The Adelaide Fire women’s team are living inside their own Matrix. Twelve months ago, they were stuck at the bottom of the ONE Active Hockey One League ladder, trapped in a cycle of defeats and dwindling relevance. Now, as they prepare for the finals in Melbourne on November 29–30, they’ve broken free, rewriting their destiny with a vision that could deliver one of the great bounce-back stories in Australian sport.
The origin scene wasn’t glamorous. It was two men, two laptops, and a late night online meeting. Rohan Kansra, a Hockey Australia accountant tasked with supporting growth in Hockey South Australia, and Steven Broberg, General Manager of Hockey South Australia, logged on from their respective offices. The glow of their screens lit up tired faces, spreadsheets filled with red ink staring back at them like the endless code of the Matrix.
“We were staring at numbers that told us the same story,” Rohan recalls. “The Fire had been struggling, both financially and on the pitch. We knew we couldn’t just keep doing the same thing and expect a different result.”
Steven remembers the moment vividly. “We started talking about what the Fire could mean for South Australia. Not just a team that turns up for six games, three at home, but a program that inspires kids, engages the community, gives Adelaide something to be proud of and provides a legacy that lasts much longer.”
It was their red pill moment. Instead of accepting the reality of mediocrity, seeking incremental improvements and hoping for some luck along the way, they chose to imagine a different world. Their vision’s aligned to one where recruitment wasn’t just about winning games but about building culture. “We asked ourselves, how do we grow the sport rather than how do we win three games of hockey to play finals?” Rohan says. “That was genuinely the turning point in how we approached building and then actioning a clear plan.”
From that online meeting came the Adelaide Fire’s blueprint. Step one, they would seek to recruit athletes who could be cultural architects. Tokyo Olympian and Hockeyroo Greta Hayes became the first to step through the door as a Marquee signing from the NSW Pride. Hayes was effectively the Fire’s Neo, someone whose passion for hockey and community lit up the squad. “Greta was on board from day one,” Steven says. “She didn’t just want to play hockey; she wanted to be part of something bigger. That’s exactly what we needed.”
With the key scalp of Hayes signed and announced months in advance of the season, others followed, with former Hockeyroo Laura Barden signing from HC Melbourne and Hockeyroos goalkeeper Aleisha Power switching from the defending champions, Perth Thundersticks. Internationals Margot van Geffen, Brit Wang and Breana Catley added signature quality on each line. Finally, needing more forward speed and another goal threat, Georgina Dowd also signed from the Thundersticks squad seeking more opportunity. Each player brought their own superpower, but they each settled quickly and complemented one another perfectly.
Dowd became the goal machine, hammering home six goals in the opening five games. Catley chipped in four, Hayes herself added two, and Power stood tall in goal. Hockeyroo Hattie Shand has provided further stability, while the return of Hockeyroo defender Lucy Sharman from a broken hand looms as a potential finals twist that could flip the script, but for now she’s making a lasting contribution off field. “Lucy’s leadership and on-field impact was massive in the early rounds and her continued impact with the girls during training sessions since her injury, has been profound,” Steven acknowledges. “We’re so lucky to have another Adelaide-bred athlete so committed to our improvement trajectory and investing so heavily in supporting the playing group in anyway she can.”
The campaign itself has been cinematic. A 6–4 opening night win over HC Melbourne felt like the first fight scene, a statement that the Fire were no longer background characters. Wins over Perth Thundersticks and Canberra Chill reinforced the narrative, while narrow losses to Tassie Tigers and NSW Pride, the latter sealed on Friday night after a 4am travel departure to Goulburn, NSW, only by a moment of brilliance from Hockeyroo Grace Stewart, has showed they can go toe to toe with the league’s giants.
“The players have taken ownership of the vision and taken it to the next level,” Steven says. “They’ve led from the front, and that’s why we’re here now.”
Training sessions have quickly become incubators of culture, with players leading from the front. The coaching staff of Brodie Gleeson and Megan Rivers haven’t just managed the players brought in, but they too have bought into the vision and are becoming directors of a blockbuster ensemble cast. “All credit to Brodie and the broader off-field team,” Rohan says. “Brodie bought in straight away and worked with the players to form relationships that drive culture in a short period of time and the results so far have spoken for themselves.”
Financial sustainability for the Adelaide Fire remains the subplot, but like Neo learning to bend reality, the Fire have turned adversity into identity. “The most satisfying thing has been the messages from interstate players saying how much they’re enjoying their time in Adelaide,” Rohan says. “And seeing the kids at Hookin2Hockey camps light up when Hockeyroos visit their local clubs, that’s priceless.” Steven adds: “We’ve had players who could have stayed in Melbourne or Sydney, but they chose Adelaide. That says a lot about what we’re building here.”
Steven is clear about the bigger picture: “We’re not just trying to win a finals series. We’re trying to show that South Australia can be a genuine part of the national talent pipeline. If kids here believe hockey can take them to the Olympic stage, then we’ve done our job.”
Rohan echoes the sentiment: “This isn’t just about the Fire. It’s about hockey in South Australia. It’s about giving young athletes a pathway, showing them that they don’t have to leave the state to chase their dreams. That’s the legacy we want to leave.”
As the finals approach, the Fire’s story feels like the climactic act of a blockbuster. Imagine Clubbed to Death from The Matrix soundtrack pulsing as Hayes rallies her teammates, or the iconic slow motion bullet dodge as Sharman returns to shore up the defence. Like Neo, they’ve chosen to believe in a different reality this Hockey One League campaign and remain title contenders.
If Adelaide Fire shock the league in Melbourne, it will be more than a sporting upset. It will be the perfect Cinderella ending to a season built on belief, resilience and, in part, the courage of two men who dared to take the red pill and dream beyond the norm.
By Adam Clifford