The Horsham Under 18 boys Hornets capped off a remarkable year on the court by winning the Division Four Junior Country Championships title on Sunday in Ballarat.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Hornets defeated the Melton Thoroughbreds 62-50 in the final to be crowned division champions.
Mitchell Amos (18-points), Hugh Dougherty (17-points) and Freddy Frew (11-points) were the main contributors on the scoreboard.
READ MORE:
Hornets head coach Matt Lovel was impressed with the efforts of his charges.
"We had a pretty good tournament, a couple of up and down games here and there but they saved their best 'til last, so it was really good," Lovel said.
"I thought everyone played really well and a couple of the guys probably had their best tournament overall."
The win signals the end of an incredible representative year for the side - which on top of the Ballarat win, took out Division two at the Shepparton Tournament, were runners up in Division One at the Bendigo tournament and won 50% of their games at the Horsham tournament.
"Considering all the boys are bottom age and are probably coming up against 75% top-age players it's a pretty good effort by the boys," Lovel said.
"They've played together for a long time so they've got that team cohesion."
The Under 18 player's success is a good sign for the future of the Horsham Hornets men, who were crowned South West Men's CBL champions in February.
Amos, Frew and Dougherty all appeared for that side during the season, while Under 18 Hornet Tarkyn Benbow was a Next Gen player.
Lovel emphasised the need to give younger players "exposure" to a higher level.
"Scott (Benbow) is my assistant coach in the Under 18s, and I'm his assistant coach in the Men's," he said.
"So we try and make that connection between the Under 18s and the Men's so they've got that pathway and they know what to expect when they come to that next level."
MORE NEWS:
The 2021/22 Under 18 season was also Lovel's first experience in a head-coaching role.
The Hornets' stalwart said he "did enjoy it and learned a few things to take into next season".
The Hornets Under 16 Girls also played in the Country Championships in Ballarat but unfortunately went down to a tough Pakenham side in the semi-final.
Like the Under 18 Boys, the side had a terrific season, highlighted by title wins at the Shepparton and Horsham tournaments.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.mailtimes.com.au/
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/Wim_Mail_Times
- Follow us on Instagram www.instagram.com/wimmeramailtimes/
Matt Hughes
Matt is a sports journalist at The Standard.
Matt is a sports journalist at The Standard.
