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Seacows named Sporting Club of the Year
Wednesday, 02 September 2009 13:29

EXTRACT COURTESY OF THE STAR

 

The University of Newcastle formally recognised the sporting excellence of its students at a special awards presentation last week.

The University of Newcastle Women’s Hockey Club was named Sporting Club of the Year, recognising the attainment of high standards in sports administration by the club.

It had an extremely successful year last season.

Five of the club’s six teams featured in the finals series of their respective competitions. This included the minor premiership and grand final appearance for the Premier League team, major premiership for the second grade team and a grand final appearance for the third grade side.

The club was well represented at both the East Coast Challenge and the Australian University Games in Melbourne.

The club was also recognised as a finalist in last year’s awards.

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GoalKeepers outstanding
Wednesday, 02 September 2009 13:25

COURTESY MANNING RIVER TIMES

SHARKS North Coast Autos and Tigers met in an exciting Manning division one women's hockey challenge where both sides gave 100 per cent effort in their last round match of the season.

Pressure was applied from the initial whistle and both goal keepers had to step into top gear to protect their territory.

Emilly McGillicuddy from Sharks and Sue Kierstead from Tigers were outstanding, effectively making a number of scrambling saves.

Tigers' relentless attack midfield by sisters Caity and Maddy Rosser, Holli Wheeler, Rikki Salmon and Anna Lay proved to be the turning point in the match, giving Tigers victory when Holli and Maddy potted a goal each.

Tight marking in the centre by Jordan Hardy, Amanda Nicholson, Rob Morrison, Sue Bartz and Kat Hayes broke down the Sharks attack, ensuring a Tigers victory.

Sharks Rebekah Dodds, sisters Jade and Breea Atkins, Jo Bevan, Kylie Pearce and Taylor Shoesmith worked non-stop in defending their territory throughout the match. Kylie Emerton, Linda Ferguson, Kristen Gates, Rachael Hinton and Lauren Townes gave their all in attack, Lauren netting the only goal for her side. The loss sees Sharks bow out of the final series for 2009.

Wingham came out on top of Chatham Strikers in another close encounter in division one.

Both sides had plenty of possession, giving them ample opportunity in attack. Wingham found the back of the net through the efforts of Hayley Green who scored two goals, and Sherree Boyd who scored the third. Leanne Yarnold, Lea Dawson, Amanda Green and Amber Martin worked hard in defence for the team.

Chatham Strikers were quick to take up attacking opportunities as Michelle Clarke, Cody Smith, Madi Webster, Zoe Collier and Taleha Collins worked in combination to take the ball into opposition territory.

They were rewarded for their efforts when Michelle managed to pot two goals. Emily Collier, Nicole Clarke, Alison Collins, Teresa Holden and Janine Green worked tirelessly until the final whistle to defend their goal area, managing to hold on for a 3-2 score line.

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Last Minett goal
Wednesday, 02 September 2009 13:24

COURTESY MANNING RIVER TIMES

A GOAL to promising Christian Minett five minutes before fulltime broke a 2-2 deadlock against Chatham and enabled Tigers to advance to the grand final of the Mid North Coast Premier League hockey grand final.

Minor premiers Chatham will now play defending premiers Sharks in the final this weekend with the winner to meet Tigers in the decider in a fortnight.

Tigers captain-coach Robert Fish rates his side's performance in the first half of the major semi as the best of the season, even though they only trooped off at the break with a 1-0 advantage.

"We played really well in the first half,'' Fish said.

Tigers increased the lead to 2-0 early in the second section. However, Chatham weren't to be denied and locked up the scores at 2-2.

Fish concedes he was starting to get concerned.

"It was a very hot day and we were starting to run out of legs,'' he explained.

However, Tigers have a habit of winning big games and the side rallied late in the second half for Minett - who was outstanding - the hit the winner.

Paul Cox also had a strong game for Tigers while veteran Tony Lewis was busy.

Keeping possession: Michael Minett from Tigers works the ball in the major semi-final against Chatham. Tigers won 3-2.

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Blue triumps on 'pink' finals day
Wednesday, 02 September 2009 13:21

COURTESY MAITLAND MERCURY

They may have been pretty in pink but blue was the colour on top at the end of the day.

