Hockey
13 August, 2024
Rangers draw with Hoops
The 2024 Wimmera hockey season continues to surprise, with the Nhill Thunderbirds displaying remarkable resilience to move back into the top four in the Women’s competition, and the Nhill Rangers have added a new twist to the Open division with a draw against the second-placed Hoops.
- Open -
The Yanac Tigers continued their undefeated run with a win over the Horsham Hurricanes and now cannot drop from the top of the ladder before the finals, but the big result from the weekend was the draw between the Nhill Rangers and Warrack Hoops.
Although they are all but out of contention for the finals, the Nhill Rangers are still influencing the competition with a strong performance on their home ground.
The game started quickly, with the Hoops taking control of the play early, but eight minutes before quarter time, Kaniva’s Noah Krelle, filling in for Nhill, scored against the flow of play to
put the Rangers ahead.
The next period of play was very even, with neither team dominating, but as the game progressed, the Hoops began to take control of more of the play, but with Nhill simply needing to prevent the Hoops from scoring, they effectively cleared the ball out of defence many time without the need to develop attacking moves.
It was not until the middle of the last quarter that Warrack eluded the Rangers’ defenders and converted their dominance of possession, which yielded sixteen penalty corners to two, onto the scorecard with a goal by Oskar Benntt, which would be the game's last score.
The Hoops were well served by Hamish Wagenknecht, who spent time in both attack and defence, Tim Jorgensen, who added some pace across the centre of the field, and Jayden Smith in the attack. Jason Reichlet, Brett Tischler, and Craig Schultz were the standouts for the Rangers.
A win by the Hoops would have confirmed a second-place finish on the ladder, but this result has left them vulnerable to being overtaken by the Kaniva Cobras, who had the bye this week.
This has set the scene for a big game next Saturday when the Hoops and Cobras clash, with that top-two finish the prize for the victor.
The game between the Yanac Tigers and the Horsham Hurricanes began with a scoreless first quarter where, despite Yanac earning four penalty corners, the Hurricanes’ defence was up to the challenge and repelled them all.
The first score came late in the second period when Shuan Alexander converted a penalty corner to give the Tigers the lead at halftime, and he added to this with a field goal off the goalkeeper’s pads early in the third quarter.
With several more rotations available off the interchange bench, Yanac could manage the warmer conditions better than Horsham and extended their lead with a goal by Rourkey Croot towards the end of the last quarter. The game finished with three penalty corners played out after the final whistle, culminating in Zach Dorrington scoring the Tigers fourth goal.
Shaun Alexander, Brad Alexander, and Simon Farmers all put in good performances in the mid-field for the Tigers, and fullback Jonathan Horsfall was the best player for the Hurricanes, assisted by Tom Batchelor at centre-half-back and Charles Hassall, who added some pace to their forward line.
The Tigers have already tied up the minor premiership, so they are just waiting for the Hoops and Cobras to settle who will meet them in the semi-finals, and although the Rangers are theoretically still in reach of the finals, they would require a specific series of improbable results in the last round for them to do so, leaving the Hurricanes in the prime position to qualify.
- Women -
The most significant move by the end of this round was the Nhill Thunderbirds, who climbed to third on the ladder after having been in fifth place since round three, after a win over the improving Warracknabeal.
Warracknabeal played some solid hockey, holding their opponents scoreless for two of the quarters, but the Thunderbirds big second quarter saw them score four goals to set up their victory. They added another two goals in the last quarter as the warm temperatures began to take their toll on the players from both sides.
Cally Shurdington scored two of the goals and was named amongst the ‘Birds best players, along with Kendra Clark who scored one goal, and Chyna Kessler. Rachel Clark also scored twice, and Nancy Rowe scored the other goal.
For Warracknabeal, Katre Williamson was solid at full-back, while Ellie Williamson and Eddie Bull impressed further up the field.
Nhill’s rise was assisted by Yanac defeating the Horsham Jets and Kaniva beating the Dimboola Roos. Across a very even first half, Kaniva gained the advantage over the Roos on the scoreboard when Jules Braisby scored a goal late in the second quarter, but neither team had stamped their authority on the game by the long break.
Unfortunately, Dimboola’s gameplan was unsettled early in the third quarter when one of their players had to leave the game through injury, which not only denied them one of their best players for the rest of the match it also took away their one rotation off the interchange bench, forcing their remaining eleven players to play without a break in the warmest conditions encountered so far this season.
This contrasted with Kaniva having a full bench of six allowing them more options to keep their players fresh. Despite this mismatch, the Roos put up a good fight for the rest of the game but could not stop Kaniva from adding another goal, courtesy of Imogen Williams.
Kaniva’s best players included Jules Braisby, Lisa Stimson, and Haley Pearse, while for Dimboola, experienced players Elizabeth Klinge and Jennie Hauselberger played well, along with Pamela Pretorius and young Logan Hauselberger, who had also played well for their Under 16 team earlier in the day.
In another game that started very even with a scoreless first quarter, Susan Hedt scored twice in the second quarter to give Yanac the lead over the Horsham Jets by halftime. Imogen Hedt scored a field goal early in the third quarter, and Lexi Farmers found the goals
twice in the last quarter for a final margin of five.
