TWO of Hockey Coffs Coast’s best young players have shone while playing for their state.

Levi Fischer and Molly Williams achieved outstanding results playing for NSW at the Under 16 National Indoor Hockey Championships in Canberra.

Fischer was part of the gold medal winning NSW State team at the National Championships, while Williams’ NSW Blues team finished fourth.

Fischer and his teammates scored two crucial late goals to snatch the gold medal from Queensland.

He and his NSW teammates had an exceptional run to the finals after being undefeated in their pool matches. They came up against some stiff opposition in the semi-finals, narrowly beating Queensland Gold 3-2.

The final itself was a spectator’s delight, with fast, skilful hockey in front of a large, appreciative crowd in the nation’s capital.

The NSW boys had their backs to the wall but rallied late in the final quarter, scoring two goals in as many minutes to take the win over Queensland Maroon, 3-2.

Molly Williams and her NSW Blues team also made a promising start to the tournament, with wins over Tasmania and Western Australia in the pool stages, as she earned player of the match against Tasmania.

After a penalty shoot-out win over ACT in the quarter finals, the Blues girls faced NSW State in the semi-finals.

In a very close game, the Blues narrowly went down 2-1.

Williams’ Blues team played for bronze, and after a tight contest that finished locked at full-time, they would eventually lose a penalty shootout 2-1 to finish fourth overall.

President of Hockey Coffs Coast, Dean Herbert, congratulated the two juniors, as Levi Fischer embarks on a big year of international hockey.

“Levi and Molly can be incredibly proud of their efforts,” he said.

“We’ve got a strong indoor hockey community here in Coffs Harbour, which helps our juniors to train and improve.

“On top of his indoor hockey representation, Levi will head to Europe shortly to represent Australia in the Under 16 age group.

“He’ll join another Coffs Coast product, Evie Laverty, on a tour of Belgium and the Netherlands, playing representative fixtures across Europe.

“It’s a super-exciting time and we wish them every success.”

By Aiden BURGESS