Without fail, there’s two things Orange High, Bathurst High and Dubbo College’s Astley Cup gurus always say leading into the celebrated tournament, regardless of how they’re predicting their sides will fare – travelling’s tough and every single point is important.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
There’s little doubt the latter is true considering the tournament’s scoring system and for the most part minimising losing margins is just as important as winning games, but based on Orange High’s recent successes the former argument doesn’t hold quite as much weight.
In their drought-breaking 2014 victory – which came seven long years after their last title – and 2016 triumph the Hornets defied that traditional travel difficulty, claiming the title despite being forced to travel to Dubbo rather than Bathurst.
Funnily enough the Hornets’ last victory before that was in 2006, also a year they travelled to Dubbo. In 2015 and 2017, the draw was flipped and Orange High was beaten despite having the shorter trip.
Of course, there’s been a number of years where the Hornets have travelled to Dubbo and still finished empty-handed, but considering the recent trend it bodes quite well that the Orange school will make that 150-kilometre trip up the Mitchell Highway this year.
They’ll do so in 2018’s in the tournament’s third and final tie in a fortnight which, if all goes to plan, will finish with the Hornets reclaiming the trophy.
That trip comes after Bathurst hosts Dubbo in the tournament-opener on Thursday and Friday, with Orange welcoming Bathurst next week.
Although Bathurst is the reigning champion and has spruiked its strength across the board and Dubbo is super-motivated to break its own seven-year drought, the Hornets enter this year’s tournament boasting a number of blockbuster line ups, many in their favoured sports.
RELATED CONTENT
Orange has been utterly dominant in hockey, netball and basketball in recent years, losing just one game in each from 2014 onward, and once again look the stand-out in those sports on paper.
The Hornets’ hockey side is led by the likes of Eva Reith-Snare, Lily Baker, Sarah Barrett, Kath Cox, Kiana Pakinga and Libby Smith, while the netball outfit boasts stars like Milika and Tabua Tuinakauvadra, Mariah Robinson and Milly Wilcox. The latter side is also the Western region champion.
Bathurst Goldminers and NSW Country star Kobe Mansell will run the point for Orange’s basketball side and as long as he’s on the court the Hornets will be confident.
The Tuinakauvadra sisters also headline the black and golds’ tennis team, which looks well-placed and has enjoyed recent success as well, along with up-and-coming stars Aleks Radojicic and brothers Jarryd and Nathan Seib.
But as always, it’s often a school’s less-favoured events that play a big role in determining overall success and while Orange has never been too far away in sports like rugby league, boys’ and girls’ football and athletics, the Hornets’ performance there could be decisive.
They’re certainly not without hope either.
All-round talents fill out the athletics team for the most part along with several dedicated stars like Ollie Keegan too, while the Hornets’ football sides are laden with representative stars and the rugby league outfit boasts a few too.
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
