Thirteen Thunder sides made their way to Gosford to compete in 12 divisions from girls’ under 8s all the way up to under 18s. 

Nine of those sides ended up in grand finals with five – boys and girls under 8s, boys under 10s, girls under 12s and girls under 16s – all winning their deciders. 

Orange Thunder Representative Director Joel Begnell was pleased with the clubs results at the tournament.

“All teams that played performed extremely well and the results are a credit to the hard work our players and coaches have put in so far this season,” he said. 

“The players were faced with some very hot and humid conditions, with some teams playing 7 games in a single day, so the way the teams faced those challenging conditions was great to see”.

Begnell believes the club overall is progressing well.

“Two years ago, our club sent teams to this tournament, making the final in a few divisions but not winning any divisions overall.

“This year, we made 9 of 12 grand finals and won 5 of those, so our clubs improvement in a short space of time is phenomenal”.

The Thunder was also rewarded with winning the Club Championship as the best overall club, finishing on 190 points, 90 points ahead of their closest challengers Central Coast and 100 points ahead of Doylason.

The wins continued strong preparation for the Junior State Cup competition in February 2019 after dominating the Don Green Western Junior Championships in Mudgee last month.

The Thunder won 11 of 12 divisions in Mudgee from their 13 sides in the championships. 

Begnell said the junior representative touch sides now get a “well-deserved” rest over the Christmas and New Year period before they begin their preparation for two major tournaments in February.

The Thunder will take on the Peter Wilson Championships in early February before heading to the southern conference of the Junior State Cup in Wagga Wagga later that month. 

Should any Thunder sides progress through the southern conference, they’ll make it to the cup final in Sydney on April 27-28.