Some brilliant individual performances dominated the headlines, while there were two matches decided by thrilling penalty shootouts in Perth, following Round 3 of the Sultana Bran Hockey One 2019 Season.
Women’s Competition
An amazing five goal haul from Abby Wilson has sparked the NSW Pride to its first win of season, while the Perth Thundersticks and Brisbane Blaze also broke through for maiden victories.
With each team’s Hockeyroos representatives unavailable due to the national team’s preparations for the upcoming Olympic qualifiers against Russia, all three matches were going to be intriguing.
In Sydney, Wilson opened her account with a darting backstick goal in the 5th minute and then doubled the lead in the resultant one-on-one conversion attempt to give the Pride a dream start against the Tassie Tigers.
The 19 year old’s hat-trick came just before half time, while debutant NSW Pride goalkeeper Jess Parr made some crucial saves during the third term to deny the Tassie Tigers. Then in the final minute Wilson slotted another quick fire double to round off a memorable afternoon in a 5-0 triumph against a Tassie Tigers team that has now conceded nine goals and failed to find the net in their opening two matches.
The Perth Thundersticks and Canberra Chill could not be separated at the end of regulation time after scores were locked 1-1. Karri Somerville struck first for the home side before Japanese import Shihori Oikawa erased the deficit for the Chill in the third quarter.
Thundersticks goalkeeper Aleisha Power proved the difference in the deciding shootout as she saved all five Canberra attempts, Argentinian Agueda Moroni’s successful penalty, the only one converted by either side, giving the Thundersticks their first win.
Meanwhile, the Brisbane Blaze inflicted Adelaide Fire’s first loss of the season courtesy of some clinical penalty corner taking. In a match dubbed the ‘inferno rivalry’, the Blaze struck first through a Ruby Harris field goal.
They doubled their advantage before half time when Ashlea Fey’s drag flick found the target. Adelaide Fire’s Miki Spano continued her stellar start to the season when she pegged a goal back but two more well worked penalty corners, from Britt Wilkinson and then Layla Eleison, had the Blaze on their way to snaring their first scalp.
Spano scored a late consolation for the Fire but it would not spoil the Blaze party, leaving the Queenslanders just three points off top spot.
Men’s Competition
The NSW Pride and Brisbane Blaze have maintained their unblemished starts to the inaugural Sultana Bran Hockey One season following solid wins in Round 3.
But it was some exceptional individual performances, from Pride forward Blake Govers and Blaze’s Joel Rintala, that created the big talking points. The duo both scored four goals, Govers scoring every one in his team’s 4-2 victory over the Tassie Tigers, while Rintala was in red hot form as the Blaze accounted for Adelaide Fire 5-1.
Despite Govers’ four goal haul, NSW Pride did not have it all their own way, needing to come from 2-1 down after Sam McCambridge and Eddie Ockenden had given the Tassie Tigers an early lead in a high quality affair. But having struck the opening goal in the 5th minute, Govers scored three more times in the space of eight minutes to seal the result and take his tally to seven for the season.
The Pride sit top of the table above the Blaze on goal difference after the Brisbane outfit proved too strong for an Adelaide Fire team playing its first home match of the season and searching for its first win. Despite Isaac Farmilo’s second quarter goal for the hosts, the Blaze were in complete control as Rintala dined out on the spoils.
Over in Perth, Canberra Chill recorded their first points of the campaign courtesy of a thrilling penalty shootout win over the Perth Thundersticks. Tim Geers and Brayden King had given the home side a 2-0 lead, but Goulburn local Jack Staines responded with a quick fire double to make it all square at half time.
The Thundersticks looked to have snatched a late winner when Kookaburras forward Tom Wickham struck with three minute remaining, however Ben Staines (the brother of Jack), scored a dramatic equaliser 60 seconds later to make it 3-3 and send the match to penalties. Kookaburras goalkeeper Andrew Charter then proved the hero for the Chill as he saved three of four penalty attempts.
Hockey Club Melbourne had the bye ahead of the upcoming double round of matches to be split across this Friday and Sunday. For ticketing details click here, while every match of the Sultana Bran Hockey One League will be broadcast LIVE and exclusive on Kayo.
