Hockey
26 August, 2024
Yanac leads the way as finals begin
The regular Wimmera hockey season has come to an end, and now there are just four teams left in each competition to fight for the premierships after a big round fifteen that saw five of the eight matches still influence the make-up of the finals.
The weather also played its part in the spectacle, with the games on Friday evening delayed by half an hour as an impressive thunder and lightning show passed over the venue, contrasting with the pleasant and almost hot spring-like conditions that greeted the players the next day.
The Warrack Hoops earned yet another chance to challenge the dominance of the Yanac Tigers in a semi-final, and the Dimboola Roos and Horsham Jets came out ahead in the three-way battle for the last two places in the Women’s finals.
- Open -
The significant outcome from this round in the Open competition was determining who would meet the minor premiers, Yanac Tigers, who had the bye this week, in the first round of finals next weekend.
The Warrack Hoops and Kaniva Cobras both went into the round with a chance to claim second place on the ladder, although the Warrack team had the advantage, needing a win or draw to claim the spot.
Taking on the Horsham Hurricanes was not going to be an easy task, as they play the turf at Dimboola well, and they started strongly with a dominant first quarter on the field but did not convert this to the scoreboard, and although there was no scoring in the second quarter either, the balance of play was much more even.
After halftime, the Hoops' improvement continued, but the Hurricanes were not to be outdone, and another hard-fought, scoreless period of play saw them still locked together at the last break.
As the final whistle approached, it looked as if the game would end in a tie, which would have been enough for the Hoops to remain in second place on the ladder, but they made sure of this when Ethan Schilling scored a goal from the field play with six minutes remaining on the clock.
Confirming the evenness of the game, the better players from both sides come from the midfield, with Royce Bennett, Tim Jorgensen and Schilling for the Hoops and Maddy Spano, Jason Harris, and Tom Batchelor for the Hurricanes.
With second place decided and the Kaniva Cobras no longer able to improve their position on the ladder, their game against the fifth-placed Nhill Rangers lost some of the anticipated intensity, although the Rangers had nothing to lose in their last hit out for the season and put in a big performance.
Kaniva took the lead early and scored a goal in each of the first three quarters, and although the Rangers clawed on back in the third period of play, the Cobras weren’t going to run the risk of going into the finals with a loss, and they held on for a comfortable three goals to one victory.
Lachie Mills’ great season continued with two goals, and he was amongst the Cobras’ best, along with Thomas Krelle and veteran Clint Beattie, and regular strong performers for the Rangers in Jason Reichelt and David Reichelt were joined by their energetic goalkeeper Kaye Rowe as their best players.
This combination of results will see the Hoops take on the Tigers for a place in the grand final next Saturday, and the Cobras and Hurricanes battle to remain in the premiership race in the other semi-final, and although the Rangers will now pack away their gear for another year, there were plenty of positive signs for them as the season progressed to suggest that they may present more of a challenge to higher teams next season.
- Women -
Three teams went into this round within reach of claiming one of the two last places in the finals, and it took until the last match in this division on Saturday afternoon to sort out which one would miss out.
The first act of the scenario began on Friday evening with the Dimboola Roos needing either a win or a draw against the competition-leading Yanac to ensure their opportunity to play on.
On their home turf, the Roos took the game right up to their more fancied opponents, as it took until five minutes before three-quarter time for the scoreless deadlock to be broken when regular goal scorer Caitlyn Alexander put Yanac ahead.
With their chance to play finals on the line, the Roos stepped up their intensity in the last quarter, and when they were awarded a penalty stroke, they had the chance to even the scores.
Elizabeth Klinge got the ball past the Yanac goalkeeper to put the team's back level on the scoreboard, where they stayed until the end of the game.
Two of Yanac’s best players came from their strong midfield, with Mikayla Mackley and Erin Alexander joining Caitlyn Alexander as their best. Jennie Hauselberger put in her usual strong performance at centre-half-back for the Roos and was ably supported by Elizabeth Klinge and Ash Baker.
This result confirmed that the Roos would make the finals, but they still had to wait for results on Saturday to confirm if they would finish in third or fourth place and who they would meet in the semi-finals. Despite the draw, Yanac was always going to finish the regular season on top of the ladder and play Kaniva in the first of the finals.
The next piece of the puzzle was played out in the early afternoon heat on Saturday, with the Horsham Jets needing nothing less than a win to stay in contention.
They would have gone into the game with some confidence as they were facing the winless Warracknabeal, but it is often in this sort of circumstance that upsets can happen.
Unfortunately for Warracknabeal, there was to be no fairytale ending to what has been a challenging season for their roster of young and inexperienced players, and Horsham did all they could on the day to keep themselves in the race for the final, but even after a confidence-boosting nine-goal win, they still had the agonising wait for the result of the last game of confirm their plans for next week.
Maddy Spano dominated with five goals in a best-on-ground performance for the Jets, with fellow multiple-goal scorers Hannah Werner and Annabell Heal, with two goals each, also named their best. Launa Schilling scored their other goal.
With much of the play in the Jets’ forward quarter, there was no surprise that Warracknabeal defenders Erika Beckett, Ellie Williamson, and goalkeeper Melanie Bentley caught the umpires attention for all the right reasons. The other bright point for Warrack was their lone goal scorer for the game, Sam Williamson.
In the final match, Kaniva, already safely in second place, took on the Nhill Thunderbirds who needed a win or draw to stay ahead of the Jets.
With a start time in the mid-afternoon, these players endured the warmest part of the day, which influenced the quality of the play, but they still put on an entertaining display that was not as one-sided on the field as the final scoreline may suggest. Kaniva finished with five individual goal scorers, while their strong defence prevented Nhill from scoring.
