In a remarkable club perfromance, the Hills Hornets have won the Southern Conference Club Championship for the second year running in Wagga Wagga.
The 2023 Southern Conference was played in searing heat that saw NSW Touch modify the format from 25min games to, 2 halves of 11 and half minutes. At one point during Day 1, NSW Touch was forced to suspend play for 4 hours as the tempreture rose above 38 degrees.
The performance of Hornets teams across the 10 divisions was outstanding.
Nine teams made the quarterfinals, 6 made semi finals, and 4 teams made their respective grand final.
In a sign of how well the Girls and Womens program at Hornets is operating, 3 of Hornets Girls teams came away as champions. They were the:
- Under 10 Girls
- Under 14 Girls
- Under 16 Girls
The remaining Hornets teams in the girls program (the Under 12’s and the Under 18’s) both had narrow losses in their semi finals.
In the boys program, the Under 18 Boys won through to the Grand Final but were outclassed on the day by a slick Parramatta team.
With Hills Hornets set to move to Northern Conference in 2024, the club championship provided a ftting farewell to a town that the Hornets Swarm regard as their second home.
Hornets President, Brad Mitchell accepted the award
“The 2023 Campaign was always going to be a tough campaign after winning the Club Championship in 2022 We have become the hunted instead of the Hunter. We set ourselves a really high standard, and we are pleased we achieved that. Well done to all the players, this award belongs to you.”
“To have 6 teams make semi finals, 4 Grand finalists and 3 ultimate champions, it shows the future is really bright at Hills Hornets.”
“To our wonderful hosts in Wagga Wagga, our time here has been exceptional, we really don’t want to leave. But we head to Nothern Conference next year for a new challenge.”
Full Results
- Under 10 Girls – Champions
- Under 12 Girls – Semi Finalists
- Under 14 Girls – Champions
- Under 16 Girls – Champions
- Under 18 Girls – Semi Finalists
Full Results
- Under 10 Boys – Quarter Finalists
- Under 12 Boys – Quarter Finalists
- Under 14 Boys – Round of 16
- Under 16 Boys – Quarter Finalists
- Under 18 Boys – Grand Finalists
Grand Final Summaries
U10 Girls Convincing Grand Final Winners
The Hornets Under 10 Girls went through their round games undefeated, and then went on to win the Grand Final in very convincig fashion.
Hills Hornets 9 defeated Sharks Touch 0*
Player of the Final – Alexis Foxe (Hills Hornets)
U14 Girls Win the Grand Final Replay
In a replay of the epic 2022 Southern Conference U14 Grand Final, the Hills Hornets took on Bailman Tigers. This time however, instead of the see-sawing and high scoring affair of last year, the 2023 version saw a defence dominated affair with Hills Hornets jumping out to an early lead, and never headed on their way to victory.
Hills Hornets 5 defeated Balmain 2*
Player of the Final – Gabriella Fernandes (Hills Hornets)
U16 Girls Dominate
The under 16 Girls repeated their 2022 domination by going throug the pool rounds undefeated. This group of young women then continued their domination of the division with a convincing win in the Grand Final.
Hills Hornets 17 defeated Orange Thunder 6*
Player of the Final – Sienna Thomas (Hills Hornets)
Hornets U18 Boys Galant against a Classy Parramatta Team
After 2 narrow losses and 6 wins in the round games, the Hornets Under 18 Boys charged through the Quarter Finals and Semi Finals to earn a spot in the Grand Final.
Unfortunately the Hornets could not overcome a very strong Parramatta team in the Grand Final.
Parramatta Eels 15 defeated Hills Hornets 6*
Player of the Final – Braydon Wickman (Parramatta)
*Note: Scoring a Junior State Cup awards 2 points per try, with the first try of the game getting 3 points.
