Tauranga schoolgirls Molly Anning and Tyla Welsh enjoyed a spot of roo hunting in the school holidays.
Anning (Bethlehem College) was co-captain and Welsh (Mt Maunganui College) setter in the New Zealand under-17 girls' team that downed Australia 2-1 in their transtasman test series to win the Jenny Kirk Trophy.
The under-17 boys squad, who featured locals Liam Whareaitu and Jack Boyle (Otumoetai College), Tauranga Boys' Matt Barnett and Nate Moore (Mount College), lost their series 3-0 to the Australian under-18s to relinquish the Murray Mansfield Trophy.
Anning and Welsh warmed up for the three tests by playing at the Australian junior state championships in Dandenong. Despite losing just once, to eventual winners Queensland in nine games, the New Zealanders weren't allowed to challenge for the title and were relegated to fifth - something Anning still feels is brutally unfair.
The New Zealanders knew the drill before they stepped on court but that didn't make it any easier.
"We weren't allowed to medal, coming from New Zealand, so couldn't even go through to the semifinals. We would have made the final against Queensland, and our coach reckons we would have beaten them, but I guess we used that as motivation to fuel us," said the Year 12 student, who also represented New Zealand in beach volleyball in Vanuatu this year.
"We wanted to win our games so bad just to prove to the Aussies we should be medalling."
That fuel was carried over to the test series in Horsham, a small rural town 300km west of Melbourne.
Anning's New Zealand team won the opening game 3-0 (25-13 25-15 25-22) and should have wrapped up the series the next night after grabbing the first two sets 25-23 25-19.
But illness sweeping through the team saw them drop the third set 28-26, followed by the fourth 27-25.
They rallied in the deciding set to take an 11-4 lead but the Aussies fought back and won 15-11 to take the series into a decider.
"We were meant to win the second game and were looking good but then things just went pear-shaped. Up 11-4 you should never lose from there, but the Aussies put on a really good server and she just nailed us, reeling off the points. We lost confidence badly."
But New Zealand refused to roll over in the third test, dropping the first set 25-19 but clinching the series by winning the next three sets 25-13 25-10 25-23.
"We were fired up and it was a good way to win," Anning said. "That fourth set was close and everyone was so nervous, not wanting to choke again and send it to a fifth set."
While New Zealand were more than a match for their rivals across the floor, Anning said the Aussies' plan was obvious from the get-go - physical dominance at the front of the court.
"We had two tall middles and the rest of us were average height, but they were massive compared to us, basing their team on height."
Australia are heading to the Asian championships in China, while their Kiwi counterparts are this week back at school, with Anning planning a month's rest before her Bethlehem College team start their build-up to next year's national champs.