And now he has scaled even greater heights, being selected in the Australian Veterans Over 65s to tour South Africa next year.

Noel has been one of the major influences on local hockey for more than 40 years.

A Life Member of the Parkes Hockey Association, he has played non-stop, coached virtually non-stop, won countless individual awards and premierships, represented New South Wales.

And now aged 65, he still trains regularly and is a vital member of the NSW veterans teams - in several age categories (even younger teams).

Noel was captain of the NSW 65s which has just finished at the Australian championships in Melbourne as joint-premiers with Queensland.

He was a standout player for the team, emerging with Player of the Match and Players Player awards.

The team enjoyed a real rivalry with Queensland during the carnival, going down in the rounds but then meeting up in the final.

They played a full game, and could not be separated, and then another seven minutes each way in sudden death to determine the result.

Still they were equal and normally, the procedure is to hold a penalty stroke-off.

But after 85 minutes, the players felt they had had enough and rather than see the result determined by one single penalty stroke, they agreed to be joint Australian champions.

The crowning glory came later when Noel was named as one of the first players in the Australian team.

Another veteran, Ken Sanderson (from Forbes who plays in Parkes) was in the Over 60s side which was beaten in the final by Victoria.

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Parkes was well represented at the Australian Veterans Championships in Melbourne, with no less than five players (including Noel).

His son Glenn was a key member of the NSW Over 40s No 2 team which also included Dean (Dusty) Powter.

Graeme Tanswell was in the NSW 40s No. 1 team which was captained by his brother Stuart, a former local player, while Andrew Rice was in the 40s No 3.