Round three of the Liberty Hockey One League provided nothing but edge-of-your-seat action, as clutch comebacks and late winners were a feature of almost every match.
Here’s how your team fared with everything you need to know after the third round.
BRISBANE BLAZE
It was a weekend of polar opposite results for the defending champs the Brisbane Blaze, with the men’s team suffering another loss on Friday night to the table toppers, Canberra Chill. They remain in 6th on the table with a spot at the Road to Hobart Finals Series slowly slipping from their grasp. Head coach Darren Fowler will pleased with their depth after their young talent put on a fine performance, but he won’t be happy with their inability to convert. The Blaze were left ruing missed opportunities after having half a dozen shots on goal and four penalty corners. It doesn’t get any easier in round four when they travel to Hobart to face the 2nd-placed Tassie Tigers on Saturday night.
Meanwhile, the women are cementing themselves as a front-runner to re-claim the title, after beating Canberra 4-2 at home. Savannah Fitzpatrick opened the scoring for the Blaze inside the first 10 minutes, but the Chill fought back to take the lead 2-1. Savannah bagged another with a fine field goal after half-time to equal the scores before Camryn Mathison and Renee Taylor fired powerful penalty strokes to lead the Blaze to an unbeaten start after three rounds. Head Coach Nikki Taylor’s calling for more consistency in performance across the four quarters as they move on to round four against the Tassie Tigers.
CANBERRA CHILL
The Canberra Chill remain front runners in the men’s competition after beating the defending champions away from home to remain unbeaten after three rounds. They held off Brisbane’s charge, with their penalty corner defence holding strong to save four attempts by Brisbane. The scores were locked at 0-0 right up until the 57th minute when Jake Staines’s field goal and conversion sealed the 2-0 win over the title holders. The Chill will take a favourable mid-group stage break next week when they have a bye before a huge match awaits with the second-placed Tassie Tigers in Hobart.
It was a case of deja vú in the women’s match for the Canberra Chill, as they went down to the Brisbane Blaze in a re-match of the 2023 grand final. The Chill staved off a relentless Brisbane attack as their English import Giselle Ansley took charge in the opening half to lead the scoring 2-1. But head coach Matt Cook will be ruing late discipline errors which saw Brisbane take the win with two successful penalty strokes. Two losses and a win has seen them slip from 3rd on the table to 4th and just holding onto a Road to Hobart finals spot. They’ll welcome the bye to regroup before taking on Tassie in Hobart in round five.
BRISBANE BLAZE MEN: 0
CANBERRA MEN: 2 (Jake Staines 57” & 57”)
OCT 25, Queensland State Hockey Centre, Brisbane
BRISBANE BLAZE WOMEN: 4 (Savannah Fitzpatrick 9” & 32”, Camryn Mathison 51”, Renee Taylor 59”)
CANBERRA CHILL WOMEN: 2 (Giselle Ansley 11” & 19”)
OCT 25, Queensland State Hockey Centre, Brisbane
HC MELBOURNE
Hockey Club Melbourne were back after a bye in the second round to take on the Perth Thundersticks at home and the men’s match first up was always touted to be a tight affair. By the 35th minute, Kade Leigh’s strike into the back of the net off a long-range corner saw Melbourne take a comfortable 4-1 lead into the rest of the match. But they couldn’t hold off a late relentless attack by the Thundersticks to eventually record a 4-5 loss after three late goals in the final four minutes. They face a quick turnaround, with their next match against the fifth-placed NSW Pride in round four. They’ll need a win to hold onto fourth place in the standings.
It was a double loss at home for the hosts, as the women’s Melbourne side returned from a bye to face tournament favourites the Thundersticks. They had them on the backfoot inside the first minute as Hannah Gravenall bagged an opening field goal and conversion to take the lead 2-0. But a firing Perth side fought back and controlled the game to down Melbourne 2-6. A four-goal deficit not favourable for HC Melbourne who languish in sixth on the standings and will need a huge performance against the NSW Pride in round four to recover their season and stand a shot at claiming a finals spot.
PERTH THUNDERSTICKS
The Perth Thundersticks men needed a strong performance in the third round to recover their season after a loss and a narrow shootout win first up and they silenced the critics with a late fourth-quarter fightback. Recovering from being three goals down by the 35th minute, the Perth Thundersticks rallied together to produce an incredible two minutes to win by just one goal in the dying stages of the match. Co-captains Tom Wickham and Jack Harvie helped their cause but it was Brodee Fosters’ double that ultimately saw them take an early lead and enable a late revival in the fourth. The win sees them jump two places on the standings to hold a top four spot in third and they’ll be looking for a full four-quarter performance next Sunday when they take on Adelaide in their second home match.
