HockeyOne: Road to Canberra | Perth Thundersticks women’s captain Rachel Frusher

With the JDH Hockey One Finals Main Event around the corner, Perth Thundersticks women’s captain Rachel Frusher is hoping to cap off a great season with a strong finals campaign.

The Perth Thundersticks have made the long trip to Canberra ahead of the 2023 JDH Hockey One Finals Main Event at the National Hockey Centre, where they will kick off their finals campaign going head to head with the very team they fell short to in round 7: Brisbane Blaze.

The Thundersticks quickly emerged as a strong contender for the finals early in the season with convincing wins over Canberra Chill and Tassie Tigers, holding off Hockey Club Melbourne to remain undefeated, and pulling off a clean-sheet victory over Adelaide Fire to become the first team to secure a finals berth.

But that strong form hit a slump when the team fell behind the eight-ball against NSW Pride and struggled to sneak past Brisbane Blaze’s defence in the last two rounds of the regular season.

However, captain Frusher said the team is hoping to bring that form back and come into the finals strong.

“Luckily we played [Brisbane Blaze] just recently so we’ve got a lot that we can look at and improve on,” she said.

“I think if we just go back our own game, our passing game and how we play our style instead of playing to what they do, we’ll be able to play to our strengths.”

Despite having a number of new additions to the squad, Frusher said the team has gelled together very well throughout the season so far.

“I think it’s probably one of the closest teams that we’ve had,” she said.

“We’ve all really gelled together so it’s been a really nice atmosphere to play in and be around.

“We have such great depth and the girls who have come into the team have given us a new perspective on how we play and also bringing their strengths in.

“Everyone brings their own … and everyone has their own bit of leadership they bring in so it’s really good.

“We’ve also had great off-field staff and a great calibre of coaches so it’s been really great to have their knowledge come into the team and have people that we can really relate to.”

The Perth Thundersticks will kick off their JDH Hockey One Finals campaign taking on the Brisbane Blaze on Saturday 25 November, and will quickly back up their efforts on Sunday 26 November in either the Grand Final or the 3rd vs 4th Playoff against the winner of the Second Semi Final between NSW Pride and Canberra Chill.