West Gippsland Hockey

West Gippsland Hockey is starting to show some quality teams with the New Synthetic field. The whole dynamics of hockey from grass to synthetic has changed, and with some teams playing more together and using skills that can’t be done on grass, it’s going to be a fight to the finals.

Under 9’s

Warriors Two def Gulls Two 2 – 0

Warriors were one down this week, but managed to keep the Gulls goalless. A great game played by both teams, with Warriors team players Josh and Vanessa taking goals. Most disciplined player was awarded to Wade Goodwin.

Goal scorers: Josh Horsburgh (1), Vanessa Gooden (1).

Gulls 2 played their first game on the synthetic turf today. It took a little getting used to but overall it was a good game. Gulls 2 showed some good defence after 3 weeks of not playing, with good defensive play from Daniel Coates, Brendan Coates, Samuel Wells and Eliza Greenall.  Congratulations to Sophia Donders who was the "Most Disciplined Player" in this game.

Gulls One def Warriors One 1 – 0

Today we had a fun, attacking game, with lots of movement up and down the field. Persistent tackling by Alex Elder and Darcy Lewis, lovely stick work by Olivia Donders, solid support by Ruth and a wonderful last minute goal by Katie Tucker, all led to a most enjoyable game. The team was very pleased to have Gabi Carbon back on the field. Congratulations to Gilly Tucker who was awarded Most Disciplined Player.

Under 11’s

Warriors def Aztecs 4 – 0

The Warriors played a strong game against Aztecs on the new turf for the second week. Both sides did not field a full team, so at times there was a lot of running required.  Most of the game was played in the Warriors forward half and everyone chipped in, displaying skills in key times throughout the game as if they had been playing for years.  The end score line was 4 – 0 with the following players sharing with 1 goal each: Matt (Lubo), Lochy, Daniel, and Toby (Who had already played a game that day for the under 9’s).  Jasmine was given the award for the most disciplined player who had a very big role in the first goal with Lubo.  All players looked like they had fun and the effort from their coach Marksy is starting to show in their skill level and understanding of the game.  Well-done Warriors!

Aztecs played a fantastic first game on our new surface.  The ball was fast and the team used the whole field well.  Brad Ankers defended the goals very well.  Jesse Brown played great defence. Corey Rosewarne played a strong first game in full back position.

Gulls def Drouids 3 – 1

Well-done Gulls! Our best game yet! We all played well as a team, passing off to each other and utilising the different positions well. Key tacklers were Sam Gilbert and Stewart Bedford with strong hitting from Matthew Duttneal who sent the ball flying down the field out of danger. Fantastic intercepting skills shown by Gabrielle Carbon and Travis Gallagher who showed great courage in attacking the ball. Goal scorers were Sam Gilbert and Olivia Donders. Isabella Donders stopped many potential goals as goalie. An exciting match to watch as we worked together.

Drouids played strong, and had a lot of attempts at goal. Near the end of the first half, Drouids finally scored a goal by Nathan Smith after three short corners. In the second half Jarrod Pearson displayed good stick skills, Isaac Daly cleared the ball well with some powerful pushing. Sara Fleming ran hard all game and Courtney McDonald also doing some great tackling in midfield.  Gulls ended up dominating for the win with great teamwork and positions.

Under 13’s

Drouids def Gulls 3 – 0

Drouids played an excellent game with lots of team play.  The back line was very strong in defence with Jack Shaddock in goals, Charlie Park, Eddie Edmonds, Zoe Bush, Cassie Sherlock, Sam Watts & Callum Hobson all working hard preventing a determined Gulls team from scoring. Riley Jamieson, Thomas Park and Grace Park persistently tackled the ball.  Mitchell Park scored all three goals for Drouids assisted by Lachlan Hannah.  Stephanie Zurrer displayed outstanding skills on the wing and Robert DiPetro ran hard all game.

Gulls had a full team this week as well as some dedicated Under 11’s playing up as subs. Thanks to Stewart Bedford, Sam Gilbert & Matthew Duttnell.

Alec Bedford had some good runs down the field with the ball. Jess Ross showed great defensive tackles. Ryan Claxton as goalie was in great form with some brilliant saves. Albert Ryan was outstanding showing great determination as well as some skill full play. New player Jack Barry showed some real potential, contributing well both in defence & attack. Some strong play by Courtney James, Josh Gilbert, Nick Mann & Hamish McCallum. Pippa Dent, Rachel Harris & Mykahlia McCraw worked well at keeping up the pressure & although Gulls didn’t score any goals, it was not reflective of the fantastic teamwork shown by all. Well done to all these young players.

