DUO’S NATIONAL GOAL
Toowoomba pair represents state in Canberra
A pair of Toowoomba girls made their mark at the state level recently.
Maddy Lockwood and Bo Burton have returned from Queensland honours at the FFA U17s Futsal National Championships in Canberra.
After winning their opening pool game against NSW Country, Queensland unfortunately lost its next four games, including three by just one goal, to narrowly miss a spot in the finals.
Despite the result, Lockwood said she was thrilled to be a part of the representative side, marking her fourth year with Queensland.
“I’ve been down four years now for Queensland, playing in Sydney and Canberra,” she said.
“It was strong competition, but we played to their standards. It wasn’t just an easy trip away, we had to put in quite a lot of effort.
“We didn’t always get the results we wanted or deserved, but we tried our hardest and had fun while we did it.”
Lockwood said it was a bonus to play alongside Burton, with the pair able to translate their friendship into an effective on-court partnership.
“Just knowing how Bo plays and having someone who you know a bit better than the other girls is definitely an advantage.”
Like a lot of futsal participants, Lockwood’s involvement in the sport came from her involvement with the traditional form of football.
It has yielded successful returns, with Lockwood a part of the U17s and opens SWQ Hurfriends ricanes side in the Futsal SEQ Premier League, claiming the golden boot in the aged division over the past two seasons.
“I started playing indoor in the off-season to have fun with and stuff like that,” she said. “It starts off as fun and as I got older, I started getting a bit more competitive with it and started playing in Brisbane where I was able to get a bit further.
“Indoor is a lot faster. You have to be quicker and more skilful, whereas outdoor is a bit slower paced with the bigger field.”
Such is the talent on display from both Lockwood and Burton, they are both a part of the South West Queensland Thunder women’s squad.
Lockwood said that her experience in the side and playing at the top level in Queensland had helped her to improve in both forms of the game.
“Playing with the older girls has made me a better player,” she said.
“I’ve had to step up in training and games because the competition is so much harder.
“A lot of the women were bigger than me that I played against and I had to learn to hold my own, which made it easier to go away to nationals because I wasn’t the smallest there.”
JUST KNOWING HOW BO PLAYS AND HAVING SOMEONE WHO YOU KNOW A BIT BETTER THAN THE OTHER GIRLS IS DEFINITELY AN ADVANTAGE.
MADDY LOCKWOOD