The 15-year-old, who is cousins with Hockeyroo Grace Stewart, guided her New South Wales team to gold in a thrilling final at the Illawarra Hockey Centre.

“This was my third time representing NSW, after playing the under 13s and under 15s teams previously,” Ford said.

“With most of the team from that under 13s team back together again, we were confident we could improve on our silver medal from that year. The team just clicked and continued to build throughout the tournament.”

They didn’t lose a game during the group stages and NSW’s strong form showed scoring 19 goals and conceded just five, setting up a semi-final showdown with Western Australia Gold, which they won 3-2 after being down 1-nil at half-time.

They then progressed to the final against Victoria Blue.

“Going into the final, we were very confident and jumped out to a 1-nil lead at the break,” Ford said.

But in the final play of the game, Victoria equalised through Alexandra Wansbrough – to send the game into penalty strokes.

“After they equalised, our coach Liam Cole told us to put it behind us and concentrate on what we could change, which was the shoot-out,” Ford said.

“It was so stressful, watching the girls take the strokes – thankfully I wasn’t needed to take one.

“When my team mate Ashleigh Ensbey scored the winner I couldn’t believe it – I was over the moon.”

With a silver and bronze medal to her name already, Ford ranks this as her career highlight to date.

“It’s amazing and do to it in front of my friends and family makes it even more special,” she said.

“It’s a moment I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

One of those family members, Grace Stewart, Ford admits has had a big influence on her career.

“Grace is a great support to me and all the Gerringong Hockey Club – always being available to give me advice,” she said.

“After watching her the week before at the Commonwealth Games, where she played so well, I was motivated to do my best as well.

“She’s an inspiration and I hope to continue to play at the highest level I can in the future.”

Ford will now turn her attention to the under 18s state championships in Newcastle this weekend, before heading to Grafton later in the month for the under 15s state titles.