weekend.

For both clubs, it was their first time running their carnival since the 2019 season, following two tough years that were affected by a combination of COVID-19 and wet weather in 2020 and 2021.

Lilliebridge described both as being very successful and added that it was especially impressive to see Narrabri’s carnival attract hundreds of players and spectators from across Australia to the Narrabri Shire.

The Galloping Gully gun, who will represent the zone in Dunedoo, said that all North West Plains Polocrosse representatives are now eager to take part in one of the biggest events of the season.

“Everyone is really keen,” Lilliebridge said.

“It’s been few and far between with polocrosse because of COVID the past few years, and the drought before that affected polocrosse a lot too.

“The zone is really excited, straight off the back of Narrabri and Cubbaroo, to get straight into Zone Champs and then for Gully’s carnival the weekend after (Saturday and Sunday, August 13 and 14).

North West Plains Polocrosse’s 2022 NSW Zone Championships teams are as follows:

Sub-Juniors:
Ava Collett (Cubbaroo), Archer Hunt (Narrabri), Kaitlan Schwager (Narrabri), Ivy Shearer (Gully), Jean Shearer (Gully), and Oscar Thomson (Narrabri).

Junior Mixed One:
John Brodigan (Cubbaroo), Georgia Constable (Narrabri), Rosie Ross (Narrabri), Brittney Schwager (Narrabri), Campbell Williams (Gully), and Fletcher Williams (Gully).

Junior Mixed Two:
Pip Cullen (Narrabri), Darcy Dickinson (Narrabri), Lacey Evans-Scott (Gully), Blake Fielder (Narrabri), Ella Hunt (Narrabri), and Max Hunter (Gully).

Junior Open:

Lily Baguley (Narrabri), Jack Dickinson (Narrabri), Edwina Keft (Cubbaroo), Skye Manning (Narrabri), Hallie Thomson (Narrabri), and Olivia
Wilson (Cubbaroo).

Senior Women:
Daisy Duncan (Gully), Makayla Elford (Narrabri), Felicity Elford (Narrabri), April Leggett (Narrabri), Jessie Ross (Narrabri), and Lauren Sibley (Narrabri).

Senior Mixed:
Clancy Knight (Gully), Steffi Lilliebridge (Gully), Jane Melbourne (Gully), Jessie Melbourne (Gully), Trent Mortimer (Narrabri), and Murray Scott (Gully).

North West Plains Polocrosse’s five players named to play in the event’s pool competition are as follows:

Intermediate girls:
Kira Manning (Narrabri).

Intermediate boys:
Fergus Hunter (Gully), and Billy Brodigan (Cubbaroo).

Masters:
Brian Honeyman (Narrabri), and Keith Hunt (Narrabri).

Coaches and managers for the six teams are expected to be announced this weekend.