Sport
25 April, 2023
Hoops top hockey opening round
The Wimmera Hockey Association season opened in ideal conditions on Saturday, and if the standard of play witnessed is an indication of what is to come, we are in for a great season. With Dimboola not fielding a team in the Open division this...
The Wimmera Hockey Association season opened in ideal conditions on Saturday, and if the standard of play witnessed is an indication of what is to come, we are in for a great season.
With Dimboola not fielding a team in the Open division this season, several past Burras’ players have lined up with the Warrack Hoops.
This new-look combination defeated the Nhill Rangers.
After the Hoops scored five goals in the first half, the Rangers regrouped after the long break and kept their opponents to just two more successful scoring shots for the remainder of the game.
Oskar Bennett and Tim Jorgensen both scored twice to be the dominant goalscorers, and Jason Harris was named as the Hoops’ best player.
Hamish Pearse was the best of the Rangers.
Horsham Hurricanes’ Will Gulline dominated the scorecard in his team’s win over the Kaniva Cobras, claiming four of the five goals, with teammate Sophie Schwarz scoring the other.
In a similar pattern to the first game, most of the scoring occurred in the first half, with the Cobras tightening their defence later in the game.
Unsurprisingly, Gulline was named as the Hurricanes’ best player along with Jeff Mills, and Clint Beattie and Tom Krelle were the stand-out players for the Cobras.
The feature game of the day was the rematch of last year’s Women’s grand final that saw Kaniva win their first-ever title by defeating the Horsham Jets, and this encounter ended with a similar result, with Kaniva making a confident start to their premiership defence.
Some great work by the Jets’ goalkeeper kept the scores level at quarter-time, but the pressure from the Kaniva forwards yielded two goals by halftime.
After that, the reigning premiers took control of the game and dominated the play throughout the second half, scoring another three goals to finish with five while keeping the Jets scoreless.
Jennie Hauselburger and Heidi White shared three goals between them and were named the best players for Kaniva, while Launa Schilling and Kelly Krahe were the best for Horsham.
In the other Women’s match, Warrack enjoyed their first victory since late in the 2018 season when they defeated the Nhill Thunderbirds by a goal.
In a very even game which included passages of play that could have seen either team score, Faith Eilola broke the deadlock in favour of the Warracknabeal side with a goal from a penalty corner in the last quarter with the only goal for the game.
In the Under 16 competition, last year’s grand finalists, the Horsham Bombers, opened their season with a win over a young Kaniva Raiders team, and the Nhill Leopards won a close game against the Warrack Revengers.
With Dimboola not fielding any competition teams this season, one club will have a bye each round.
Last Saturday was Yanac’s turn, so they will have to wait until next week before they step out for the 2023 season.
RESULTS:
Open
Warrack Hoops 7 (Goals - O Bennett 2, T Jorgensen 2, J Harris, E Schilling, M Peters; Best - J Harris, R Bennett, T Jorgensen) defeated Nhill Rangers 0 (Best: H Pearse, C Schultz, D Reichelt)
Horsham Hurricanes 4 (Goals - W Gulline 4, S Schwarz; Best - W Gulline, J Mills, C Hassell, L Simmons) defeated Kaniva Cobras 0 (Best - C Beattie, T Krelle, T Ady, B Lovett)
Points/GD
Warrack Hoops: 4 / 7
Horsham Hurricanes:4 / 4
Yanac Tigers: 2 / 0
Kaniva Cobras: 0 / -4
Nhill Rangers: 0 / -7
Women
Kaniva Women 5 (Goals - H White 2, J Hauselberger, Q Pearse, L Stimson; Best - J Hauselberger, H White, B Brooking) defeated Horsham Jets 0 (Best - L Schilling, K Krahe, E Morrow)
Warrack Women 1 (Goal - F Eilola; Best - F Eilola, L Eilola, B McMaster) defeated Nhill Thunderbirds 0 (Best - C Kessler, K Clark, C Rowe)
Points/GD
Kaniva Women: 4 / 5
Warrack Women : 4 / 1
Yanac Women: 2 / 0
Nhill Thunderbirds: 0 / -1
Horsham Jets: 0 / -5
Under 16
Nhill Leopards 3 (Goals - L Clark, D Clark, O Bone; Best - D Clark, O Bone, N Reichelt) defeated Warrack Revengers 0 (Best - N Eilola, E Williamson, S Williamson)
Horsham Bombers 5 (Goals - T Batchelor 4, S Schwarz; Best - T Batchelor, S Schwarz, K Besselaar) defeated Kaniva Raiders 1 (Goal - C White; Best - C White, L Krelle, F Dodson)
Points/GD
Horsham Bombers: 4 / 4
Nhill Leopards: 4 / 3
Yanac Warriors: 2 / 0
Warrack Revengers: 0 / -3
Kaniva Raiders: 0 / -4
Under 12 Development Program
Nhill Bandits 1 (Goal - N Krelle) v. Kaniva Rampagers 0
Yanac Lowan Stars 0 (Best - S Farmers, A Cramer) v. Horsham Black Hawks 1 (Goal - L Rose)
Dimboola Kookaburras 5 (Goals - E Ward 3, J Ward, R Hadzig) v. Warrack Revengers 4 (Goals - H Lomax 2, S Williamson 2)