THE NSW Arrows side featuring star Lithgow goalie Rene Hunter has claimed the Australian Hockey League title after a brilliant come-from-behind effort against the Queensland Scorchers.
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It was Rene’s inaugural season with the Arrows with her work in the ‘cage’ part of the reason for the Arrow’s first title win in four years.
She has enjoyed a stellar representative from an early age and has continued her form since moving to Sydney after the HSC to fulfil the requirements needed to participate in the NSWIS hockey program on a Developing International Scholarship that has been awarded to her for the past two years after being part of the emerging talent program through NSWIS.
The Arrows were staring at defeat when they slipped two goals behind with 14 minutes to play in the first half.
But, they clawed their way back into the game by half-time and went in front early in the second and were able to hold out their opposition thanks to some great goal keeping by Rene.
“It was a very exciting result, especially the way we had to earn it,” said Rene.
“We had a bit of luck in some respects.
“We were probably in the easier pool to begin the tournament, whereas Queensland had things a bit harder early on.
“They are a very good side and they’re always physically tough to play against.
“They’re a bigger team than we are and can be quite intimidating at times.”
It has been an exciting year for Rene who represented NSW Under 18s in the nationals in Melbourne in March.
She was also a part of the successful Lithgow Women’s state win.
Rene was named in the Under 21 NSW squad and also the Arrows squad in July.
She trailed and trained twice weekly with the Arrow’s team that was announced in early August and continued training right up to the Brisbane nationals.
To even make the Arrows is something special as it boasts four Hockeyroos (Casey Eastham, Jade Close, Kelly White and Emily Smith); four girls from the Under 18 side that represented in the silver winning side (Rene, Kate Hannah, Greta Hayes and Kaitlin Knobs) along with some of the best players in the state.
At the Nationals at Brisbane, the Under 13 state tournament was also held in conjunction with two future stars Emily Thompson and Hannah Kable of Lithgow in the NSW side.
The girls lined the fences and barracked for Rene and the Arrows which was a real thrill for Rene and her team.
The Under 13s trained with the NSW Arrows which was a great incentive for the young girls to reach this level.
Rene plays in the Sydney competition along with local girls Millie Leard and Emily Williams with Western Districts under the coaching of Lithgow coach Wally Gaynor.
Rene is looking forward to continuing her NSWIS scholarship and progressing into the junior national squad in the future.
She played with the Zig Zag Club while in Lithgow and is the daughter of Dave and Heidi Hunter of Lithgow.
