He's in a position to know having watched the young Port Macquarie Dolphin star in the team's undefeated six-game tournament in New Zealand over Easter.

Eggleton played an integral role in the Aussies' 54-52 grand final victory over powerhouse New Zealand side Waikato Bay.

The Australians surged home down the stretch, overcoming an eight-point deficit with two minutes remaining, much to the delight of the crowd.

"It was Hayley's presence in the second half that was a big reason we won the final," the coach said.

"She was an integral part of what we did.

"She played in the centre and was a good physical presence in the number five position where she came up with a lot of rebounds for us."

Stratford said the teenager grew in confidence with every game she played in the green and gold.

"Hayley was a dominant force and protected the rim really well; she's got a big future ahead of her if she sticks with it," he said.

"I knew a little bit about her before (the tournament), but it was good to get to know her game a little bit better again because they're all developing athletes at that age.

"She's got a good base; she's tall, strong and got plenty of talent."

Eggleton stood up to the more physical New Zealand sides throughout the week.

"The girls were under-14 playing against under-15s in New Zealand so a lot of their girls were the bigger Islander-type bodies," Stratford said.

"But as the week went on she became a lot more self-confident."

The unassuming 13-year-old "really enjoyed" her first trip overseas.

"I liked being able to play at least one game of basketball each day without a break and all the games were similar competition so we had to work hard to win every game," she said.

While she was a star on the court, it was a number of off-court observations that stood out across the six-day tour.

"I liked the donuts from the donut van outside stadium and they had great facilities at the basketball stadium," she said.

"I also enjoyed exploring Rotorua and saw a kiwi bird."

Eggleton has only recently turned 13 and is a member of the Port Macquarie under-16 girls' rep team that plays in the NSW Country Championship League.

Unfortunately the association don't have sufficient numbers for an under-14 girls team, so the teenager is playing up an age group.

Along with several other Port Macquarie juniors, Eggleton has also been picked in the NSW Country Talented Athlete Program and the North Coast Academy of Sport squad.

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