There's no shortage of confidence among Orange High School's Astley Cup cohort.
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Going into the 100th year of the tri-school event which also features Dubbo College and Bathurst High, it is the Hornets who will look to defend the title after ending their six-year drought in 2022.
For year 12 student and basketball captain Ben Meagher, this will be his last chance to taste Astley Cup glory and he has no plans on relinquishing the trophy.
"There's been a lot of chat with the other schools, about how they think they're going to take it off us, but I don't think that's going to happen," he said.
"I feel like we can definitely defend it and put our money where our mouth is."
![Beau Hartley, Ella Cubbin, Asha Nicol, Jared Barnes, Elen Dobel, Nyeema Delaney, Addison Chapman, Ava Cole, Ben Meagher. Beau Hartley, Ella Cubbin, Asha Nicol, Jared Barnes, Elen Dobel, Nyeema Delaney, Addison Chapman, Ava Cole, Ben Meagher.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/YN4FA67iw2pXwXjwm2vmnJ/f02b15ed-7142-4560-8fe9-b72f3e8c9b94.JPG/r0_239_8256_5083_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
With two weeks to go until the tournament kicks off, Meagher believes spirits are high at Orange High.
"It brings the whole school together and gets everyone amongst it," he added
"I love every bit about it."
Having competed in the Astley Cup since year eight, it would mean the world to Meagher to end his high school days with back-to-back titles.
"It would be a highlight of the school career, that's for sure," he said.
"I'm pretty confident with all our teams. I reckon we can get it again."
!['Put our money where our mouth is': Astley Cup captains determined to go back-to-back 'Put our money where our mouth is': Astley Cup captains determined to go back-to-back](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/YN4FA67iw2pXwXjwm2vmnJ/6b2af12c-7c1e-4275-a615-495ebfe188c9.JPG/r0_430_8256_5074_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Orange High teacher and Astley Cup organiser Tegan Dray knows just how big a celebration the centenary will be.
She pointed to the contributions from all three schools as to why the event has continued to last so long.
"It's been really exciting for the last couple of years seeing the planning for the event," she said.
"For us in particular, we've had Lynne Middleton at the helm of our Astley Cup celebrations who was our sports organiser for many, many years. She's an expert on all things Astley Cup."
With Orange set to host the first leg of the tournament on June 15 and 16 against Dubbo College, Dray believes the enormity of the event isn't lost on the students.
"We've spoken about how amazing it would be to win in the 100th year of Astley Cup. Everybody that's participated in it knows the great feeling that comes with being part of this," she said.
"Winning is just that little bit extra on top.
"Our year 12s are very excited. They've put a lot of different things in place to get some school spirit generated and generally, the vibe is very positive."
After the home tie, OHS will travel to Bathurst on June 22 and 23 where, if everything falls into place, they have a chance at winning the Astley Cup right there and then. Dubbo will then host Bathurst the week after.
The OHS captains for 2023 are Addi Chapman (hockey), Alex McIntosh, Ellen Dolbel (tennis), Asha Nicol (netball), Beau Hartley (rugby league), Ava Cole, Lucian Jordan-Smith (athletics), Jarred Barnes, Ella Cubbin (soccer), Ben Meagher (basketball) and Nyeema Delaney (Mulvey Cup).
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