On a day labelled the “Pink Women’s Grand Final Day” the Blues were able to hold off minor premiers Talking Heads by one goal in the grand final of the Maitland Hockey Association (MHA) A-grade women’s competition.

Jillian Bradford scored for the Blues in the second half and it was enough to secure victory for her team on Saturday, which also doubled as a fundraiser for the McGrath foundation, in an entertaining fixture at Maitland Park.

“A fast, high performance game played by both teams,” MHA vice-president Honey Wilcher said.

The blue did not come through in B-grade with Norths overpowering the Bluebees 5-2 in the competition’s season decider. Norths capitalised on a 3-0 halftime lead despite a double to Bluebees forward Janine Ford.

Sally Mayberry scored a double for Norths while Ros Sherlock, Joan Hart and Caitlin Upfold were the other scorers for the victors.

Norths also won the club championship while Joan Hart, Nola Wheadon, Debbie Lee and Wilcher received life membership of the MHA. Wilcher said $1500 was raised for the McGrath Foundation.

Wilcher said it was a successful end to a successful season, which included the introductory program called Hook In2 Hockey.

“This increased our junior player numbers substantially,” Wilcher said.

Competitions for men and women in junior and senior age groups were run this year, which also included men’s seven-a-side.

The final grand final - the under-13s - will be held at Maitland Park tonight and will be fought out between Norths Juniors and the Kookaburras at 5.30pm.

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Finals in disarray for Rams
Tuesday, 01 September 2009 09:00

COURTESY MAITLAND MERCURY

The Maitland Rams suffered a shock loss on Sunday going down 1-0 to Wests in the penultimate round of the Newcastle and District Hockey Association Premier League.

The Rams, who have already qualified for the finals series, were unable to capitalise on countless scoring opportunities and paid the price when Wests scored in the 25th minute at Maitland Park.

It was the first time the Rams have been defeated by Wests this season.

The Rams won their round six encounter 9-3 and triumphed 5-2 in round 13 but this time the goals were not flowing for the Maitland squad.

“We had our chances but we could not put them away,” Rams coach Peter Lovell said. “We did all the good work, all the hard work, but could not put the ball in the back of the net.”

Short corners were one of his main concerns. “We couldn’t score off a short, which was disappointing,” Lovell said.

Lovell said the Rams did not play badly but it was not as impressive as last week’s showing against Gosford on the Central Coast.

Then, the Rams led 2-0 only to be beaten 6-2 but Lovell was pleased with how the Rams performed.

This week Lovell said there was less intensity. “It was not as good a game as last week,” Lovell said. “I’m not sure what attitude they went into the game with.”

Lovell said right half Tobin Bush injected himself into attack well while defenders Brett Gallagher and Alex Tobin were outstanding. “They tackled particularly well and it was a good work out for them,” Lovell said.

Lovell said there was plenty to work on before the Rams meet the Entrance at home on Sunday.

Finals begin on September 13 with the Rams to take on Gosford or Souths - depending on results.

Wests 1 (Eden McGlashon 25”) def Maitland Rams 0

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Best win yet
Tuesday, 01 September 2009 09:02

COURTESY MAITLAND MERCURY

Kookaburras star and former Maitland boy Simon Orchard said Australia’s qualification into next year’s World Cup in India was the most exciting moment in his young international career.

The Kookaburra’s defeated New Zealand 3-1 in the Oceanic Cup in New Zealand on Saturday to advance to the World Cup and Orchard says the win has been labelled as the most important win in the rebuilding phase for the young squad.

“It (the win) was probably the most important win for us, not just for that tournament, but for the whole year,” Orchard said. “We’ve got a new coach and a relatively inexperienced team, so the victory was a great reward.”

Orchard was in fine form throughout the tournament scoring four goals in the Kookaburras thumping 26-0 victory against Samoa and played a key role in his side’s 3-1 win against hosts New Zealand.

“I’ve played 31 games now in Australian colours and I definitely feel like I am contributing more to the team,” Orchard said. “Our coach Ric Charlesworth has brought a new and innovative style of play to the team, which suits my playing style well.”

Next year’s World Cup will be held in India – a country Orchard has never played in, but the

23-year-old said he was looking forward to the experience.

