"We were hoping to be competitive and were thrilled with the result."
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In the first round of the newly established Western Women's Masters League competition, the Mudgee crew went and achieved more than initially thought.
Up against some stiff competition in Dubbo, the local side showed what they are made of on February 23 at Lithgow taking an impressive 4-2 victory.
"While it was great to get the win, Lithgow, Bathurst and Orange are all very strong teams which will be a great challenge for us," Mudgee's goalkeeper, Natalie Richards said.
"It showed us that while we are a small association, our skills, determination and teamwork make us very competitive. Our local comp has prepared us well for this."
The competition features the likes of teams from Bathurst, Lithgow, Orange, Dubbo and Parkes, and Richards says it offers up a chance to learn.
"All the other towns have much larger hockey competitions and have home artificial turfs to regularly play and train on, so we are certainly the underdogs," she said.
It's a great opportunity to learn from other players and to improve skills and tactics from others.
- Mudgee masters squad goalkeeper, Natalie Richards
Having replaced Cowra in a 'last minute decision', Mudgee's outfit consists of between six to eight local players, Alison Wilson (c), Deb Kerr, Kristel Barnes, Paula Kennedy, Sam Handley, Natalie Richards, with additional numbers filtered in from larger towns.
"It's mostly because of the late notice we needed the fill ins. We went from supporting Cowra by providing a few players to being a majority Mudgee team," Richards said.
"In our next round we have two more players lined up, Celeste Grobler and Kate Elder."
Although rounds are supposed to be played at each town's venue on an alternate monthly basis, Mudgee won't have a home game this year due to not hosting 'suitable facilities'.
"It's really nice to play on artificial turf, it's the gold standard for hockey," Natalie said.
The next round of the Western Women's Master League competition will be held in Orange on March 22, when Mudgee go head-to-head with Parkes.
Jay-Anna Sleeman
Reporter for the Western Advocate. First began as a sports journalist with ACM in 2018 before moving on to cover news and court.
Reporter for the Western Advocate. First began as a sports journalist with ACM in 2018 before moving on to cover news and court.