Under 15’s

Warriors drew Aztecs 2 – 2

A hard fought game throughout, with the 2-all score line a worthy result. Warriors ran very hard, and attacked strongly, with Brendan Noye scoring 2 goals. Leigh Boreham led his side well, and made sure the level of teamwork stayed high. Great work in the goals by Damien Crawford restricted the Aztecs to 2 goals, and he was well supported by Aiden, Lauren and Wade. Jemma continues to improve and, with Carly, offers a
real target for the Warriors when turning defence into attack. A good result against a very talented and quick opponent.

Goal scorer:  Brendan Noye (2)
Under 17’s

Aztecs drew Warriors 4 – 4

The synthetic surface certainly allows for free scoring as witnessed in this very entertaining game between to spirited sides. Despite being undermanned, the Aztecs still retained plenty of talent and skill, and they battled admirably. Warriors, led by Sam Lodge with 4 goals, worked hard to stay with Aztecs, and impressed with their endeavour and teamwork throughout. Special mentions to Nick Brown, Carly Mattson and Jo Bertoli, and Josh Hendrick for working hard all day. Thanks also to those Under 15s that filled in.

Gulls def Drouids 4 – 0

A fast moving game by Gulls and Drouids in sunny conditions. Great to see teamwork developing with good play in both attack and defence by all. Some good saves in goal by Anthony Claxton who played up to help fill an undermanned side.

Goal scorers: Ashley Gaylard (3), Evan Tyson (1).

The Drouids had an off week, with many personal triumphs we lacked some teamwork. Prue Grant played an excellent game in defence as always! Saving multiple shots at goal. Sam Stenson had some amazing goals running the whole field to a patient Samantha Atkinson waiting in goal. To the skill of the Gulls goalie the shots on goal and rebound kept out. Keisha Legget and Lachlan Mclean playing well individually. Sad as this is our last game as a team on the grass but looking forward to a positive future the next 3 games and finals on the new field.

Women’s

Aztecs def Warriors 3 – 0

 Coming off the high of last week’s win, Aztecs started a bit flat and struggled to penetrate the strong Warriors defence. Alicia Wood-Davies found the back of the net first after some great team play with Bridgette Ockerse, Jan Park, Jane Rees and Natalie Tyson, who scored the next goal. It was great to have the luxury of 3 players on the bench, which allowed us to rest some tired legs and have people play in different positions. Robyn Ridsdale, normally on the back line, had a run on the forward line in the second half and pushed the ball out for the penalty corner that saw Alicia score with a hard hit to the back board.  Steph Crookston and Cass Jolley were solid in defence and Jackie Mowat filled in as goalie. Anna Nielson continues to find her way on the new surface and our two sets of sisters, Sam and Steph Hill and Tiff and Chloe Bourke were tenacious in their attack of the ball. Thanks to the Warriors for a friendly game.

 Warriors worked well as a team, with all players contributing to the play.  Karla- Lee used the ball well in attack.  Kym, Catherine and Tracey were again solid in defence.  Belinda did a good job co- ordinating the team.  It was even game, but unfortunately Warriors were unable to score.  Well played Shae in her first game for the Women's team.

Drouids def Gulls 9 – 0

Drouids dominated from the start, with subs on the bench, and the Gulls team not having enough for a full team. Drouids started to use different ideas on the field as they were starting to get used to the new turf field. Nicki Cann and Meg O’Brien show some power with the short corners, Amy French had some great stops and run up the field on the wing. Justin Gooding, Leah Holgate and Telese Lane used each other to get the ball to the forward line. Claire Wigglesworth and Becky Smythe both scored 4 goals with Helen Timbury scoring a goal she didn’t realizes she got, until we told her! Well done girls.

Men’s

Warriors def Aztecs 1 – 0

A great team effort by Aztecs but they were unable to push forward hard enough to enable them to score. John Dubelaar & Brian Taylor produced solid performances and Ben Falzon was once again strong in goals. Matthew Taylor moved the ball forward extremely well. This was a very tough game that felt like it was mostly played in our 
back half,  (or is that just a full backs perspective?)  It's always difficult when you're short a couple of players, and the half back line of Steve and Micheal worked tirelessly forward and back.  Tyler, Sam, Mick and Evan worked hard all game in the forward line and Evan was rewarded with a great backhanded goal, or was that a left-handers goal?  Nev played a great game between full back and the forward line, and Lyndon saved at least a couple of goals.  Well done guys on a good game.

Drouids def Gulls 4 - 0

The Drouids combined well as a team to dominate the Gulls.  The forwards worked the ball around creating many scoring opportunities, with John Thomson scoring 2 well earned goals, Dillon Thomson 1 and Tom Copping scoring a ripper from the top of the circle.  Mitchell Haylock and Dean Gallagher got plenty of the balls in the mid-field and Nathan Furphy, Paul Pearson, Gordon Hobson and Jevan Legget successfully repelled the Gulls attacks on goal.

Goal scorers: John Thomson (4), Tom Copping (1), Dillon Thomson (1)