A pair of nail-biting penalty shoot-outs, a dramatic fourth quarter comeback and a dominant performance headlined the 2025 National State Championships finals action in Canberra.
Queensland claimed both the Girls’ 15&U and 17&U national titles in dramatic circumstances, while NSW claimed both the 15&U and 17U& Boys’ championships.
Queensland claim 15s girls title in thrilling final
Queensland’s 15&U Girls claimed a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over New Zealand.
Both teams came into the gold medal match with plenty of confidence, promising a blockbuster finale – and both teams delivered in an epic contest that fluctuated until the very end.
Queensland raced to a 5-2 lead in the first quarter only to see New Zealand fight back to level the scores 7-7 at half-time. The teams traded goals in a dramatic and tense second half, with neither team able to break the deadlock.
Queensland held their nerve in the penalty shoot-out (3-1) to claim the national title.
“It truly was a nailbiter, thinking back, I’m not really sure how we won,” said Queensland captain Elouise Whitehead.
“Penalties terrify me, it was a rollercoaster.I think how we started the game versus how we ended the game was just amazing.
“Yes, we fluctuated a little bit in the middle quarters, but to come back and keep level with New Zealand and then to win was just amazing.We hoped for it, but to finally achieve victory was incredible.
“I don’t have words, it was insane, the whole tournament we have gotten so much better. How we have improved and learned, we couldn’t have done any better if we tried and I’m so proud of my team,” she said.
NSW 15&U boys go undefeated
The NSW 15&U team had an undefeated campaign (8-0) leading into the gold medal match, but they were taken all the way against Queensland.
NSW led 7-6 at half-time and extended 9-7 after three quarters, but Queensland fought back in the final term to take the match to a penalty shoot-out.
“We were pretty confident, the boys have been in a few situations like that before,” said coach Steven Gotsoulias.
“It was more about keeping their heads high and making sure they could ball in the back of the net and we knew they had a good chance.
“It doesn’t matter if you are starting or on the bench, we are a team, if everybody does their part through the tournament, it isn’t just one game in the grand final, you have seven others leading up to it, everyone played their part,” he said.
NSW had performed strongly throughout the tournament, and despite going to a shoot-out, their coaches and players were filled with belief that they could get the job done.
“I don’t want to be arrogant, but I believe we were the best team and we deserved the gold medal,” said coach Dusan Krstic.
“I think a lot of our team could have taken the MVP award, but Luka [Trbojevic Cabrera ] had a great grand final with his goals.
“The other players stood up and scored some crucial goals as well. The whole group was amazing, anyone in the starting seven could have been the MVP,” he said.
QLD 17&U girls win after epic final quarter
Queensland’s 17&U girls backed up their 15&U side heroics with a dramatic victory over NSW in the gold medal contest.
Trailing 7-5 heading into the final quarter, Queensland came from behind to put together a 4-1 quarter to claim a thrilling 9-8 victory.
NSW 17&U boys undefeated and dominant
NSW 17&U team went through the tournament undefeated on the back of some massive performances and their campaign was punctuated with a 19-6 final victory over Queensland in the gold medal match.
Tournament MVP Sava Todic scored three goals in the final, but was quick to praise the entire squad.
“It was a good tournament, all the boys played really well from the start to the end,” said Todic.
“Queensland showed good fight in the first quarter and we put them away after that.
“It was really good to get MVP, all the boys deserved it, because we all played really well, I just ended up getting it, but it was a good tournament from everyone,” he said.
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