McDonald and Cronje in WA under-18 sides for second straight year

Lower Great Southern Hockey Association pair Sophie McDonald and Karel Cronje are set to represent WA again at next month’s Australian Under-18 Hockey Championships in Tasmania.

McDonald and Cronje will play for the second straight year after being part of the women’s and men’s teams last year.

North Albany’s McDonald is part of a strong women’s side coached by Kobie McGurk.

Fellow LGSHA player Carina Cronje has been named a train-on.

Last year, McDonald won a bronze medal at the championships after beating Victoria 4-1.

Spencer Park’s Karel Cronje also finished with a bronze medal last year, helping WA down Tasmania 4-2 in their final match, and will line up in the men’s side again under head coach Ian Burcher.

This year’s championships will be played at the Northern Hockey Centre in Launceston, with games starting on March 13 and wrapping up on March 21.

LGSHA players Erin Trotter, Harry Keymer and Hennie Botha all took part in the under-18 trials in January, from which a training squad was selected and then the final travelling team.