Sultana Bran Hockey One 2019 Season – Round 3 Results
Women’s Competition
NSW Pride 5 (Wilson 5’/5’/27’/60’/60’)
Tassie Tigers 0
Saturday 12 October 2019
Sydney Olympic Park Hockey Centre (NSW)
NSW Pride Women’s team: 2.Sarah Johnston, 5.Jess Parr (GK), 12.Mikaela Patterson, 16.Jessica Watterson, 19.Morgan Blamey, 20.Maddison Smith, 21.Alice Arnott, 22.Kate Jenner (c), 23.Abby Wilson, 27.Renae Robinson, 28.Casey Sablowski, 29.Courtney Schonell, 31.Emma Spinks, 32.Grace Young
Tassie Tigers Women’s team: 1.Sarah McCambridge, 2.Amelia Spence (c), 3.Hannah Richardson, 4.Nicole Geeves, 5.Molly Haas, 8.Holly Bonde (GK), 9.Emily Donovan, 10.Laura Spandler, 13.Phillida Bridley, 15.Sophie Rockefeller, 16.Samantha Lawrence, 19.Esmee Broekhuizen, 20.Katerina Lacina, 21.Lauren Canning
Perth Thundersticks 1 (1) (Somerville 21’)
Canberra Chill 1 (0) (Oikawa 39’)
Canberra Chill win 1-0 on penalties
Saturday 12 October 2019
Perth Hockey Stadium at Curtin University (WA)
Perth Thundersticks Women’s team: 1.Phillipa Morgan, 3.Candyce Peacock, 4.Jemma Buckley (c), 6.Jacqui Day, 9.Shanea Tonkin, 11.Rachel Frusher, 14.Roos Broek, 15.Caitlin Pascov, 16.Karri Somerville, 17.Annie Gibbs, 18.Renee Rockliff, 19.Aleisha Power (GK), 29.Agueda Moroni, 30.Chloe Pendlebury
Canberra Chill Women’s team: 1.Mikayla Evans, 2. Lucy Balfour, 7.Naomi Evans (c), 10.Rebecca Lee, 11.Sophie Gaughan, 14. Emily Robson, 15.Yui Ishibashi, 16.Shihori Oikawa, 17.Beckie Middleton, 18.Olivia Martin, 19.Anna Flanagan, 25.Tina Taseska, 27.Meredith Bone, 31.Sakiyo Asano (GK)
Adelaide Fire 2 (Spano 33’/54’)
Brisbane Blaze 4 (Harris 5’, Fey 21’, Wilkinson 44’, Eleison 50’)
Sunday 13 October 2019
State Hockey Centre (SA)
Adelaide Fire Women’s team: 1.Linzi Appleyard, 3.Brooklyn Buchecker, 7.Emma De Broughe, 8.Holly Evans (c), 12.Emily Grist, 13.Sarah Harrison, 15.Euleena Maclachlan, 19.Gabi Nance, 20.Hattie Shand, 21.Miki Spano, 22.Leah Welstead, 23.Gemma McCaw, 25.Kate Denning, 28.Amy Hammond (GK)
Brisbane Blaze Women’s team: 3.Layla Eleison, 4.Ashlea Fey (c), 6.Morgan Gallagher, 8.Jordyn Holzberger, 9.Jesse Reid, 12.Kendra Fitzpatrick, 14.Meg Pearce, 15.Hannah Astbury (GK), 19.Morgan Mathison, 20.Aleisha Neumann, 22.Britt Wilkinson, 23.Ruby Harris, 24.Claire Colwill, 25.Georgia Hillas
Men’s Competition
NSW Pride 4 (Govers 5’/25’/29’/33’)
Tassie Tigers 2 (McCambridge 9’, Ockenden 13’)
Saturday 12 October 2019
Sydney Olympic Park Hockey Centre (NSW)
NSW Pride Men’s team: 1.Lachlan Sharp, 2.Tom Craig, 5.Ash Thomas (GK), 6.Matthew Dawson, 8.Nathanael Stewart, 11.Hayden Dillon, 12.Kurt Lovett, 13.Blake Govers, 18.Tristan White (c), 19.Jack Hayes, 20.Ky Willott, 22.Flynn Ogilvie, 23.Ryan Proctor, 29.Timothy Brand
