Subsequent-gen Kookaburras and star-studded motion dominate the speaking factors of spherical two of the Liberty Hockey One League.
Right here’s how your group fared with all the pieces you want to know after the second spherical.
CANBERRA CHILL
A sensational debut from 21-year-old Dylan Brick has seen the Canberra Chill skyrocket three factors clear on the prime of the boys’s standings after a dominant show noticed them beat Adelaide 6-2 on Friday night time. Brick put the competitors on discover with a hat-trick in his very first Liberty Hockey One League match as Canberra went on to stay unbeaten after two matches. Simply being on the pitch taking part in hockey is undoubtedly a win for Dylan who has had a troublesome profession with double knee accidents and the Chill are comfortable to see him straight again to his recognized finest as they cement their standing because the event favourites earlier than an enormous conflict towards the defending champs, Brisbane Blaze this weekend.
It was a double win for the house crowd within the nation’s capital, because the Chill girls opened proceedings with a 4-2 win over Adelaide to sit down equal second within the standings alongside the defending champions Blaze. They opened with an electrical tempo to catch Adelaide napping in what was a 6-goal opening quarter frenzy on a stormy night time. It was a powerful efficiency that noticed exhausting work and dedication following their seven-goal loss to the Perth Thundersticks repay as they recovered their season early. A fiery highly-anticipated conflict awaits this weekend when the Chill face the title holders Blaze in Brisbane.
ADELAIDE FIRE
After a slender shootout loss in spherical one, the Adelaide Fireplace girls have been decided to bounce again towards Canberra, who have been additionally returning after a brutal seven-goal loss to the Perth Thundersticks within the opening spherical. Canberra caught Adelaide on the again foot at residence, delivering a goal-scoring frenzy that noticed Adelaide down 2-4 on the first quarter break. However they recovered to placed on a extra promising efficiency. They’ll have to step it up towards the Tassie Tigers on Sunday in Adelaide, to place some much-needed factors on the board.
A storm delay and a little bit of controversy marked a dramatic opening males’s match between Adelaide Fireplace and Canberra within the capital, with Adelaide left to rue a couple of early calls that would’ve seen the sport play out so much nearer than the eventual 2-6 end result. Coach Jethro Eustice might be happy together with his objective scorer Landon Morley who notched one other to sit down fourth on the main objective scorers charts however it’s goalkeeper Jed Snowden who is continuous to make his presence often called he stakes his declare for a spot within the Kookaburras arrange.
“We’re all ready to listen to the information of a brand new head coach and I feel Jed, with the 2 rounds and performances he has put collectively, has pushed for rivalry within the Australian group,” Eustice mentioned.
“He has allowed us to remain within the contest for longer and produced some top quality maintaining.”
CANBERRA CHILL WOMEN: 4 (Naomi Evans 3’ & 3’, Ellie Rayer 4’ & 4’)
ADELAIDE FIRE WOMEN: 2 (Miki Spano 4’, Casey Crowley 10’)
OCT 18, Nationwide Hockey Centre, Canberra
CANBERRA MEN: 6 (Dylan Brick 3’, 39’, 44’, Kaito Tanaka 11’, Gary Backhus 33’, Aiden Dooley 59′)
ADELAIDE FIRE MEN: 2 (Landon Morley 23’, Daniel Sibbald 54’)
OCT 18, Nationwide Hockey Centre, Canberra
NSW PRIDE
In keen anticipation for the conflict of the spherical, a sell-out Newcastle crowd packed the grounds to witness their Delight come up towards the defending champs Brisbane as they launched their 2024 title defence. The Delight pulled out all shares for the conflict, with Hockeyroos powerhouse goalscoring prowess of Alice Arnott and Grace Stewart combining towards Rosie Malone and Savannah Fitzpatrick for the Blaze. The Delight have been hit with sickness, dropping Greta Hayes a day earlier than the sport, whereas their star Hockeyroos captain Mariah Williams performed on regardless of having been sick throughout the week. NSW welcome a bye in spherical three to regroup and construct earlier than taking up Melbourne in spherical 4.
The boys delivered for the gang within the second match, as Miles Davis delivered a hat-trick to safe a decent 3-2 win over the champions. Hometown hero Ky Willott loved his residence look as he returned to the League and helped NSW rating factors. They bounce again from a spherical one loss and sit in a tie for third on the standings with HC Melbourne, whom they’ll face in spherical 4 after this week’s bye.
