By Tara Murray
Melton Hockey Club’s Charlotte Fraser had an absolute ball representing the North West Metro Tigers at the Haval Junior State Championships recently.
Fraser was one of two Mustangs players selected in the Tigers squad for one of the biggest hockey events in the state.
It’s a long way since she started at the Mustangs in the under-10 competition in 2014.
Fraser currently combines playing in the Mustangs under-14 mixed team and playing in the club’s Vic League 2 team.
She won the club’s most outstanding junior award last year and was runners-up in the under-12 best and fairest award.
Hockey is in Fraser’s family, with her sisters Indiana and Amelia, and mum Melissa all playing, while her dad Robert is a coach at the club.
It was the first time Fraser has represented the Tigers and she was able to show both her defence and offensive skill-sets after spending six weeks training with the squad.
It was a tough championships for the Tigers, which didn’t record a victory until the final day and eventually finished ninth.
They lost both their opening day games, 1-0, but Fraser impressed with her defensive work. Her father Robert said she quickly gained the nickname “the wall”.
Day two started the same way, with a 2-0 loss to North East Red Devils, before a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to South West Country Eagles, with the Eagles scoring in the final 90 seconds.
Day three saw a couple more losses for the Tigers, as they still searched for their first goal of the tournament.
Keen to finish the championships on a high, the Tigers found another level on the final day of the competition.
A goal early to Fraser in their match against North West Country Lightning, gave the Tigers same confidence.
Fraser was called up from defence to take a penalty corner and she made it two goals for the side, when she scored from a second penalty corner.
The Tigers continued to run in the second half, and Fraser scored a third goal in the 5-0 win.
Meanwhile, it was a good weekend for the Mustangs’ women’s side, which won their first match of the season in Vic League 2.
The Mustangs defeated Gippsland Bulls 4-1.
