Three of Lithgow’s junior hockey stars have finished third and fourth at the recent under 15 national championships in Sydney.
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Brenna Croker and Rylee Millar claimed the bronze medal with the NSW State team while Emily Thompson finished fourth with the NSW Blues side.
Both sides performed strongly in the group stages but fell in the semi-finals to Queensland 1 and Victoria Blue. The Victorian side claimed the gold medal with a 2-0 win in the final.
The NSW sides were left to fight it out for the bronze with NSW State getting up 2-1 in a tightly contested match.
Millar and Croker said they enjoyed the encounter with their NSW counterparts.
"They really wanted to beat us and we really wanted to beat them so it was good competition," said Millar.
"The teams were both pretty even we were just lucky to score two in the first half," said Croker.
Thompson was upbeat about her team’s performance.
“Just to be playing for the bronze medal was a huge effort from our girls as this is the highest a girls Blues team had ever finished,” she said.
Thompson was “very happy” with her performance at the nationals and was named Player of the Match in the game against the Northern Territory.
She played as an attacker and striker throughout the tournament and played a huge role in the NSW Blues attack.
Millar said she felt more comfortable playing at national level after representing her state in 2016.
"Last year I wasn't really sure where to go but this year I knew the position I had to play, I knew what I had to do to help the team," she said.
Millar usually plays as a midfielder but was also used in defense and higher up the field in attack.
"I played striker, I don't normally play there and I went up and helped score a goal in the semi-final," she said.
"Scoring a couple of goals for my state was a highlight as well."
Croker acted as the custodian between the posts and shared time on the field with NSW State’s other goal keeper.
“The games were really good, they were friendly, not too madhouse rough," Croker said