BRISBANE BLAZE
Our defending champions the Brisbane Blaze kicked off their Liberty Hockey One season with a blockbuster in Newcastle to point out the competitors they’re the favourites to observe they usually definitely began to make a declare. Choosing the ‘if it’s not broke don’t repair it’ method, the Blaze returned with a largely unchanged squad, aside from Hockeyroos defender Renee Taylor. Recent off the Paris 2024 Olympic marketing campaign, Renee introduced her retirement from the nationwide facet earlier than taking part in for the Blaze for the primary time in 5 years. Her return made an affect, along with her love for hockey evident as Madison and Kendra’s Fitzpatrick-hat-trick in the end noticed them run away with a gap 3-2 win over NSW.
A decent affair adopted within the males’s match, which didn’t go the best way of the champions as NSW led 3-1 for a lot of the match. Failing to file any factors and after a first-round bye, Brisbane look to be trailing in direction of the again of the pack in sixth place on the standings however it’s early days and having been hampered by widespread participant unavailability, coach Darren Fowler might be eagerly awaiting a late-season revival, when Kookaburras Corey Weyer, Tim Howard and Jake Whetton all return from taking part in in Europe. Within the brief time period, Fowler might be comfortable to have kiwi import Scott Boyde again for this week’s conflict towards table-toppers Canberra.
NSW PRIDE WOMEN: 2 (Lucinda Preeo 18’ & 44’)
BRISBANE BLAZE WOMEN: 3 (Madison Fitzpatrick 19’ & 21’, Kendra Fitzpatrick 21′)
OCT 19, Newcastle Worldwide Hockey Centre
NSW PRIDE MEN: 3 (Miles Davis 18’, 18’ & 38’)
BRISBANE BLAZE MEN: 2 (Jayden Atkinson 23’, Diarmid Chappell 59’)
OCT 19, Newcastle Worldwide Hockey Centre
PERTH THUNDERSTICKS
The Perth Thundersticks are displaying up the Brisbane Blaze as this season’s title favourites after a second dominant win has seen the ladies’s facet race away to a five-point lead on the prime of the standings. Following their 10-3 thrashing over Canberra, Perth pulled out extra shares as Hockeyroos star Kaitlin Nobbs returned to the League, in her first outing for the Thundersticks, and by her personal admission she “was somewhat excited” to be again. Taking simply two minutes to make her return observed with back-to-back objectives and seeing Perth two objectives up in as many minutes.
They held off a valiant effort from Tassie as the sport noticed a first-quarter objective frenzy ensue with eight objectives scored between the 2 sides and a scoreline of 5-3 on the first break. Each side held robust till the final minute when Liné Malan added the ultimate objective to double Tassie’s rating within the dying phases of the match. Perth will look to stay unbeaten after they journey to Melbourne for spherical three.
The Perth crowd braved a uncommon stormy day within the WA capital because the Perth males lined up towards Tassie in a fiery encounter that noticed many Kookaburras teammates face off in a match that couldn’t be cut up till after the ultimate whistle. Regardless of many shut penalty nook makes an attempt from Perth because the clock ticked down, the Thundersticks captivated the crowds’ consideration for so long as potential, as they lastly beat Tassie in a shootout 3-2. With a slender first-round loss and a shootout win, Perth sit in fifth on the standings and wish a great displaying towards Melbourne this weekend.
TASSIE TIGERS
Scoring one other level within the 2024 season, the Tassie Tigers girls have definitely picked up their marketing campaign since final yr’s efficiency. They fought towards an explosive opening quarter which noticed the event favourites Perth start to race away, but some wonderful play noticed them maintain on to Perth’s goal-scoring frenzy with three of their very own. They’ll be ruing some missed one-on-one discipline conversion alternatives as Perth’s Hockeyroos goalkeeper Aleisha Energy received the twin in objective. Had they transformed these, they might’ve sat nearer within the eventual 3-6 scoreline. They’ve an enormous alternative subsequent weekend in Adelaide after they come up towards the Fireplace, who’re additionally on two factors on the backside of the desk.
The Tassie Tigers males marketing campaign took a gentle hit after they struggled to get on the board towards Perth away from residence. However they nonetheless stay in second on the standings regardless of the slender shootout loss. Tassie welcomed their hometown hero, five-time Olympian Eddie Ockenden again to the facet as many Kookaburras got here up towards their counterparts in WA. Regardless of the loss, Tassie stay a assured outfit as they race to make the Highway to Hobart Finals collection.
PERTH THUNDERSTICKS WOMEN: 6 (Kaitlin Nobbs 2’, 2’, Candyce Peacock 4’, Courtney Schonell 10’, 10’, Liné Malan 60’)
TASSIE TIGERS WOMEN: 3 (Sarah McCambridge 5’, Fiona Crackles 8’, Phillida Bridley 11’)
OCT 20, Perth Hockey Stadium, WA
PERTH THUNDERSTICKS MEN: 0 (3)
TASSIE TIGERS MEN: 0 (2)
OCT 20, Perth Hockey Stadium, WA