Hockey
11 June, 2026
Hockey teams show fight in Bendigo
All six clubs from the Wimmera Hockey Association were represented in the squads of the three local teams that played in the Senior Country Championships in Bendigo.
Although none of the teams brought home any medals, they all put in some credible performances amongst some strong opponents.
The Open Women had the highest finish among the Wimmera teams, placing in the top four in a field of 11.
They started strongly, finishing day one undefeated, with wins against East Gippsland by three goals, scored by Erin Alexander, Ameilia Rintoule, and Elferaan Williams, and Sunraysia courtesy of goals by Erin Alexander and Caitlyn Alexander.
An early start saw the Women on the pitch at 7.45 am on Sunday to take on the local team, which finished in a 3 -1 loss, but they bounced back later in the day with a 1-goal win over Geelong and a draw with North Central.
The goal scorers across these matches were Elferaan Williams, Erin Alexander, and Alexis Farmers.
This combination of results gave the Wimmera team second place in Pool A and a place in the semi-finals on Monday morning.
Here they played West Gippsland, the leading team from Pool B, and unfortunately suffered a three-goal loss, from which they progressed to the third-place playoff.
Although this last match was against Bendigo, the only team to have beaten them in the pool stage of the competition, they improved on that result with a one-all draw to finish their weekend, with Caitlyn Alexander scoring her second goal for the tournament.
The Open Men began the tournament confidently with a two-goal win over Goulburn Valley, courtesy of scores by Thomas Batchelor and Sandon Schultz, but after looking like they were holding on for a scoreless draw in the twilight match on Saturday evening, a goal in the last 30 seconds saw the North West Lightning claim the win.
This put the Wimmera team in third place on the ladder overnight.
In their first game on Sunday, they held on for a tight victory over Ballarat, with Batchelor scoring his second goal for the weekend, and Shaun Alexander getting the other.
In the twilight game, the long-time rivalry with North Central was renewed, where, after a tight tussle, their opponents put on several late goals to earn bragging rights this year.
Monday morning was a tough fixture, having to take on the two teams leading the competition.
The first of these resulted in a two-goal loss to East Gippsland, and their last game was a loss to the eventual premiers, Bendigo.
This was the end of their commitments, as they finished fifth on the ladder, and as the only final in this division involved the top two teams in a play-off for the gold medal.
The first team to ever represent the Wimmera in the Women’s Masters division at this level started with a confidence-boosting draw on Saturday morning against the Peninsula team.
Their first score for the competition came in their second match, off the stick of Erin Alexander, against Bendigo, but it was not enough for a win, as their opponents scored five.
Despite losing to Ballarat and East Gippsland on Sunday, the team was competitive and showed great teamwork, given that the players had not played together before this weekend.
Rachel Clark scored their second goal of the weekend against East Gippsland.
Their only game on Monday was a final against East Gippsland, which they lost by two goals.
Of the Wimmera players, Erin Alexander scored the most goals, with four, three in the Open Women's and one in the Masters, and Caitlyn Alexander, Elferaan Williams, and Thomas Barchelor scored two goals each for their respective teams.