The NSW Pride have stormed the Perth Hockey Stadium at Curtin University to claim a pair of 3-1 victories against gallant Perth Thundersticks sides, as the respective menâs and womenâs JDH Hockey One League top four continues to take shape.
The NSW Pride Men maintained their unbeaten title defence in defeating a fast-finishing Perth Thundersticks 3-1 to leave the hosts chasing a victory away in the final round against Brisbane Blaze to make the semi-finals.
Then in the womenâs match, the Perth Thundersticks tasted defeat for the first time in season 2023, falling 3-1 to the reigning champions NSW Pride. In the process, the NSW Pride Women cemented their spot at the Finals Main Event.
In a high-quality spectacle, the menâs grand final replay from 2022 followed a similar script for the opening 35 minutes, with a moment of brilliance from Player of the Match Tim Brand assisting Flynn Ogilvie to a brilliant deflection goal.
Ogilvie then showed his class from the conversion with a composed reverse stick finish after first sitting Kookaburras keeper Ben Rennie.
The goals broke the deadlock after a tense first half, where Perth forced Pride keeper Ash Thomas into a spectacular double save from their second penalty corner.
Ogilvieâs goals then stepped the tempo up and it wasnât long before Blake Govers thumped a drag flick against the cross bar.
It proved to be an important sighter for the Kookaburras star, who returned to expertly dispatch a low drag flick in the shadows of three-quarter time.
Forced to respond, the Thundersticks were more progressive in their decision making as demonstrated by Trent Mittonâs crash ball that found an outstretched Tom Wickham to turn in after 57 minutes.
But Ash Thomas crushed the faint hopes of local fans for a comeback with a brilliant save to deny Wickham his conversion opportunity.
With the Pride reduced to ten men for the final ninety seconds, there was time for the Thundersticks to earn a late set piece chance, but Ogilvie twice thwarted the hosts best endeavours to secure a late result.
âIt was tight. We seem to be doing that of late, but Tim Brand obviously had a cracker and Ash Thomas has probably been player of the tournament so far I reckonâŠheâs been unreal,â Pride captain Jack Hayes said post-match.
âPhase one was obviously to make finals and being undefeated isnât really something weâve spoken about, but just getting to Canberra (for the JDH Hockey One League finals) was the first thing.â
âWeâll try and get through Adelaide Fire next week with no injuries and then hopefully go to Canberra full strength.â
The result in the womenâs match proved to be the perfect send off for the Prideâs plethora of Jillaroos stars and the foundation was set in the opening 25 seconds with the visitors high press getting instant rewards.
After strong stickwork from Alice Arnott in the attacking circle, Mariah Williams sent a close-range effort beyond the outstretched arm of Perth keeper Lizzy Duguid to open the scoring.
Duguid responded with a brilliant stalking job on Williamsâ follow-up opportunity, eventually forcing the Hockeyroos star onto a wide line to deny the conversion chance.
As rain descended, Arnott continued to shine with a well struck tomahawk effort the result of the Prideâs aggressive mindset before Perth could muster a response.
It came, with Penny Squibb firing a set piece wide of the mark before Shanea Tonkin drew a reflex save from Jocelyn Bartram from point blank range with a clever touch.
But execution was the name of the game, as on their next foray forward the Pride doubled their lead from their first penalty corner opportunity courtesy of Maddison Smithâs flick after 12 minutes.
The Pride thought they had stretched their advantage to three goals early in the second quarter, but Alana Kavanaghâs penalty corner assist to Arnott was eventually ruled out as the initial injection had not gone outside the attacking circle.
Seconds into the second half, the Thundersticks drew themselves back into the contest, with Tonkinâs forward craft feeding Line Malan to touch home at the far post.
Only the crossbar could deny the hosts from drawing level, with Malan crashing a tomahawk against the woodwork on the conversion attempt.
It would be a miss that Perth would quickly rue, as the Pride went coast to coast with exceptional transition movement before Arnottâs driving run and cross took a fortunate ricochet off the helpless defensive stick of Squibb.
Duguid repeated her earlier conversion heroics to deny Arnott and the Thundersticks went to work to try to eat into the deficit.
But Rachel Frusherâs penalty corner effort would be pulled off the goal line by Kaitlin Nobbs, after spilling behind Bartram, while the keeper returned to deny Neasa Flynn in a critical one on one contest.
There was still time for an outstretched Malan to throw her stick at a crashed circle entry in the dying seconds, but fortune continued to evade the courageous home side as the Pride inflicted Perthâs first loss of the season.
âIt was pretty hard fought from the get-go. We knew we had to start well and continue that for the whole sixty minutes, so I think we did that well and Iâm proud of our team,â Nobbs said post-match.
âAdelaide Fire (NSWâs opponents in Round 7) never give up so itâs always good to respect the team youâre playing against, and weâve got some girls going to the Junior World Cup, so thatâs going to be a challenge for us.â
âI think today and next weekâs clash will be a good stepping stone for finals and itâs good that we can cement our processes leading into Canberra finals.â
Every match of the JDH Hockey One League 2023 Season is LIVE and free on 7plus.
Match report courtesy of Adam Clifford.
Match Details â Menâs Match
Perth Thundersticks 1 (Wickham 57â)
NSW Pride 3 (Ogilvie 35â/35â, Govers 44â)
Sunday 12 November 2023
Perth Hockey Stadium at Curtin University
Perth Thundersticks Menâs team:Â 1.Matthew Bird, 4.Jake Harvie, 5.Tom Wickham, 6.Bryn De Bes, 9.James Day, 11.Tom Harvie, 13.Brayden King, 14.Matthew Willis, 15.Liam Flynn, 16.Brodee Foster, 17.Aran Zalewski (c), 18.Ben Rennie (gk), 20.Frank Main, 25.Trent Mitton, 26.James Collins
NSW Pride Menâs team: 2.Tom Craig, 5.Ash Thomas (gk), 7.Daine Richards, 8.Nathanael Stewart, 9.Nathan Czinner, 13.Blake Govers, 14.Dylan Martin, 19.Jack Hayes (c), 20.Ky Willott, 22.Flynn Ogilvie, 28.Sam Gray, 29.Tim Brand, 32.Callum Mackay, 34.Thomas Miotto
Match Details â Womenâs Match
Perth Thundersticks 1 (Malan 32â)
NSW Pride 3 (Williams 1â, Smith 12â, Arnott 33â)
Sunday 12 November 2023
Perth Hockey Stadium at Curtin University
Perth Thundersticks Womenâs team: 1.Pippa Morgan, 3.Neasa Flynn, 4.Elyssa Melville, 6.Sarah Byrnes, 7.Penny Squibb, 8.Georgia Wilson, 9.Shanea Tonkin, 10.Jesse Reid, 11.Rachel Frusher (c), 12.LinĂ© Malan, 13.Lexie Pickering, 14.Elizabeth Duguid (gk), 17.Annie Gibbs, 18.Renee Rockliff, 20.Karri Somerville
NSW Pride Womenâs team: 1.Alice Arnott, 3.Jocelyn Bartram (gk), 7.Laura Reid, 8.Greta Hayes, 11.Estelle Hughes, 14.Makayla Jones, 15.Hannah Kable, 16.Alana Kavanagh, 20.Kaitlin Nobbs, 24.Maddison Smith (c), 26.Grace Stewart, 27.Kendelle Tait, 30.Mariah Williams, 31.Abby Wilson, 32.Grace Young