National finals beckon for local football heroes
IN ITS bid to become Australia's best young girls school football team, Wollumbin High School is going to have to leave no stone unturned.
Wollumbin's quest for a national championship could indeed be carved in stone after star siblings, Charli and Summer Stone, fired the school into the quarter-finals of the national Bill Turner Trophy football tournament, which started as a 400-team competition.
A double from Summer Stone sealed Wollumbin's 2-1 victory in the round of 32 clash against Trinity Catholic College.
The sisters then took a goal each in the 2-0 victory in the round of 16 clash against Bellingen, almost clearing the path to the finals for Wollumbin.
But one final hurdle remains: a quarter-final clash against the imposing Hunter Sports High, a dedicated sports high school who reached the Bill Turner Trophy final last year. The match-up will be played in Coffs Harbour this Tuesday.
Should Wollumbin come out victors, the squad from Murwillumbah's North Arm will be within eyesight of high school football's summit, as it will qualify for the National Finals Series.
The National Finals will be played at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility at Speers Point in September, where the top four teams in the country will battle for the crown. The trophy is a national 15-years-and-under knock-out competition.
The Bill Turner Trophy is a high school competition for students aged 15-years-and-under in a knock-out format. Truly nation-wide, competing schools come from Cairns to Melbourne, all regions of NSW and the ACT.
For more information on the competition, visit billturnersoccer.com.au.
FINAL 8: BILL TURNER TROPHY
Wollumbin High School vs Hunter Sports High
When: Tuesday, August 28
Kick off: noon
Where: Coffs Harbour Stadium, Outer Ground, 65 Stadium Dr, Coffs Harbour
