On Monday afternoon at the Newcastle International Hockey Centre, Thompson scored twice to deliver Bathurst's only win in the division one competition.

That 2-1 win against Metro South West saw Bathurst finish the tournament in seventh spot for the second consecutive year and retain its division one ranking.

"That was amazing, it was looking like it was going to be another draw, so to snag the win, we were very happy," Tamsin Bunt, Bathurst's assistant coach, said.

"Maggie scored both the girls, which was amazing for her. She was a huge asset for the team and while she was only brought in later, she really impressed us and played so well."

Thompson, who was used at striker, scored the match winner in the third quarter of Bathurst's clash with Metro South West.

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Prior to that Bathurst had posted draws with Nepean (1-all) and Northern Sydney and Beaches (nil-all) as well as narrow losses to Illawarra South Coast (3-2) and eventual silver medallists Sydney South (3-1).

Tamsin Bunt, who was assistant coach to her husband Jye Bunt given a knee injury prevented her from playing, said that string of results proved that Bathurst belongs in the top tier of state teams.

"We were very competitive, losing by only one goal to Illawarra and getting those two draws, especially the draw against Northern Sydney Beaches - that was so amazing and so valuable for us as that kept us out of the relegation area," she said.

"We did match it with all the other teams and I think our pool was definitely the harder pool. I think we could've been a lot higher had we been in the other pool, but you've got to play the games you have.

"That 3-1 loss was against Sydney South and they played in the final, we only lost by two goals to them and were well and truly in that match.

"We are very happy with seventh especially considering we are always not wanting to be playing in that relegation game, there were teams that finished under us.

"We were in every single game, so it didn't feel like we were seventh, it felt like we were a lot higher than that as we got draws or only lost by a goal or two goals to a team that made the final."

One thing Bunt felt made Bathurst's performances even more special was that the squad included a number of players making their open state titles debut.

That some of them are still eligible for under 16s shows the future is bright for Bathurst hockey.

"Maggie, Lily Kable she played really, really well, Emily Thompson, Millie and Macey Fulton - all those young girls, those Bathurst girls really stepped up," Bunt said.

"Overall everyone played so well, but definitely our younger girls really stepped up and were very impressive, especially considering it was a) their first year and b) they were so young.

"The older girls did well to mesh them into the team and the same with Jye with his coaching - everyone is part of the team, whether it's your first year or your 1000th year, you're all on the same team and everyone is valuable."

Bunt was also pleased that Bathurst managed to score in all but one of its matches. Had its draws been wins, the side would've been looking at a top four ranking.

It again highlights how Bathurst matches up against outfits with bigger player pools to draw from.

"Those Sydney teams, they've got girls from like three different Sydney club teams in the area and they are all division one Sydney players. They've got a lot of state level players, a lot of players who have that weekly high level training," she said.

"For Bathurst to go and match it with these teams, every year we put in a good fight, that's what we've always been about. To get together each year and mesh so well is a great thing for us."

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