Trans-Tasman rivalry built on comradeship at Narrabri Polocrosse Carnival

Comradeship and Trans-Tasman rivalry was at the forefront of the Narrabri Polocrosse Carnival which touched down at the Narrabri Racecourse last weekend, but warm welcomes went all round at the official team presentation on Thursday night for two international test series.

Deputy mayor Darrell Tiemens welcomed a New South Wales, two New Zealand, and President’s VII Australian Development Team on behalf of the Narrabri Shire Council, and four test series teams were presented by their captains.

Recognised as a major event for the shire, the annual Narrabri Polocrosse Carnival is expected to have injected upwards of $100,000 into the economy, with more than 70 teams and 400 plus players from right across Australia, including the standout Under 16 President’s VIII v New Zealand and Under 21 Trans-Tasman Test Series.

The Under 21 Trans-Tasman Series teams, as well as the Under 16 test teams and their families all rallied around the players, and the buzz of the Trans-Tasman rivalry was felt as the polocrosse community descended upon the Narrabri Shire.

The Narrabri Shire had a strong representation across the two Australian- based teams, with five local players taking part. The NSW Intermediate Team included Makayla Elford (Narrabri), Hayley Constable (Narrabri), Holly Turnbull (Galloping Gully), Billy Brodigan (Cubbaroo) while Brittney Schwager (Narrabri) starred in the President’s VIII – a team coached by current Australian Women’s Team member Lucy Grills, currently ranked number one women’s player in the world.

When U21 NSW team’s Makayla Elford was asked about what kind of playing style we could expect from her over the weekend, her response was, “You can definitely expect a lot of style.”

And style is what she brought, capping the weekend off with a Series win, regaining the Roger Ross Memorial Trophy and the title of Champion Female Player. If that wasn’t enough, the Polocrosse Australia President’s VIII also had a dominate weekend, taking out their series against New Zealand 3-0.

“You can always expect rivalry and tough competition and of course we hope to see NSW winning, but we are all going to have fun, socialise and make lots of new friends,” said Miss Elford.

NSW teammate Hayley Constable of Wee Waa said, “It’s good playing with girls you’ve already played with, it makes it a lot easier.

“Makayla and I played against each other last weekend and we play against Holly and Emily on other weekends, we see each other all the time.”

The Narrabri Polocrosse Club’s annual carnival saw over 1500 people in town for the event, with almost three thirds of those people taking to the competition field.

Narrabri Shire Council invested $10,000 as a major sponsor and Cr Tiemens said the event was marked as a major event on the region’s sporting calendar.

“Narrabri does a really good job of holding this event, there is a lot of representation for NSW, it has been a big area for keen polocrosse players and has been for many years,” said Cr Tiemens.

“This is major event status – Narrabri only has about four or five major events a year, so it’s considered for major events sponsorship because we know we will get much more money injected into the economy from the event.”

“We get to host all these New Zealanders and their families have come and are all staying in motels and spending at local business in town, which all supports the economy, some of them will travel around, and it’s good for tourism.

Players and their families travel from across Australia and across the ditch to experience the hospitality and build lifelong connections with other players, as well as upholding the traditional cheeky bit of rivalry.

Dubbed the ‘King of the one-horse sports,’ the proudly Australian-made sport originating in NSW in 1939, is a firm fixture in rural communities right across the country.

President of Polocrosse Australia, Mick Templeton highlighted his deep pride for the homegrown Aussie sport described as rugby on horseback, which combines keen horsemanship, and finesse.

“The fact that it’s an Australian sport is a massive thing, it’s something we should all be proud of,” said Mr Templeton.

New Zealand Polocrosse president Craig Zielinski, Narrabri Polocrosse Club president Trent Mortimer, Narrabri Shire deputy mayor Darrell Tiemens, Narrabri Shire councillor Brett Dickinson and Polocrosse Australia president Mick Templeton.

“Australia are the World Champions; we won the last World Cup and are currently preparing to announce a team (in the next four weeks) that will go to South Africa next year to defend that title.

“Upholding the title is something we’re really proud of, we are the home of polocrosse, and we want to be the World Champions again.”

Mr Templeton reiterated the importance of the rural home base for the sport and the positive economic impact that polocrosse has on regional communities.

“It’s a unique sport and it’s a horse sport – one thing it brings to rural communities is a lot of revenue and money into regional towns.”

“Traditional and marquee sports like football and cricket always gravitate to a major centre to run big events, but we’re proud to always end up in a regional area.

“Polocrosse is a rural sport and it’s only natural for us to go where the population is and Narrabri and NSW have a big population as far as the sport goes. The revenue that Narrabri carnival itself will generate this weekend will be massive for the community.

Polocrosse Australia president Mick Templeton and New Zealand Polocrosse president and chair, Craig Zielinski also addressed teams and supporters at the meet and greet, speaking on the importance of opportunities for young sportsmen and women to compete in international events.

“The New Zealand Polocrosse Association has a four-year history with Narrabri, the first time we ever came here with a junior team was four years ago and the hospitality from the Narrabri Club and community was so good that the New Zealand (Polocrosse) Board decided this will be our first point of call,” said Mr Zielinski.

“Now we’re bringing the under 21s as well, as far as the hospitality goes the way they treat us, and the kids is just second to none and we would never consider going anywhere else.

“We feel like we’ve been treated really fair, which is not always the case on international trips, like the horse pooling is really above normal standards, and the hospitality from the clubs, the way they supply anything we need and it’s not a problem.

Mr Zielinski credited the opportunities for young players and hopes to bring more international junior tournaments to New Zealand shores in the future.

“I put a lot of emphasis on tournaments like this as they’re about the younger generations, and without clubs that step up and take juniors as their number one priority, this sport would be dead.”

“This is the future; this is the next world cup sport in the future.

Mr Templeton mirrored Mr Zielinski’s sentiments, placing emphasis on the opportunities for junior players to compete on an international level, and build invaluable lifelong social connections.

“From a Polocrosse Australia point of view, it is great to see another team of juniors getting exposed to this level of polocrosse and competing against other countries,” said Mr Templeton.

“It’s great for them to get that exposure but also for them to meet new people and form new friendships, which have been proven over decades, and those friendships last forever.

“They can travel all over the world and know somebody wherever they travel and say “oh I used to play polocrosse with this person,’.”

When asked about the rivalry between New Zealand and Australia and what to expect from the two international test series events Mr Zielinski said, “Oh mate, there’s no secret whatsoever that between New Zealand and Australia, there is a rivalry.

“We are friends off the field, and the good thing about us is a lot of the kids come and stay in New Zealand and a lot of our kids come and stay over here – like my daughter is currently in the Narrabri club for the past month, but on the field, it’s definitely all gloves off – it’s war.

“For us, it’s about making relationships. It is about winning and sports, but we have a lot of friends and they come to New Zealand, and we come here.

“We love to host NSW and New Zealand, we’re so close so there’s always going to be a bond and there’s always going to be a rivalry.”