The competition, held at the Illawarra Hockey Centre, has run for the past week and are reaching their climax, with Wednesday’s semi-finals to be followed by finals on Friday. 

The NSW Girls team, featuring Gerringong’s Mackenzie Ford, will take on Western Australia Gold after finishing atop their pool. The team won four of their five games and drew with Queensland Gold in their final pool game on Monday. 

Ford has played in all five games, scoring one goal throughout the tournament. 

Queensland Maroon will face Victoria Blue in the other girls semi-final.

The NSW boys will also take on Western Australia Gold in their semi-final, however, unlike the girls, the boys finished second in their pool. The NSW team drew with table-toppers Queensland Maroon, ultimately finishing beneath them based on point differential. 

Wollongong’s Dylan Simmons, Samuel Wright-Smith and Scott Crisafi will represent the NSW boys team in the semi-final and all three boys have performed admirably throughout the tournament.

Crisafi has scored four goals, with Wright-Smith adding a goal as well. Simmons, a goalkeeper, has played a crucial role in limiting NSW’s opponents to just three goals in five games. 

Like the girls, Queensland Maroon will take on Victoria Blue in the second semi-final on Wednesday.