Maitland Rams teenagers Wade Harry and Bradley Paterson have been selected in the under-16 Australian Schoolboys team to tour Europe.
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The duo were named in the team after competing for NSW All Schools at the recent Under 16 Australian School Championships.
NSW finished third, but striker Harry and goalkeeper Paterson were stand outs and are now busily raising funds for their tour in May next year.
Paterson, from Port Macquarie, and Harry, from Taree, travel each week to play for Maitland in the Hunter Coast Premier Hockey League.
They follow in the footsteps of regular Rams first grader, Newcastle and NSW representative Pat Magann in being selected for the Australian schoolboys
Harry has been an integral part of the Rams first grade team this year and will be in his usual striker-midfield role when Maitland opens its finals campaign in two weeks.
Paterson was the Rams No.2 keeper, after filling the No.1 role last year at just 15 in the absence of regular keeper Chris Thornton.
“They are both outstanding players and have enormous future’s in the game,” Rams coach Nathan Baker said
“Brad just missed out on taking the No.1 keeper spot this year from Chris. He has played a few games in first grade, but coming from a high level he has improved incredibly over the past year.
“Wade is an enormous talent, he is a bit of a freak and I’m confident he will follow in the footsteps of Simon Orchard on to the international stage.
“He has a great combination of size and speed and has been a really important player for us this year.”
The duo caught up with Maitland’s Kookaburra Simon Orchard on Sunday, with both gleaning plenty of advice from Orchard about playing on the international stage.
“It was great for Wade to play with Orchy on Sunday and the boys got an idea of what’s involved in being an international player,” Baker said.
Orchard made his debut for NSW as an 18-year-old and made the Australia team five years later.
Harry and Paterson are both raising funds to cover the expense of their tours.
There are funding raising links on the Maitland Rams Facebook site for anyone who wants to help the boys and their families.
Meanwhile, the Rams will learn their finals opponents after hearings on the docking and reallocation of points from teams playing unregistered players. The Rams will finish fourth irrespective of the outcome.
This Friday the Maitland Lambs, the Rams juniors, play in the C and B Grade finals in Newcastle. C Grade is at 6pm and B Grade at 7pm.
