Division 1 Women
WEST 4 d TIGERS 0
THERE was a rare break in the wind and rain for a sunny game of hockey to finish the minor rounds for the competition as Tigers took on West.
West started strongly with good passes and strong defence, which was led by Dana Jones.
An impressive passage of play gave West its first goal.
Back and forth passes from Angela Broad and Gemma Ballintyne eliminated the Tigers defenders before Ballintyne finished with a shot in the back of the goals.
Ballintyne continued to dominate in the second quarter and found Broad in the right spot in the circle to give West its second goal of the game.
West controlled the ball effectively and put Tigers under immense pressure but the defence remained strong.
The final quarter saw the game open up as fatigue set in.
West continued its domination and sealed a four-goal win to secure the minor premiership.
REDBACKS 4 d STRIKERS 0
Redbacks finished their regular season strongly with a four-goal win over Strikers.
The goals were shared amongst Eliza Beck, Jorja Beck, Steph Wighton and Lauren Manser, while the best on ground for Strikers were Kate Fabian, Tayla England and Imogen Horbury.
With the regular season completed, the first final will be competed between West and Redbacks, where the winner will advance through to the grand final.
The clash could go either way and will depend on how effectively Redbacks can shut down Broad, Jones and Sarah Mutch.
In the elimination final, Tigers will go in as favourites against Strikers but with previous draw this season, Tigers will not take anything for granted.
Division 1 Men
STRIKERS 4 d WEST 3
It was a tight tussle in the final round of fixtures as Strikers claimed a narrow win over West.
Strikers opened the scoring with a shot on goal saved by the Wets keeper but Caleb Lindsay caught the deflection and scored with a back-stick shot.
West found some momentum, while Angus Langsmith and Nathan Taylor proved to be a good matchup.
Connor Millhouse combined well with his brother Jordan Millhouse in the forward line.
Connor sent a high ball two-thirds of the length of the field to Jordan just outside the circle, who managed to dribble past his opponent and have a shot on goal.
However, his shot was saved by West’s David Vine.
The second quarter saw Strikers strengthen their lead with two impressive goals from Jordan Millhouse.
However, West soon hit back with a goal of its own, as Angus Aitken pounced on a loose ball to reduce the deficit to just two goals at half time.
West continued to work hard in attack but it was denied by the excellent defence of Callum Murray, Connor Butler and Jordan Fabian.
West started strongly in the final term and attacked hard as it reduced the deficit to just one goal thanks to a clean finish from Aitken.
With momentum on its side, West drew level with a short corner which was converted by Vine.
Some scrambling in the circle saw Cam Taylor and Jordan Millhouse restore the lead for Strikers.
The Strikers’ defence had to hold off West for the final three minutes, which they achieved thanks to some composed play from Murray, Taylor and Butler.
TIGERS 12 d REDBACKS 0
Tigers put Redbacks to the sword with a dominant performance from the minor premiers.
The Redbacks’ defence worked overtime as it was under constant pressure from circle entries from Tigers.
Greg Doll opened the scoring with a diving effort to finish off a pass into the circle.
Some slick ball movement from Aaron Mengler earned him a short corner, which he scored from himself with an impressive drag flick.
Tigers continued to find the scoreboard and led 4-0 at half time.
The lead was then extended to 6-0 at the final change.
There was no resting as Tigers looked to build form headed into finals and a hat-trick from Mengler in the final quarter saw the score blow out to 12-0 in an emphatic victory.
Tigers will now take on Strikers for a straight passage into the grand final, while West and Redbacks will fight it out in the elimination final.