It’s a different story for their women’s side who are on fire in the 2024 season, with dominant scorelines and an unbeaten run which is cementing them as favourites in the running for the title. It seems they intimidate the opposition with their form and this weekend was no different as they recovered from an early two-goal deficit inside the opening minute to run away with a 6-2 win. The standout this week was former Hockeyroo Courtney Schonell, who is having a Liberty Hockey One League season to remember as she returns from a harrowing 48 months, plagued with injury to now see herself well back in the running for a spot in the Hockeyroos 2025 set up. Her four goals inside 5 minutes proved the difference as Perth raced away to a four-goal win. They’ll be looking forward to matching up against the Adelaide Fire back home in Perth this weekend.
HC MELBOURNE MEN: 4 (Damon Steffens 11”, Peter Scott 11”, Cooper Burns 29”, Kade Leigh 35”)
PERTH THUNDERSTICKS MEN: 5 (Brodee Foster 9” & 56”, Tom Wickham 48”, James Day 57”, Jake Harvie 57”)
OCT 26, State Netball & Hockey Centre, Melbourne
HC MELBOURNE WOMEN: 2 (Hannah Gravenall 1” & 1”)
PERTH THUNDERSTICKS WOMEN: 6 (Lexie Pickering 18”, Penny Squibb 38”, Courtney Schonell 42”, 42”, 46”, 46”)
OCT 26, State Netball & Hockey Centre, Melbourne
ADELAIDE FIRE
Landon Morley’s six goals in three matches has seen him continue to accelerate his name in front of the next Kookaburras head coach with a standout Liberty Hockey One season but it hasn’t been enough to help his side record their first win of the season, as they suffered yet another narrow loss, this time to the Tassie Tigers. Coach Euthro Justice will, for the most part, be pleased with their performance considering the Fire were leading 3-0 after halftime. But they couldn’t halt a late comeback by Tassie and their efforts once again went unrewarded, as they remain 7th on the table and face a long flight to Perth ahead this weekend.
It’s a similar story for the Adelaide women, who faced a near-must-win performance at home against Tassie. It was a brutal arm wrestle between the two sides who both equally needed their first win of the competition and ultimately it was Tassie who took their opportunities. Adelaide will be ruing missed opportunities, with four penalty corner attempts in the match. They remain 7th on the standings and face arguably the toughest task of the year next weekend when they take on the high-flying Perth Thundersticks away from home.
TASSIE TIGERS
The Tassie Tigers men are sitting just three points shy of the Canberra Chill on the standings, after a remarkable 3rd quarter saw them claw back the lead over the Adelaide Fire. Ultimately, the difference came down to five-time Olympian and hometown hero Eddie Ockenden who scored twice after 40 minutes to see them edge an eventual 4-3 win. It’s a promising fight for Tigers coach Ben Read who sung the praises of Ockenden and his incredible longevity as the sport’s greatest. It’s a huge match for Tassie next weekend at home in Hobart, when they take on the defending champion Blaze who are sitting in second on the standings despite struggling to find form.
The Tassie Tigers women have skyrocketed up the leaderboard after Dutch international import Gitte Michels capitalised on two penalty corners to take advantage in a match that was tight and brutal, with both sides desperate to claim their first win of the season. It’s a remarkable turn of events in 2024 after the Tassie Tigers women failed to claim a single point in 2023 and they’re crediting a culture shift for an incredible comeback in 2024, which has now seen them rewarded with their first win, to sit in third on the standings. With a spot on the Road to Hobart Finals Series now in their sights, they’ll be motivated next weekend, when they take on the defending champs, the Brisbane Blaze in Hobart.
ADELAIDE FIRE MEN: 3 (Landon Morley 15”, 19”, 19”)
TASSIE TIGERS MEN: 4 (Ehren Hazell 34”, Joshua Brooks 39”, Eddie Ockenden 41”, 41”)
OCT 27, MATE Stadium, Adelaide
ADELAIDE FIRE WOMEN: 0
TASSIE TIGERS WOMEN: 2 (Gitte Michels 33” & 35”)
OCT 27, MATE Stadium, Adelaide
Hockey One
