While the result was a team effort, Norris’ individual performance with the stick saw him finish top goal scorer in the competition with nine (eight field goals and one penalty corner) in eight games. 

The 13-year-old, who was making his first appearance for NSW in indoor hockey, said his hot form with the stick was something completely unexpected.

“At the end of the first day, there was a lot of people scoring a lot of goals,” he said.

“It was really tight [to finish top].

“We were passing the ball around a lot, unlike some state teams I’ve played with. It was a real team effort, no individuals.” 

The overall winners would be the top team at the end of the group stage and NSW headed into the final day needing to win two of its remaining three games to take gold.

NSW defeated Queensland Spurs 4-1 and followed it up with another dominant win over Victoria 5-1 to have the gold medal wrapped up before the team’s final match against Queensland Shots on Monday. 

“The last game was against the team in second,” Norris said.

“They had to depend on us not to win two games. We ended up beating them 6-2.”

Norris smacked home to two goals with the stick in the 6-2 win, one a field goal and the other a penalty corner. 

The scores were locked at 1-1 at the end of the first half and it was Norris’ teammate Michael Arthur who scored the first two goals for NSW, who gave his side the lead in the early moments of the second half.

The Shots were clearly outplayed in the second term, as Norris scored his two goals in the later half. 

Norris also scored a double in the 4-0 win over ACT on day one and in the 5-1 win over Victoria on the same day. 

He was ecstatic to get his hand on the gold medal.

“It felt really good. Out of all the carnivals I’ve come to, we’ve never come first,” he said.

“Indoor was different to outdoor but it seemed everyone adjusted pretty well.

“There’s boards on the side of the field, so you can deflect it off the boards up the field. We kept passing it around the back and use the boards to pass it around them.

“It was just really fast and quick because it was a littler field and you have to play really low.”

NSW adapted so well to the indoor format that the team remained undefeated for the entire competition, only drawing with Queensland Spurs 2-2 on Saturday and winning its other seven games.

Kylie Norris, Fletcher’s mother, said she has watched her son dramatically improve.

“He’s been in the state team for field hockey for the past three years,” she said.

“But Bathurst never had put a indoor team in [at a junior representative level] until Orange [in November]. 

“He won that and then got picked from that. It’s just kind of gone from there.

“He’s improved unbelievably. With the coaching and coming up against other quality players, it’s great to watch.”