Erin Alexander and the two multiple goal scorers were named Yanac’s best players, and Hannah Werner dominated the midfield for the Jets, while Denise Vallance put in a solid. game on the halfback line, and Annabelle Heal also played well for the Jets.
After this combination of results, there are still several big games to come in the last two rounds before the finals, and there will be none more significant than the clash between the Roos and Jets next Saturday, from which one team will confirm their place in the finals, and the vanquished will be a big risk of having their season finish after round fifteen.
The Thunderbirds could cement their place in the finals if they defeat the competition-leading Yanac, and although recent form suggests this will be a tall order, they are currently on a four-game winning streak, so their confidence is high, and a victory here is not out of the
question.
Kaniva should answer any questions about their place in the top two going into the finals
when they take on the sixth-placed Warracknabeal.
- Under 16 -
All the results in the Under 16 competition reflected ladder positions, with the Yanac Warriors comfortably beating the Horsham Bombers to remain undefeated and the Kaniva Raiders overcoming the Dimboola Kangaroos to ensure they will finish second, firming as the most likely combination to contest the grand final in this division.
Sean Pedie scored four goals, and Archie Zanker scored three of the Warriors’ nine goals, and Jonas Beattie, with three goals, dominated the scoring in the Raiders’ tally of ten.
In a closer result, the Nhill Leopards confirmed they are also a contender for the title with a win over the Warrack Revengers, with five individual goal scorers who recorded one each, while Sam Williamson the lone scorer for the Revengers, who was the only defeated team to score across the whole round.
The finalists in this competition have been set, but there are a couple of potential finals previews scheduled over the last two weeks of the regular season, which will keep up the interest until the last games.
Next week, the Nhill Leopards game against the Yanac Warriors will be an excellent opportunity for them to gauge what is required if they are to make a mark in the finals.
Wimmera Hockey Association - Round Thirteen Results
- Open -
Yanac Tigers 4 (Goals - S Alexander 2, Z Dorrington, R Croot; Best - S Alexander, B
Alexander, S Farmers) defeated Horsham Hurricanes 0 (Best - J Horsfall, T Batchelor, C
Hassall)
Nhill Rangers 1 (Goal - N Krelle; Best - J Reichelt, B Tischler, C Schultz) drew with Warrack
Hoops 1 (Goal - O Bennett; Best - H Wagenknecht, T Jorgensen, J Smith)
Bye - Kaniva Cobras
Pts GD
Yanac Tigers 42 34
Warrack Hoops 30 11
Kaniva Cobras 28 0
Horsham Hurricanes 16 -21
Nhill Rangers 14 -24
- Women -
Yanac 5 (Goals - A Farmers 2, S Hedt 2, I Hedt; Best - E Alexander, S Hedt, A Farmers)
defeated Horsham Jets 0 (Best - H Werner, D Vallance, A Heal)
Nhill Thunderbirds 6 (Goals - C Shurdington 2, R Clark 2, K Clark, N Rowe; Best - K Clark, C
Kessler, C Shurdington) defeated Warracknabeal 0 (Best - K Williamson, E Williamson, E
Bull)
Kaniva 2 (Goals - I Williams, J Braisby; Best - J Braisby, L Stimson, H Pearse) defeated
Dimboola Roos 0 (Best - E Klinge, J Hauselberger, P Pretorius, L Hauselberger)
Pts GD
Yanac Women 42 57
Kaniva Women 34 24
Nhill Thunderbirds 28 14
Horsham Jets 26 0
Dimboola Roos 26 -4
Warrack Women 0 -91
- Under 16 -
Yanac Warriors 9 (Goals - S Pedie 4, Archie Zanker 3, A Pedie 2; Best - Archie Zanker,
Asher Zanker, S Pedie) defeated Horsham Bombers 0 (Best - J Schwarz, C Blake, H
Mackereth)
Nhill Leopards 5 (Goals - D Clark, C Bone, O Bone, B Clark, J Cannell; Best - D Clark, O
Bone, B Cannell) defeated Warrack Revengers 1 (Goal - S Williams; Best - E Williamson, J
Di Pietro, M Bentley)
Kaniva Raiders 10 (Goals - J Beattie 3, L Krelle 2, C White 2, F Dodson 2, L Doyle; Best - J
Beattie, C White, F Dodson) defeated Dimboola Kangaroos 0 (Best - R Hadzig, L
Hauselberger, R-M Williams, J Ward)
Pts GD
Yanac Warriors 48 68
Kaniva Raiders 42 54
Nhill Leopards 36 34
Horsham Bombers 18 -32
Dimboola Kangaroos 8 -59
Warrack Revengers 4 -65
- Under 12 Development Program -
Horsham Black Hawks 4 (Goals - E Elliott, L Hobbs, H Mills, H Taylor-Carman) v. Yanac
Lowan Stars 2 (Goals - S Farmers, S Hedt)
Nhill Bandits 5 (Goals - N Krelle 2, D Bee, R Wheeler, J Bee) v. Warrack Avengers 1 (Goal -
C Peters)
Kaniva Rampagers 0 v. Dimboola Kookaburras 4 (Goals - C Wallace, R Wallace, L Elliott, R
Hadzig)