Not only did Ekert coach NSW to the title without a single loss to his name but Hanrahan also had a tournament to remember as he picked up a goal in the final and earned a spot in the Australian Country squad.

The St Pat’s players and their team enjoyed a 4-1 win in the final over Australian Defence Force.

Ekert had enjoyed three successive victories with the NSW team as a player and on Sunday he did so as coach for the first time.

His excellent run of results at the helm saw him named on Sunday night as the new Australian Country assistant coach for their Asian tour next year.

NSW manager Barry Reid was full of praise for Ekert’s efforts.

“Jaden has taken over the coaching and he did an excellent job with this team. His ability to diagnose the game – not just ours but also our opponents’ – was fantastic,” he said.

“He’s now the assistant coach for the Australian Country team. They’ll have a tour of Vietnam and Hong Kong next year.

“We also managed to get three players picked in the Australian Country team and five players into the under 21s.”

Reid said Hanrahan definitely made the most of his time out on the field.

“Riley made it to the Australian Country 21s team. He’s got heaps of speed and has developed his game a lot,” he said.

“He’s got great ball control and reading of the game.”

Hanrahan finished with two goals for the tournament, both coming against ADF in separate matches.

NSW took out their first three matches without dropping a goal, with wins over South Australia (7-0), ADF (3-0) and Northern Territory (6-0).

Queensland fought back from a 2-0 deficit to salvage a 2-all draw with NSW before the blues finished the pool stage with wins over Victoria (6-2) and Western Australia (3-1).

NSW got out to a 3-0 lead in the final, with Hanrahan picking up the second of his team’s goals, before ADF pulled one back just before the break.

A NSW goal with 20 minutes remaining helped secure the title.

The title consolidates NSW’s position as the undisputed kings of men’s country hockey in Australia.

“That’s four straight wins now and we still haven’t dropped a game in those four years. It’s a remarkable result for us to be able to do that at this level,” Reid said.

“The hardest thing to handle there was the heat. They were playing in 35-degree heat and in a lot of humidity.

“The game against Queensland was definitely a game of two halves. We dominated the first half but they hit back in the second.”