“Hockey is probably the second most popular sport in India, behind cricket, and judging by those fanatical fans it should be an intense atmosphere,” he said. “We have a full-time strength and conditioning coach on our staff and we will try to acclimatise ourselves to the heat with training drills in full tracksuits and a couple of games in Darwin – but it will be pretty hard to simulate the craziness of the crowd.”

Australia’s next major tournament will be the Championships Trophy in Melbourne in November.

 

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Mid North Coast Premier League SF Preview
Thursday, 27 August 2009 11:21

Mid North Coast Premier League semi-finals get under way this weekend with two big matches sure to entertain the crowds from the new clubhouse and bar.

The first game to hit off is at 2pm on the freshly laid new surface is minor premiers Chatham taking on the experienced Tigers outfit. Tigers will welcome the return of key striker Mark Atkins who has missed the last two games due to a groin injury. Atkins combination with the in-form Christian Minnett has been the key to much of their success this year. They will also be hoping that experienced campaigner Tony Lewis is 100% fit with a knee injury plaguing him in recent weeks. Chatham co-captain Adam Birkefeld believes Brad Mitchell is the player to keep under guard, “ if we let Brad get to involved in the game then we are going to have some real problems stopping them”. Mitchell has been in great form in present weeks and is the key to linking up with Robert Fish and Gavin Boyd in the half line and always looks dangerous when pushing forward from defence. Tigers big game experience and composure is something that is sure to show should the game get tight in the later stages of the match. If they can keep the game at their pace Tigers could cause some troubles for the minor premiers.

New South Wales Institute of Sport Player Luke Witchard looks to be the only inclusion into the Chatham side which has only lost 1 game all season. The heat at the 2pm timeslot may be a concern for Chatham who play a fast and flashy style of hockey. Chatham are a young and in-experienced side who will need the guidance of Phillip Walters to get them through the next couple of weeks, “ Frog (Walters) has been there before and played in these big games so if we listen to him and keep our heads together we will go well” Birkefeld added. Chatham will need Fullbacks Adam Straub and Mitchell Jobson to continue their great from this year to shut down Atkins and Minnett. The strength of players over the field and on the bench is the key behind Chatham's success this season with Birkefeld and Newcastle player Matt Doherty coming from the bench in most games with the control of Co-captain Shane Klump leading them on the field. Josh Meldrum and Hal Phillips are sure to cause some troubles up front with their natural goal scoring ability. If Chatham play the hockey that has seen them dominate this season they will be a hard team to stop from holding the trophy at the end of the year.

In the second match we see the in form Sharks take on Port Macquarie Rovers. Sharks are the MNC Premiers from last year and wont want to hand over the title easy which is going to make them a hard team to beat over the coming weeks Sharks have found some form in the last 2 months winning 6 games in a row. Sharks have been a consistent side all year, just at times struggling to find the back of the net. The return of Tony Barton and Will Macintosh has added some composure to the sharks outfit and allowed Ray Walters, Steve Parvin and Jason McLaughlin to play their natural games which teams are struggling to combat. Sharks accounted for Rovers 6-1 in the last round of games last week in which will be a huge boost for Barton's troops as they will hold that mental advantage over them for the up coming match. Young goal keeper Blake Weaver will once again have his work cut out for him trying to control an attacking rovers side who know how to finish goals, but Weaver has been in fantastic form this year and is sure to rise to the occasion.

Rovers have had an up and down year this year due to players work commitments and injuries. However they look to be back to full strength this week with the exception of Luke Ottaway who has moved away with work commitments. “Luke looks like he has moved up north and staying up there unfortunately” Captain Peter Gleeson noted. “When Rovers are full strength they are probably the hardest team in the comp to beat” Birkefeld said. This week they see the return of Matt Newell and Wayne Gleeson both of whom on the right day can swing a game in their favour. They will also welcome the return of Ashley Grummitt who has represented Australia at over 40's and has some of the best skills in the competition and is going to be a handful for the Sharks defence. This is a do or die game and both teams are sure to wear their hearts on their sleeves which could see the game get a little fiery at times. It will be a game that will be sure to entertain the crowd.

The canteen and bar will be open at 2pm in the new clubhouse facilities and games can be watched from the verandahs so come and watch some talented players and exiting games on Saturday from 2pm.

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