Queensland polocrosse has a lot to look forward to in the future if results from the national championships at Albury on the weekend are anything to go by.
Although only two of the six Queensland teams that contested finals were winners, it was two under 21 teams that claimed victory.
The under 21 mixed team fought a final worthy of any rugby league State of Origin match, taking a one point victory from New South Wales 23-22, while the under 21 mens team defeated Victoria 23-20 in their final.
The mixed final was described as having everything that makes sport great, and featured a spectacular dismount by one Queenslander over his horse’s ears, resulting in two cracked vertebrae.
Victorious Queensland mixed team members include Bobbi Burns (Tansey), Chris Cooper (Gold Coast), Hayden Grumley (Gold Coast), Ashlee Lindley (Taroom), Aaron Mullins (Chinchilla), Anthony O’Leary (Cunningham), Kelsey Rowland (Warwick) and Grace Young (Chinchilla), coached by Shane Gehrke and managed by Lisa Johnson.
Those making up the under 21 mens team were Brayden Beck (Warwick), Byron Davison (Tansey), Jason Gehrke (Tansey), Michael Hayward (Bauhinia), James Lee (Taroom), Sam Muller (Tansey), and Zac O’Leary (Cunningham).
They were managed by Kate Davison and coached by Justin Hafey.
Queensland made six of the eight finals contested at Albury.
The under 16 boys team went down to New South Wales 21-27, while the under 21 womens team were narrowly defeated by New South Wales 19-25.
In the senior mixed competition, New South Wales again had the best of Queensland 28-21, and the senior mens final was won by New South Wales over Queensland 26-23.
New South Wales finished off a very strong championships with victories in the under 16 girls and senior womens finals, defeating Western Australia 26-20 in the former and recording a margin of 32-27 against the Sand Gropers in the latter.
Since the finals, the Polocrosse Association of Australia has announced its provisional teams for Under 16 and Under 21 mixed teams to visit South Africa this year, and Queenslanders feature in both of those.
Queensland captain and Bauhina player William Taylor has been named in the national under 16 team.
The Australian under 21 team has four Queenslanders: Beth Hafey (Tansey), Ryle Waugh (Cunningham), Zac O’Leary (Cunningham) and Queensland captain and Tansey player Byron Davison, who will captain the national team.
The ‘nationals’ is the most prestigious event in Australian polocrosse, and seven states and territories vied for titles over seven days of competition.
Eight hundred horses and 3000 spectators converged on Albury for the sport’s ultimate prize.