Attackers Sigourney Williams and Holly Beattie, along with defender Hannah Braisby, were Kaniva’s best and the ‘Birds' defensive combination of Chyna Kessler, Helen Cannell, and Naomi Kuhnell did their best to keep their team in the game.
With this last piece now in place, it revealed that the Roos claimed third place and the Jets finished in fourth and will now meet each other in the semi-finals, while the Thunderbirds finish just two points adrift in fifth place, but as they had only spent two weeks in the top four since early May, this was probably a par result.
- Under 16 -
It was not long into the season before the likely finalists began to stand out, and it has been many weeks now since they were locked in, making this last round an opportunity for the lower two teams to enjoy their last hit out for the season, and the confirmed finalists their last chance to perfect their game plan for the finals.
The very young Dimboola Kangaroos’ team, many members who are still eligible to play in the Under 12 Development Program or are in their first season playing the sport, put in an outstanding performance in the team’s first season back in the competition to finish in fifth place, but to take on the dominant Yanac Warriors in their last match was always going to be tough.
On Friday evening, after a half-hour delay to wait for the thunderstorm to clear, the easy win for the Warriors was not a surprise.
The opening match on Saturday morning saw two more evenly matched teams play, with the finals-bound Horsham Bombers taking on the sixth-placed Warrack Revengers.
These teams put on a tremendous competitive display of hockey in a free-flowing game, and the win to the Revengers by one goal was a fitting result, allowing them to finish on a high, while the Bombers have another chance in the semi-final next week.
The last Under 16 match also appeared to be of little consequence until the third-placed Nhill Leopards kept the team above them on the ladder, the Kaniva Cobras, scoreless and scored once themselves, to send a message to the top two that the Leopards are also seriously in the mix for the title.
Next week, the Warriors and Raiders will play in the second semi-final for a place in the grand final, and the Leopards will meet the Bombers in the other Under 16 match.
- Under 12 Development Program -
The Under 12 Development Program wrapped up for the season with its last round of games. The opportunity was also taken to acknowledge the large team of volunteers who made the program happen, having given the opportunity to 86 players to learn the basic skills of the sport this year. Thirty-two individuals tried their hand at umpiring, leading to many progressing to officiating in competition matches at a higher level, and more than 30 other officials contributed by filling out the paperwork and setting up the equipment each week.
Wimmera Hockey Association - Round Fifteen Results
- Open -
Warrack Hoops 1 (Goal - E Schilling; Best - R Bennett, T Jorgensen, E Schilling) defeated
Horsham Hurricanes 0 (Best - M Spano, J Harris, T Batchelor)
Kaniva Cobras 3 (Goals - L Mills 2, C Beattie; Best - T Krelle, C Beattie, L Mills) defeated
Nhill Rangers 1 (Goal - D Clark; Best - J Reichelt, D Reichelt, K Rowe)
Final Ladder
Pts GD
Yanac Tigers 48 37
Warrack Hoops 36 12
Kaniva Cobras 34 2
Horsham Hurricanes 18 -22
Nhill Rangers 14 -29
- Women -
Horsham Jets 10 (Goals - M Spano 5, H Werner 2, A Heal 2, L Schilling; Best - M Spano, H
Werner, A Heal) defeated Warrack Women 1 (Goal - S Williamson; Best - E Beckett, E
Williamson, Mel Bentley)
Kaniva Women 5 (Goals - L Shurdington, I Williams, J Braisby, S Braisby, H Beattie; Best - H
Braisby, S Williams, H Beattie) defeated Nhill Thunderbirds 0 (Best - C Kessler, H Cannell, N
Kuhnell)
Dimboola Roos 1 (Goal - E Klinge; Best - J Hauselberger, E Klinge, A Baker) drew with
Yanac 1 (Goal - C Alexander; Best - M Mackley, C Alexander, E Alexander)
Final Ladder
Pts GD
Yanac Women 48 61
Kaniva Women 42 34
Dimboola Roos 32 -3
Horsham Jets 30 8
Nhill Thunderbirds 28 5
Warrack Women 0 -105
- Under 16 -
Warrack Revengers 4 (Goals - S Williamson 2, N Eilola, C Peters; Best - S Williamson, E
Williamson, N Eilola) defeated Horsham Bombers 3 (Goals - J Schwarz, H Mackereth, H
Mitchell; Best - H Mackereth, J Schwarz, C Blake)
Nhill Leopards 1 (Goal - J Cannell; Best - D Clark, O Bone, T S Bee) defeated Kaniva
Raiders 0 (Best - C White, L Krelle, C Bedford, F Dodson)
Yanac Warriors 13 (Goals - Archie Zanker 7, S Pedie 3, A Pedie, Asher Zanker, R Dickinson;
Best - Archie Zanker, Asher Zanker, L Cramer) defeated Dimboola Kangaroos 0 (Best - R
Hadzig, J Ward, A Pretorius)
Final Ladder
Pts GD
Yanac Warriors 56 82
Kaniva Raiders 46 58
Nhill Leopards 40 34
Horsham Bombers 20 -33
Dimboola Kangaroos 10 -72
Warrack Revengers 8 -69
- Under 12 Development Program -
Horsham Black Hawks 2 (Goals - J Mackereth, H Taylor-Carman) v. Warrack Avengers 1
(Goal - Daniel)
Nhill Bandits 3 (Goals - J Bee 3) v. Kaniva Rampagers 2 (Goals - R Williams, J Beattie)
Dimboola Kangaroos 1 (Goal - R Hadzig) v. Yanac Lowan Stars 2 (Goals - S Farmers, M
Zanker)