The inaugural Sultana Bran Hockey One League season is entering crunch time and this weekend’s penultimate round will have significant bearing on who will still be standing when it counts.
After a huge double round last weekend a number of teams made their move, while for others it left their top four finals aspirations hanging by a thread.
Adelaide Fire v Canberra Chill (Saturday 26 October, start time 1:30pm local)
Third meets fourth in a defining match in the women’s competition with the Perth Thundersticks, and to a lesser extent NSW Pride, breathing down their necks.
Canberra Chill sit a win clear of the Adelaide Fire on the ladder but with a bye in the final round, the Chill will be hoping to lock up their spot in the finals and not be relying on results to go their way next weekend.
The Adelaide Fire were left to rue a narrow loss to Perth Thundersticks in their last outing, and with an away match against the top of the table HC Melbourne to come in the last round, a win over the Chill looms as crucial.
A Naomi Evans double helped the Chill escape with a 2-1 win over the Tassie Tigers last weekend, while for the Adelaide Fire, Miki Spano has been a constant menace for opposition defences so it may come down to which of the two can have the biggest impact on Saturday.
In the men’s match, the teams occupy the bottom two places on the ladder and while finals is out of reach, both will be playing to avoid the wooden spoon.
The Fire and the Chill men’s teams have shown glimpses and proven more than competitive, and both will fancy their chances of securing their first proper win (Canberra Chill scored a shootout win against Perth Thundersticks).
Perth Thundersticks v NSW Pride (Saturday 26 October, start time 2:00pm local)
Another defining match in the women’s competition will take place at the Perth Hockey Stadium as the fifth placed Perth Thundersticks host the sixth placed NSW Pride.
Both sides are coming off heavy defeats last Sunday and will need to rediscover their best to get the points and keep themselves in finals contention. For the loser, they could almost kiss their top four chances good-bye.
Perth Thundersticks Women have struggled to find the back of the net this season, while NSW Pride Women have conceded the second highest number of goals to date, so there is plenty of intrigue in this one.
The men’s match also has all of the ingredients to be a cracker. NSW Pride have been the standout team alongside Brisbane Blaze so far with both undefeated and showing their ability to score heavily and quickly.
The Pride’s trip west to take on the Perth Thundersticks will be one of their biggest tests, particularly with the Thundersticks looking to force their way into the top four.
The Thundersticks looked to have found their groove in a 6-4 result against Adelaide Fire last Friday, only to be brought back to earth by Brisbane Blaze two days later.
They will need every bit of their home advantage to be a chance against the NSW Pride with Blake Govers and Kurt Lovett in formidable form.
Tassie Tigers v HC Melbourne (Sunday 27 October, start time 2:00pm local)
Bottom hosts top in what appears a heavily lopsided encounter in the women’s competition. HC Melbourne Women have four wins from as many starts this season which is in stark contrast to the Tassie Tigers Women who have yet to pick up a point.
All indicators lead to a big HC Melbourne victory but stranger things have happened. If the Tassie Tigers can upset their opponent’s rhythm on Sunday and score early it could well be game on. But if the result follows the form book HC Melbourne could all but sew up top spot and a home semi final with one round to play.
The most evenly matched game of the weekend comes in the men’s competition with HC Melbourne and Tassie Tigers on ten points and the same goal difference, with the Victorians ahead due their superior number of goals scored.
Both teams had mixed success over the double round so predicting a winner is anyone’s guess. The Tassie Tigers were humbled in Brisbane before responding in emphatic fashion against Canberra and they will be hoping to take this momentum into their clash on Sunday.
For HC Melbourne it was the opposite. A record 10-5 win over Canberra Chill was followed by a heavy defeat to the NSW Pride.
With both teams sitting in third and fourth respectively and no chance of catching the top two, the winner of this game will put themselves in the box seat for a finals berth.
For ticketing details to every Sultana Bran Hockey One match click here. All of the action will be broadcast LIVE and exclusive on Kayo.
