Round Two of the 2025 ONE Active Hockey One League will be remembered as the weekend the floodgates opened. Across six matches, fans were treated to a record breaking 57 goals, the highest tally in a single round since the competition began. From Abby Wilson’s history making hat trick to Jack Welch’s five goal heroics and HC Melbourne’s 13 goal demolition, the league’s unique rules and attacking flair were on full display. The results have already reshaped the early season picture.
HC Melbourne v Adelaide Fire
State Netball & Hockey Centre, Melbourne
Women: Adelaide Fire 6 def. HC Melbourne 4 – Highlights
Adelaide Fire announced themselves with a fearless 6–4 away win against round one winners HC Melbourne. Breanna Catley scored twice through a converted field goal inside the first 9 minutes, before Georgina Dowd stole the show with a hat trick in the final quarter. Earlier, Annalise Abbott added a penalty corner deflection. Melbourne, despite leading circle entries 28–15, were wasteful going forward. Debutants Sammy Love and Mihaylia Howell scored their first senior goals, while Bek Greiner impressed, but Adelaide’s efficiency proved decisive as the Fire drew enormous confidence from a strong performance, led by Hockeyroos standout performances from Greta Hayes and Lucy Sharman. The Fire will be full of confidence ahead of their first home clash of the season, when they face the Perth Thundersticks on Saturday October 25.
Men: HC Melbourne 13 def. Adelaide Fire 1 – Highlights
HC Melbourne produced a record breaking performance, dismantling Adelaide Fire 13–1 in a record victory margin. Dutch recruit Daan Smits was the headline act with five goals, while returning Kookaburra Cooper Burns underlined his set piece pedigree with a hat trick of penalty corner strikes. Carlin Walker added a second half treble of his own, and captain Nathan Ephraums also found the net. Though they did not score, Connar Otterbach and Liam Henderson were outstanding in driving Melbourne’s relentless tempo. For Adelaide, goalkeeper Leon Hayward was heroic despite the scoreline, making 27 saves and facing 14 penalty corners. His efforts prevented an even greater blowout, while skipper Mitchell Dell netted a late consolation from a penalty corner, yet the imminent return of Leon’s Kookaburras co-captain brother Jeremy Hayward cannot come quickly enough to bolster Adelaide’s backline.
NSW Pride v Tassie Tigers
Macarthur Regional Hockey Complex, Narellan
Women: NSW Pride 8 def. Tassie Tigers 5 – Highlights
Abby Wilson became the league’s all-time leading scorer with a hat trick inside the opening three minutes. Jenna Rae McIntyre and Makayla Jones added to the tally with doubles, while Grace Young, Maddi Smith and Alana Kavanagh impressed in support. Tassie fought back through Philly Bridley’s hat-trick and Roos Swann’s converted field goal, while former Hockeyroos Jane Claxton and Renee Taylor added experience and guile to their aggressive playing style. But the Pride’s firepower ensured an 8–5 win and kept them unbeaten at the top of the women’s competition. Post-match Scott Barker (NSW Pride) was full of praise for the way his charges moved the ball with precision, but will be seeking to tidy up the defensive end ahead of sterner challenges.
Men: Tassie Tigers 6 def. NSW Pride 4 – Highlights
In one of the league’s greatest ever comebacks, Tassie stormed home with four unanswered goals in the final seven minutes to clinch an important victory. In crazy scenes, Tassie were forced to use 41 year old Tim Deavin as goalkeeper after Max Larkin’s injury. Shortly after, the Tigers trailed 4–2 when NSW’s Blake Govers failed to score a conversion. That sparked a surge: Ehren Hazell levelled at 4–4, before Jack Welch completed a career best five goal haul with a field goal conversion in the final minute as Tassie sealed a famous 6–4 victory — a result that pulled the Tigers level with their hosts in the congested mid table. It’ll be back to the drawing board for NSW Pride, with Govers’ hat-trick and Dylan Martin’s tomahawk set piece goal the only consolation for a result that slipped from their grasp, after the Tigers rode their luck and dialled up the pressure late, led by Lachlan Rogers and Hayden Beltz.
Perth Thundersticks v Canberra Chill
Perth Hockey Stadium
Women: Canberra Chill 1 (4) def. Perth Thundersticks 1 (3) [SO] – Highlights
A tense, tactical battle finished 1–1 after regulation time, with Mikayla Evans (22’) and Annie Gibbs (23’ PC) trading goals for Canberra and Perth respectively. Despite losing Hockeyroos co-captain Kaitlin Nobbs pre-game, the hosts had pressed hard through Madi Ratcliffe, Jesse Reid and Gibbs, while Zoe Newman was strong in goal. In the shootout, Chill keeper Alyssa Smith was the hero, pulling off three saves to secure a 4–3 sudden-death win. Earlier, Amy Lawton had controlled the midfield, while defenders Georgie Smithers and Anna Crowley were immense under pressure. The result gave Canberra their first win of the season, nudging them off the bottom rung.
Men: Canberra Chill 8 def. Perth Thundersticks 0 – Highlights
Canberra overwhelmed a youthful Perth Thundersticks side with a convincing display. Aiden Dooley (11’ FG + C) and Davis Atkin (25’ FG + C) set the tone, before Jake Staines exploded with a penalty corner (50’) and a field goal plus conversion (53’). James Day iced it with a 59th minute drag flick. Perth’s Max Freedman and Brodee Foster showed intent, but the Thundersticks were outclassed by the classy visitors seeking their first points of the campaign. The only concern for Chill was a hand injury to Anand Gupte, who had earlier run down two penalty corners in a gutsy display. The Chill jumped into second position on goal difference, with Dylan Brick set to be the perfect replacement for Gupte next round, fresh from clinching the Sultan of Johor Cup with the Burras.
Brisbane Blaze – Round Two Bye
The Blaze enjoyed a bye in Round Two after a positive home opener. Their women’s side edged Perth Thundersticks in a shootout thanks to the heroics of goalkeeper Jordan Bliss, who made a string of crucial saves to seal the win. The men’s team showed flashes of attacking flair and will look to build on that momentum when they head to the nation’s capital to face Canberra Chill on Sunday, October 26.