Roche Du Toit and Havana Sztejman have both been selected to compete at state level for Riverina again in 2026.
The 17-year-old winger Roche has been named in the Riverina Girls High School Open Age team.
The team will play next week in Newcastle.
Havana, who turns 11 this month, secured her spot as a member of the Riverina Primary School Girls team.
She will represent Riverina at the State Championship on the Central Coast, from September 8 to 10.
A lot of progress has taken place in the girls’ soccer journeys since their respective selections last year.
After being part of the Riverina team in 2025, Roche was invited to attend an international soccer tour with Wanderers Australia.
In December of 2025 she went to England and France with the under-16s Wanderers team for a two-week camp.
She played friendly games against English teams, visited internationally renowned football stadiums like Old Trafford and visited some of England and France’s iconic landmarks.
Roche said the tour and selection for higher honours last year gave her the opportunity to push herself and have the confidence to try again for Riverina selection in 2026.
"Last year was a great experience, with harder competition and lots of great football,“ she said.
“I’m excited to see what this year brings, hoping to score more goals and win more games.”
It’s been similar for Havana who, after making it into the 2025 Riverina team as a Year 4 student and its youngest member, was spurred on to train continuously with the goal of making the team again this year.
She worked hard on developing her techniques as a winger and on her shooting.
This determination and skills work contributed to her multiple goals scored at the Riverina trials, securing her spot in the team.
Havana said she is looking forward to another representative opportunity.
“The state championship last year was a great experience, and I'm excited to go again and represent our region and Deni,” she said.
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