Team spirit lifts trophy and propels girls to new heights | Rotorua Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Rotorua

There are no individual stars in Rotorua's champion football team.

Instead Western Heights High School's girls' 1st XI is "a team of stars", according to their coach.

The team won the Maurice Hulme Trophy in Hamilton last week and with it the chance to play next year in the Premier grade.

It was a huge leap in performance - last year the school finished the competition in 17th and coach Roger Gurnsey said he was astounded by the girls' spirit.

"I was blown away by how they performed - they stepped it up and kept on going," Gurnsey said.

"Their behaviour was immaculate. One mum came up to us and said we had won before we stepped on to the park by their attitude.

"Sometimes in a team you have a couple of stars but we had a team of stars."

The team is made up of year 9 to year 13 students and so have a solid base for future competitions.

Te Kura O Te Koutu student Ariana Kingi received special dispensation to play for Western Heights and as goalkeeper had a strong individual performance.

To achieve their feat, the girls first had to finish strongly in their pool play. They had wins against Green Bay (6-3), Woodford (2-1) and Waiuku College (5-0) and a 0-0 draw with Papatoetoe to put them top of their group on 10 points.

They beat Botany Downs 2-0 in their quarter-final and Kerikeri in their semifinal before taking on trophy favourites Whangarei Girls' High School in the final.

Whangarei had been due to travel to Nelson to compete in the Premier tournament but chose not to because of the cost, instead preferring the closer proximity to Hamilton.

The final was a closely fought out contest going into extra time. Head girl Dana Gray scored the winner. Gurnsey said he believed the girls were able to win because of their "huge commitment, focus and dedication".

He hadn't planned on coaching a football team. Gurnsey can usually be found refereeing.

He said: "I don't even have any girls at the school, but some of them are friends of my daughters.

"At the beginning of the year, there was no one to coach them. I've known some of them for a long time so they asked me.

"I'll stay on if they want me to."

He said a lot of the team's members were already playing in the women's league and for four players the final was their last game for the school team as they were leaving at the end of the year.

To prepare for their success the girls trained twice a week and played each weekend.

Gurnsey said he had high hopes for the future of the team and believed their professional attitude helped carry them to the championship.

"Their behaviour was immaculate."

Year 11 student Alice Bennett was named most valuable player by the other teams competing in the tournament.

Western Heights High School's girls' 1st XI: Caitlin Fielder, Dana Gray, Kaylah Emerson, Olivia Boos (all year 13), Kate Poskitt (captain), Hannah Robinson, Averil Smith (year 12), Alice Bennett, Holly Faulds (year 11), Mianna Laing (year 10), Kelsey Elliot, Kristen Smith, Tayla Grimes, Abbie Ramsdale and Ariana Kingi (year 9).