Thundersticks gun Tim Geers says he wants to be part of a legacy-building Perth team at the highly anticipated Hockey One League set to kick off next month.
The midfielder said after a two-year competition hiatus due to the pandemic, this year’s tournament felt like a clean slate for the State’s premier side to get back to the top in Australian hockey.
Geers is part of the 18-man Perth Thundersticks squad led by new coach David Guest who will be chasing glory at the upcoming Sultana Bran Hockey One League set to begin on 1 October.
The 26-year-old star said the side was full of experience at the top level and determined to bring the national title back to WA for the first time since 2011.
“It feels like a fresh start for us, our first year in Hockey One was a bit disappointing,” he said.
“David Guest has come on board as coach and has brought a really good vibe, so there is a great feeling around the group heading into the competition.
“It is also really exciting to have the national guys involved, particularly for us, all of our guys will play and it will be really good to have them involved – especially off the back of a Commonwealth Games gold medal.”
The Thundersticks are set to begin their campaign at home on September 29 when they face Hockey Club Melbourne at the Perth Hockey Stadium.
Geers said he and the side could not wait to get back to playing in front of a home crowd.
“There was a really good buzz after the first couple of years and it was really unfortunate after the launch of the new format for COVID to intervene for a couple of years,” he said.
“The tournament is going to stretch over seven or eight weeks this year, and with the fly-in-fly-out format, I think each team gets three home games, so that will be really exciting for fans in Perth.
“Hopefully, we can create some excitement around the team and get the Hockey WA community involved as well.”
The Melville City Hockey Club captain will head into the tournament after an incredible 12 months on and off the pitch.
Geers led Melville to a drought-breaking Premier League title in 2021, before coaching the WA under-18 and under-21 men’s sides to gold medals earlier this year.
The 26-year-old said the two underage National Championship wins had lit a fire inside of him to make WA a dominant force in the Hockey One League.
“At both of those tournaments, we wanted to set ourselves a mission to get hockey in WA back to the top,” Geers said.
“We had a really fantastic buy-in from the playing group to create and deliver something special and we managed to do it.
“I suppose that also leads into the Thundersticks, we have started to bring back the winning culture of the under-18 and under-21 boys, and it is now up to the Thundersticks to carry on and continue to build the legacy we are creating.”
But before Geers takes off for State duties, the Melville captain is determined to help take the men in maroon back to the top of the mountain.
Melville currently sits on top of the Premier League ladder – ahead of Hale and Reds – heading into the 2022 finals campaign.
“We have worked really hard to get where we are at Melville and the fact we have managed to back it up this year and be where we are is exciting,” he said.
“It is a completely different ball game in finals, but hopefully we can go back-to-back.
“It has been a really tight competition this year and there has been no room for error.”
Geers said after chasing glory for so long at the Premier level the team was now faced with the new challenge of holding onto the ascendancy.
“It has been different being the hunted this year, we broke the hoodoo last year which was fantastic, and it is a different sort of mindset and mentality heading into this year because we probably have a target on our backs and are the team to beat,” he said.
“That is a new challenge but a really exciting one, we are ready for it and really looking forward to the weeks ahead.”
The Perth Thundersticks need your support this Sultana Bran Hockey One League season, with our first double header to be played at Perth Hockey Stadium at Curtin University on Saturday 1 October. Show your support by purchasing a membership, securing your tickets or through our Perth Thundersticks Player Partnership Program. We want all of WA behind our elite-level men’s and women’s teams!