Sultana Bran Hockey One 2019 Season – Round 6 Fixtures
Adelaide Fire v Canberra Chill
Saturday 26 October 2019
State Hockey Centre (SA)
Match Start: Women’s 1:30pm local (2:00pm AEDT), Men’s 3:00pm local (3:30pm AEDT)
Tickets: Click here for ticketing details
Broadcast: LIVE and exclusive on Kayo
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtags #ADLvCCH #HockeyOne
Adelaide Fire Women’s team: 1.Linzi Appleyard, 3.Brooklyn Buchecker, 7.Emma De Broughe, 8.Holly Evans, 13.Sarah Harrison, 15.Euleena Maclachlan, 19.Gabi Nance, 20.Hattie Shand, 21.Miki Spano, 22.Leah Welstead, 25.Kate Denning, 28.Amy Hammond (GK), Leah Butt, Rachel McCann
In: Leah Butt, Rachel McCann
Out: 14.Amy Hunt, 23.Gemma McCaw
Canberra Chill Women’s team (from): 1.Mikayla Evans, 2.Lucy Balfour, 4.Jess Smith, 6.Grace Ronnfeldt, 7.Naomi Evans (c), 9.Sassie Economos, 10.Rebecca Lee, 11.Sophie Gaughan, 12.Aleisha Price, 14.Emily Robson, 15.Yui Ishibashi, 16.Shihori Oikawa, 17.Beckie Middleton, 18.Olivia Martin, 19.Anna Flanagan, 22.Taylor Thomson, 25.Tina Taseska, 27.Meredith Bone, 31.Sakiyo Asano (GK)
Adelaide Fire Men’s team: 3.Lachlan Busiko, 6.Angus Fry, 9.Fred Gray, 11.Cameron Joyce, 15.Andy Leat, 18.Al Oliver, 19.Glyn Tamlin (c), 20.Isaac Farmilo, 22.Chris Wells, 23.Cameron White, 24.Zendana Hirotaka, 25.Watenabe Kota, 26.Liam Alexander, 29.Edward Chittleborough (GK)
In: 3.Lachlan Busiko, 29.Edward Chittleborough (GK)
Out: 7.Scott Germein, 28.Ben Hooppell (GK)
Canberra Chill Men’s team (from): 1.Aaron Knight, 2.Ben Staines, 3.Anand Gupte, 4.James Day, 5.Lewis Shepherd, 7.Kazuma Murata, 8.Daniel Conroy, 9.Jamie Hawke, 10.Owen Chivers, 11.Garry Backhus, 12.Jake Staines (c), 13.Manabu Yamashita, 15.Josh Chivers, 17.Aaron Kershaw, 20.Lewis McLennan, 22.Jay MacDonald, 26.James Jewell, 27.Fukuda Kentaro, 30.Andrew Charter (GK)
Perth Thundersticks v NSW Pride
Saturday 26 October 2019
Perth Hockey Stadium at Curtin University (WA)
Match Start: Men’s 2:00pm local (5:00pm AEDT), Women’s 3:30pm local (6:30pm AEDT)
Tickets: Click here for ticketing details
Broadcast: LIVE and exclusive on Kayo
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtags #PTXvNSW #HockeyOne
Perth Thundersticks Men’s team: 4.Jake Harvie, 5.Frazer Gerrard, 7.Tyler Lovell (GK), 8.Coby Green, 9.Dane Gavranich, 10.Tom Wickham, 15.Will Byas, 17.Aran Zalewski, 19.Daniel Robertson, 23.Matthew Fisher, 24.Alec Rasmussen, 25.Trent Mitton, 26.Brandon Gibbs, 27.Marshall Roberts
In: 9.Dane Gavranich, 27.Marshall Roberts
Out: 1.Brayden King, 3.Tim Geers
NSW Pride Men’s team: 1.Lachlan Sharp, 3.BJ Bruton (GK), 2.Tom Craig, 6.Matthew Dawson, 8.Nathanael Stewart, 12.Kurt Lovett, 13.Blake Govers, 19.Jack Hayes, 20.Ky Willott, 22.Flynn Ogilvie, 23.Ryan Proctor, 24.Dylan Martin, 28.Sam Gray, 29.Timothy Brand
In: 3.BJ Bruton, 24.Dylan Martin, 28.Sam Gray
Out: 5.Ash Thomas (GK), 11.Hayden Dillon, 18.Tristan White
Perth Thundersticks Women’s team: 3.Candyce Peacock, 4.Jemma Buckley, 6.Jacqui Day, 9.Shanea Tonkin, 11.Rachel Frusher, 14.Roos Broek, 16.Karri Somerville, 17.Annie Gibbs, 18.Renee Rockliff, 19.Aleisha Power (GK), 21.Jade Vanderzwan, 22.Jolie Sertorio, 29.Agueda Moroni, 30.Chloe Pendlebury
NSW Pride Women’s team: 1.Jocelyn Bartram (GK), 2.Sarah Johnston, 10.Greta Hayes, 11.Emma Scriven, 19.Morgan Blamey, 20.Maddison Smith, 21.Alice Arnott, 22.Kate Jenner, 23.Abby Wilson, 25.Lexie Pickering,27.Renae Robinson, 29.Courtney Schonell, 31.Emma Spinks, 32.Grace Young
In: 10.Greta Hayes, 11.Emma Scriven, 25.Lexie Pickering
Out: 12.Mikaela Patterson, 16.Jessica Watterson, 28.Casey Sablowski
Tassie Tigers v HC Melbourne
Sunday 27 October 2019
Tasmanian Hockey Centre (TAS)
Match Start: Men’s 2:00pm local (2:00pm AEDT), Women’s 3:30pm local (3:30pm AEDT)
Tickets: Click here for ticketing details
Broadcast: LIVE and exclusive on Kayo
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #TIGvHCM #HockeyOne
Tassie Tigers Men’s team: 4.Hayden Beltz, 6.Joshua Brooks, 11.Eddie Ockenden, 12.Sam McCulloch, 13.Joshua Beltz, 14.Jack Welch, 15.Kieron Arthur, 18.Grant Woodcock (GK), 19.Tim Deavin, 20.James Bourke, 21.Ben Read, 27.Gobindraj Gill, 29.Sam McCambridge, 32.Jeremy Hayward
In: 12.Sam McCulloch (returns from international duty), 18.Grant Woodcock (GK) (returns from tree climbing event), 27.Gobindraj Gill (returns from international duty)
Out: 2.Nicholas Leslie (omitted), 23.Henry Chambers (omitted), 26.Oliver Smith (omitted)
HC Melbourne Men’s team: 1.Craig Marais, 2.Max Hendry, 3.Simon Borger, 5.Andrew Philpott, 7.Will Gilmour, 9.Nathan Ephraums, 10.Rusell Ford, 13.Jayshaan Randhawa, 14.Jonathan Bretherton, 15.Josh Simmonds, 18.Johan Durst (GK), 21.Jake Sherren, 25.Aaron Kleinschmidt, 29.Oscar Wookey
In: 1.Craig Marais, 3.Simon Borger, 29.Oscar Wookey
Out: 12.Connar Otterbach, 17.Kiran Arunasalam, 24.James Knee
Tassie Tigers Women’s team: 1.Sarah McCambridge, 2.Amelia Spence, 4.Nicole Geeves, 5.Molly Haas, 7.Madeleine Hinton, 8.Holly Bonde (GK), 9.Emily Donovan, 10.Laura Spandler, 13.Phillida Bridley, 15.Sophie Rockefeller, 16.Samantha Lawrence, 19.Esmee Broekhuizen, 20.Katerina Lacina, 21.Lauren Canning
In: 7.Madeleine Hinton, 8.Holly Bonde
Out: 3.Hannah Richardson (omitted), 22.Ruby-Rose Haywood (omitted)
HC Melbourne Women’s team: 2.Aisling Utri, 3.Nicola Hammond, 5.Kristina Bates, 6.Claire Messent, 7.Kary Chau, 8.Olivia Colasurdo, 10.Laura Desmet, 12.Carly James, 14.Laura Barden, 21.Florine van Grimbergen, 22.Madi Ratcliffe, 23.Samantha Snow, 25.Hannah Gravenall, 30.Nikki Bosman (GK)
In: 7.Kary Chau, 10.Laura Desmet
Out: 17.Emily Hurtz, 33.Amy Lawton (international duty)
Brisbane Blaze – BYE