ORANGE Thunder representative touch sides dominated the Hornets Don Green Western Junior Championship in Wellington last month.
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Sending 10 sides away for the carnival, every Orange team qualified for the final while seven of those sides were good enough to come away with the spoils in a terrific carnival for the City of Orange Touch Association.
COTA treasurer Tracee Honeyman said it was a fantastic weekend for the Thunder.
“We would have loved to come away with 10 wins to be honest,” she laughed.
“But these sort of results will be great for sides’ confidence ahead of the State Cup in Port Macquarie in February.”
On top of the success, Orange was also one of the best represented associations with boys’ and girls’ sides in the under 10s, under 12s, under 14s, under 16s and under 18s age groups.
While the carnival wins don’t result in any further tournament qualification for the Thunder, Honeyman said plenty of momentum would be gained as the Orange squads head towards the NSW State Cup in February next year.
“A lot of the sides at the State Cup are a lot harder, but we’ve got a couple of sides that are a realistic shot at making the finals,” she said.
“A top-16 finish against Sydney sides is a good result in a big tournament like that.”
Thunder sides will train twice a week before the State Cup.
A tri-series type tournament will also be held, pitting Orange, Parkes and Dubbo touch sides against each other in January, a competition viewed as the ideal preparation for the Port Macquarie-based State Cup.
