Tasmania hopes for return wins at under-16 national hockey champs

After going through the first two matches undefeated, the side dropped both of their third-day games against Western Australia and New South Wales.

Launceston's Oliver Stebbings, who is captain of the side, scored in the first six minutes of their early game against Western Australia to give the home side a major advantage.

He converted a penalty stroke to go 1-0 but their opponents hit back, scoring the next four goals of the game to be leading 4-1 at three-quarter time.

Stebbings scored again in the 64^th minute and Rhys Watkinson added another three minutes later but it was too little too late as they went down 4-3.

Their second result was a 5-2 loss to NSW, who featured many of the players that defeated Tasmania in the under-15s national championships' gold-medal match last year.

READ MORE: Emma Manix-Geeves, Jarrod Freeman give back with cricket clinics

NSW got on the board early, leading 3-0 at half-time before Oscar Sproule got the Tasmanians on the board, eventually trading majors with opposition captain Oskar Smith, who finished with four goals.

The boys will be looking to get their campaign back on track against Queensland on Thursday.

The girls' side went down 5-0 to NSW in their only match-up for Tuesday.

Featuring two Northern players, Chloe White and Shelby Steward, the team conceded twice in the first six minutes, with Sienna Harvey hitting the scoreboard.

Lahni Woodger, Anastacia Flack and Ziggy Leong all joined, making it a tough loss for the girls.

The tournament's first two days were more fruitful on the scoreboard for the Tasmanian side.

They opened their campaign with a 2-1 win over Victoria as Sophie Kruimink was the saviour, scoring in the second and fourth quarters to seal the comeback victory.

Both goals were from penalty corners, slapping the ball low and hard through the defences of the Victorians.

They were on the other side of a 2-1 result on Monday, going down to WA.

Like their earlier victory, they conceded first, with Seraphina Andrew scoring in the 10^th minute before the Tasmanians bounced back through Alice Maddock in the third term.

However, Andrew would be the one to put the nail in the coffin, scoring from a penalty corner after the three-quarter-time siren, with the home side unable to add to the scoreline.

Just like the boys' side, the girls will continue their tournament against Queensland on Thursday.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: