The largest-ever contingent of Orange Thunder Touch Football juniors will storm the Hunter-Western Hornets trials next month after a dominant showing at the Peter Wilson Memorial Championships.
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The championships, at the start of February, were eventually wiped out due to 42 degree heat being too extreme for play to continue.
However, despite limited game-time a record 41 Thunder players were selected to trial for Hunter-Western Hornets squads next month.
The final trial is March 1, with the squads of 14 to be selected to take part in the Junior Regional Touch tournament at the start of May.
Thunder junior representative coordinator Joel Begnall said the selections in squads were hard-earned.
"It's a deserved reward for all the hard work and the players and coaches put in," he said.
"It's good to see so many kids picked in these squads but it's not surprising to me because I know how good they are and how much work they do."
Begnell also said having so many players together would be good for prospects of making those final outfits.
"It's good to have those kids be able to go to a trial and have some familiar faces, especially if it's their first trial," he said.
Harry Miller, Lochie Bohringer, Nicholas Chopping, Ravai Tulevu, Samuel Hill and Taj Jordan will join the under 12 boys, while Jayanna Dixon, Lucy Martin and Miah Naden will line up for the same age group for the girls.
A massive contingent of Thunder players will line up for the under 14 girls, with Annabell Harrison, Ava Cole, Demi Owens, Freya Bryant, Georgie Barrett, Haylee Besany, Lilly Clary, Mya Simmons and Paige Bohringer set to line up alongside each other for the Hornets.
Jack Dean, Nate Davis and Zeik Selwood will line up with the boys, while Angus Staniforth, Lachlan Lawson, Mack Selwood and Max Wilson were picked for the under 16 boys.
Caitlin, Hailey and Rebecca Prestwidge will headline the under 16 girls side alongside code-hopping Orange Tigers' gun Hope Gibson.
India Krause, Josie Clarke, Lily Booth, Lucy Dean, Saige King and Savannah Moore will also join them.
Six under 18 players were selected, with Jack Cole, Jacob French, Matt Dawson, Mitchell Watts for the boys and Ally Kaufman, Lara Clarke for the girls.
The Thunder sent 13 sides to the memorial championships to compete across 10 grades, with four teams still undefeated by the time the tournament was called off due to the heat.
Begnall said coaching staff from the Thunder had also been tapped to take on off-field leadership roles for the Hunter-Western sides, which was a huge boon for the club to be rewarded both on and off the field.
The coaching staff will head away with the sides for the Junior Regional Touch tournament on the Central Coast from May 2-3.
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