Tassie Tigers Men’s team: 2.Nicolas Leslie, 4.Hayden Beltz, 6.Joshua Brooks, 7.Joshua Mardell, 10.Linden McCarthy, Eddie Ockenden (c), 13.Joshua Beltz, 15.Kieron Arthur, 18.Grant Woodcock (GK), 19.Tim Deavin, 20.James Bourke, 21.Benjamin Read, 26.Oliver Smith, 29.Sam McCambridge
Perth Thundersticks 3 (1) (Geers 14’, King 22’, Wickham 57’)
Canberra Chill 3 (3) (J.Staines 27’/27’, B.Staines 58’)
Canberra Chill win 3-1 on penalties
Saturday 12 October 2019
Perth Hockey Stadium at Curtin University (WA)
Perth Thundersticks Men’s team: 1.Brayden King, 3.Tim Geers, 4.Jake Harvie, 5.Frazer Gerrard, 7.Tyler Lovell (GK), 8.Coby Green, 10.Tom Wickham, 14.Liam Flynn, 15.Will Byas, 17.Aran Zalewski, 19.Daniel Robertson, 23.Matthew Fisher, 25.Trent Mitton (c), 27.Marshall Roberts
Canberra Chill Men’s team: 2.Ben Staines, 4.James Day, 7.Kazuma Murata, 8.Daniel Conroy (c), 9.Jamie Hawke, 10.Owen Chivers, 11.Garry Backhus, 12.Jake Staines, 13.Manabu Yamashita, 17.Aaron Kershaw, 22.Jay MacDonald, 26.James Jewell, 27.Kentaro Fukuda, 30.Andrew Charter (GK)
Adelaide Fire 1 (Farmilo 29’)
Brisbane Blaze 5 (Weyer 5’, Rintala 10’/30+’/45’/58’)
Sunday 13 October 2019
State Hockey Centre (SA)
Adelaide Fire Men’s team: 7.Scott Germein, 9.Fred Gray, 11.Cameron Joyce, 13.Luke Larwood, 15.Andy Leat, 17.Ryan O’Shea, 18.Al Oliver, 19.Glyn Tamlin (c), 20.Isaac Farmilo, 21.Simon Wells, 22.Chris Wells, 23.Cameron White, 26.Liam Alexander, 29.Eddie Chittleborough (GK)
Brisbane Blaze Men’s team: 2.Shane Kenny, 3.Corey Weyer, 4.Hugh Pembroke, 5.Scott Boyde, 7.Joel Rintala, 9.Jacob Anderson, 10.Robert Bell, 12.Jake Whetton, 13.Ethan White, 16.Tim Howard, 20.Matt Swann (c), 23.Daniel Beale, 27.Jared Taylor, 32.Mitchell Nicholson (GK)
Round 4 Fixtures
Brisbane Blaze v Tassie Tigers
Friday 18 October 2019
Sydney Hockey Centre (QLD)
Match Start: Women’s 6:00pm local, Men’s 7:30pm local
Adelaide Fire v Perth Thundersticks
Friday 18 October 2019
State Hockey Centre (SA)
Match Start: Women’s 7:00pm local, Men’s 8:30pm local
HC Melbourne v Canberra Chill
Friday 18 October 2019
State Netball and Hockey Centre (VIC)
Match Start: Women’s 7:00pm local, Men’s 8:45pm local
Round 5 Fixtures
Canberra Chill v Tassie Tigers
Sunday 20 October 2019
National Hockey Centre (ACT)
Match Start: Women’s 2:00pm local, Men’s 3:30pm local
NSW Pride v HC Melbourne
Sunday 20 October 2019
Sydney Olympic Park Hockey Centre (NSW)
Match Start: Women’s 1:00pm local, Men’s 2:30pm local
Brisbane Blaze v Perth Thundersticks
Sunday 20 October 2019
State Hockey Centre (QLD)
Match Start: Women’s 1:00pm local, Men’s 2:30pm local
