PHOTO
Four Parkes hockey players are the Under 18s national champions following a stunning campaign at the Australian titles in Darwin.
Six representatives headed north to compete in the 2026 Hockey Australia Under 18 Championships from 3-11 July -
Archie Daley, Jett Johnstone, Sam Quince and Finlay Quince played for the NSW State side, while Sam Westcott and Leo Allan were members of the NSW Blues.
Parkes Junior Hockey described it as an incredible week.
"Every one of them did our association proud while representing NSW on the national stage with Sam Westcott and Jett Johnstone even being named in the leadership teams," the club posted to its Facebook page as it shared a wrap-up of the championships.
The NSW State team opened with a narrow 3-2 loss to Queensland Maroon, before bouncing back in style to defeat ACT 6-0, with Jett Johnstone scoring both a penalty corner and a field goal.
They went down 2-1 to WA Gold to finish third in Pool A.
The crossover match was where the team really came alive, Parkes Junior Hockey said.
They thumped Victoria Development 8-1 with Johnstone adding another penalty corner goal, before defeating WA Gold 3-2 in the quarter-final, where Johnstone again found the back of the net from a penalty corner.
A dominant 5-0 semi-final win over Tasmania booked their place in the grand final.
In the championship decider NSW State produced a sensational 7-4 victory over Queensland Maroon to be crowned Under 18s national champions.
"Jett was unstoppable, scoring a hat-trick from penalty corners, while Archie added a field goal and gave it his everything," the Parkes club said.
"Finlay was rock solid in defence throughout the tournament, while his brother Sam Quince produced a series of composed performances in goals.
"The sibling duo keeping goals out and helping their team to the national title."
The Blues got their campaign off to the perfect start with a 2-1 win over Queensland Gold, before defeating Victoria Development 3-0, where Sam Westcott captained the side and was named player of the match, and Leo Allan didn’t let anything past him.
They rounded out pool play with a thrilling 4-4 draw against WA Black, with Westcott converting a penalty corner to finish top of Pool C.
In the crossover match the Blues defeated ACT 4-2 to book a quarter-final against Tasmania, where they went down 4-2.
They fell to WA Gold 5-0 in the semi before finishing the tournament on a high with a 4-0 win over WA Black to claim seventh place.
"Sam was outstanding all tournament, leading from the back, while Leo was a calm and reliable presence in goals throughout the week," Parkes Junior Hockey said.