WEST GIPPSLAND HOCKEY ASSOCIATION Inc.

PRESS REPORTS FOR:   Saturday 16th May 2009

Under 9’s

Warriors 3 def Drouids Blue 1

A great game played by both teams in wet conditions. Warriors played very well as a team, passing the ball and positioning themselves very well. This led to both Gabe Duke and Thomas Taylor having the opportunity to score for warriors. Sarah Ashby played well in goals. Seth Calway played a great defensive game, and received the encouragement award for his fantastic effort.

In wintry conditions Drouids Blue fought valiantly against a strong Warriors team. Connah Smythe was dogged defending the goals with Henry Grant and Kelsey Powell feeding the attack. Cherie Bridgman and Kyle Calder made excellent opening in play. Mia Pedersen scored the only Drouids goal early in the second half. Connor McKillop is promising to be a determined defense. Thanks to the umpires and coach!

Under 9’s

Drouids Navy 3 def Gulls 0

Grace Park and Nathan Smith scored the winning goals against the Gulls in wet and wooly conditions. They were well supported by Jenna Wright and Sara Fleming and Courtney McDonald a force in attack. Dougal Wright and Mikayla Smith played their inaugural games for the win. Many thanks to the umpires and coach. Good game Gulls!

In cold and wet conditions the fearless U9’s slogged it out. Isabella and Stewart tackled well whilst Alex, Eliza and Olivia put the ball into attack. Katie and Gilly were solid in defence playing a strong game. Gulls are improving every week. 

Under 11’s

Drouids 2 def Gulls 0

Wet conditions didn’t dampen the Gulls enthusiasm. There was great team play with everyone coving the ground well. Piper Dent was fantastic in goals. Rachael Harris and Alec Bedford did a great job as half backs, heading off the ball. Sam Phillips and Ryan Claxton picked up the ball and moved it up the wings with great skill. Daniel Greenall was terrific in defence and stopping many attacks on goal. Isabella Donders and Courtney James, just new to U11’s showed improving tackling skills.

Under 13

Warriors 2 def Aztecs 1

Warriors had a number of players away or sick this weekend, thanks to Cameron for filling in and scoring our first goal and Lauren Gooden, Scored our second goal late in the second half through great team work. Fletcher Boreham stopped a number of goals, Samantha Cummings and Damian Crawford were very solid in defence, Tanita Brown and Maddie Noye continued to push the ball forward. A great team effort that was rewarded.

Strong team work and attacking pressure from Michael Finger and Luke Hall proved to be enough to break the Warriors defense to score in the first half. Karen Pedder with support from new players Megan Williams and Cambell Ross were exceptionally solid in the back line doing their best to hold off many attacks, but eventually the Warriors equalised. The second half saw both teams closely matched with frequent attack and counter attack play.

Under 15

Drouids 3 def gulls 1

Terrific team effort by all. Thanks to under 13s for subbing. Tristan Walker showed good skills in defence supporting Lachy McLean and Ben in the forward line. Well done Matt Zurrer who moved thru the centre with speed and confidence. Alyce Hatfield was reliable in wing setting up many opportunities for goal, helping Jacob achieve his great result.

Aztecs 5 def Warriors 1

A severly undermanned Aztecs took to the field and proved that numbers don’t always count by scoring 3 goals throughout the first half. Michel Finger did an excellent job in goals. The goal scorers for the match were Cameron price,  Adam Smetana,  Chris Cooper, Leesa Crookston

Back and forth the ball went with Aztecs scoring 3 goals close to half time. Warriors struggled to stick with the Aztecs, but pressed on without giving up. Second half saw the ball in warriors circle many times but were unable to convert. The pressure was kept up and finally one went through! Great work by all.

Under 17

Drouids 2 drew Gulls 2

As the score line shows, this was a very even game. Both teams had difficulty with the cold and wet conditions, the ground was slippery and the ball traveled more slowly. Drouids has a number of close chances at goal, but Michael Dobbson and Sam Stenson made no mistakes in scoring their goals.

A free and vibrant game of hockey by both teams resulted in a flowing contest. Gulls were fill by enthusiastic U15 players playing up a grade. Ryan, Steph, Joel, Jessie, Evan and Anthony worked well together. Brooke was a very solid full back generating many forward moves. An early goal to Evan set up the match and numerous penalty corners in the second half eventually paid off. Ashley found his touch in the later part of the game while Elliot in goal defended well.

Aztecs 11 def Warriors 0

On a typical winters day Aztecs took to the field and played well to produce 4 quick goals from Matt and Luke Taylor and Tiffany Bourke. As the game continued Aztecs played well to pull together a comprehensive win.

Cold, wet and windy as well as under manned! Aztecs were in full force and our defence was constantly under attack. It was truly a miserable time to be playing! With the players that were available for the warriors, a terrific effort was made and the outcome could have been a lot worse! Keep going guys!

Women

Drouids 4 def Warriors 0                 

A very open and team game by Drouids with some creative circle work particularly in the second half.  Excellent backing up and switching by Sophie Wigglesworth.  Tenacious tackling by Sandi Hatfield and Stacey Obrien.  A cracker of a goal scored by Nicki Cann.  Well done all.

Goal scorer Lisa Smith played an outstanding game in both attack and defence in a side depleted by illness.  Both BJ Martin and Jo Knersch were strong in defence, keeping the Drouids strong attack at bay on many runs toward goal.  Robina Sharp, Janet Boreham and Kylie Crawford were workhorses in running the ball toward goal for Warriors. Rachel Taylor continued to follow the ball and at every opportunity pass to the forwards. 

Gulls Green 1 def Gulls Gold 0

With a full team and subs Gulls Green played a great game all round. A penalty stroke was called in the first half which was taken by Melinda Kemp resulting in the only score of the match. All players were playing well together with some excellent tackling and defending which resulted in a win.

Men

Drouids 3 def Gulls 1               

The Drouids played well as a team, controlling the game from the start.  Despite the rain showers and chilling winds Rohan Lester and Dillon Thomson kept the ball moving through the mid-field creating many scoring opportunities.  Gordon Hobson played well up forward, scoring the first goal and Tom Copping and John Thomson followed up with a goal each.  Chris Garden was strong in defense, restricting the Gulls chances at goal.

Gulls men played a great game despite being under manned. Adam Horne played a great game defending the goals as goalie stopping many attempts at goal. Ben Sandy was a full field runner as he went everywhere he was needed. Craig Rutherford did some great tackles while Matthew King played a great wing working well with the other forwards.

Warriors 4 def Aztecs 3 

Amidst fierce weather conditions, each team played exceptionally well for a high scoring game. Lyndon Calway showed his skills in goals stopping a number of potential goals from the Aztecs side. James Bellfield and Scott Marks also showed their skills along the forward line, consistently applying pressure on the opposite side, whilst Evan Bramley showed great improvement in his skills.

Once again with only eight players, with the return of Tom Anderson which gave the team another experienced player. Newcomers Aaron Smith and Matt Davey in goals, the game was very even. They played goal for goal.