With just three rounds remaining until the Road to Hobart Finals Series hits off at the end of the month, rankings pressure has seen the biggest upset in the League so far.
Read on to see how your team’s faring, as the rankings take a shake-up at the end of the fourth round.
HC MELBOURNE
Hockey Club Melbourne has taken a major hit in the women’s competition after going down to the NSW Pride 1-6 on Friday night. A late goal by Hannah Cotter in the 54th minute was quickly answered by the Pride, who ran away to a healthy lead. Recording their second straight loss after a bye in round two, they’ve dropped from fourth on the standings to sixth, and their season hangs in the balance at the halfway mark of the competition. It doesn’t get any easier in round five when they take on the defending champs, Brisbane Blaze.
The home crowd cheered up in the second match as their men’s side bounced back from a loss in round three to beat the NSW Pride 4-2. Welcoming back their U21 National stocks, Cooper Burns starred, making his mark early as they held off a fightback from the Pride, who levelled the scores in the final quarter. Budding Kookaburra Ben White bagged a double to secure some much-needed points. Despite the win, HC Melbourne has dropped from 3rd to 4th on the standings, as they cling to the last Finals spot, three points behind the Perth Thundersticks.
NSW PRIDE
The NSW Pride can thank an exceptional fourth-round performance from Abby Wilson as they secured a much-needed win over Melbourne in their battle for the fourth Finals spot. The crucial win saw them jump from 5th to 4th in the standings, as Abby bagged five goals in their 6-1 win. Sending a statement performance at the halfway mark of the group stage, Abby put her name on notice at Hockeyroos Head Coach Katrina Powell watches on ahead of the 2025 squad selection. While she showed moments of individual brilliance, Pride coach Scott Barker will be happy with many team plays that paid off on Friday night. Round 5 presents a tough task when they hit the road and head to Macarthur on Friday evening.
The Pride’s finals hopes are slipping in the men’s competition, after their 2-4 loss to HC Melbourne saw their points tally suffer as they remain in fifth spot, just shy of a finals top-4 berth. The Pride now need to win at least two of their last three games against Perth, Adelaide and table-toppers Canberra, to reach the Road to Hobart Finals Series. Coach Roel van Maasteugt will be looking at their penalty corner attack after they struggled to convert more than two opportunities from 14 penalty corners. A big match against Perth in Macarthur awaits on Friday.
HC MELBOURNE WOMEN: 1 (Hannah Cotter 54”)
NSW PRIDE WOMEN: 6 (Abby Wilson 6”, 38”, 38”, 54” & 54”, Hannah French 6”)
NOV 1, State Netball & Hockey Centre, Melbourne
HC MELBOURNE MEN: 4 (Cooper Burns 14”, Jonathan Bretherton 23”, Ben White 49” & 49”)
NSW PRIDE MEN: 2 (Nathanael Stewart 27”, Richards Daine 48”)
NOV 1, State Netball & Hockey Centre, Melbourne
TASSIE TIGERS
The Tassie Tigers’ sensational rise to form in the women’s competition has resulted in the biggest upset of the tournament so far, as they defeated the unbeaten, defending champion Brisbane Blaze 2-1 on Saturday night in Hobart. It’s an incredible turnaround, given Tassie failed to record a single point in 2023. Now, they have 12 points and sit in second on the standings two points clear of Brisbane and are well on track to secure a finals spot at the Road to Hobart Series in their home state.
U21 Burras goalkeeper Magnus McCausland has continued his ‘Keeper of the Tournament’ performance at the Sultan of Johor Cup in Malaysia to put on a clinic at home in Hobart and help his side to a 0-0 (3-1) shootout win on Saturday night over Brisbane. Magnus saved all but one shot on goal in the shootout while his Tassie teammates found the back of the net themselves to secure an all-important win. His heroics see the Tassie men maintain second on the standings, and they seem all but assured of booking their spot on the Road to Hobart Finals Series at the end of the month.
BRISBANE BLAZE
The Brisbane Blaze’s unbeaten run in the women’s comp took a hit in Hobart as they fell to Tassie 1-2. Neither side could find the net until Tassie’s Lucy Cooper bagged a double at the end of the third. As the defending champs raced to save the game, Rosie Malone’s field goal in the final minute provided a last-ditch opportunity to level the scores with a conversion, but they couldn’t break Tassie’s defence in goal, recording their first loss of the season. The loss sees them slip from 2nd to 3rd on standings so it’s not all over, as they prepare to take on HC Melbourne in round five.
The Brisbane Blaze men have put themselves under must-win pressure for the rest of the season, needing a perfect run to the finals to have a chance of getting close to defending their 2023 crown. Their shootout loss to Tassie sees them sit in sixth on the standings with just two points, having failed to record a win all season since their round one bye. Ruing plenty of missed opportunities in the circle, Brisbane coach Darren Fowler admits his side need to be better as they eye maximum points against Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide in the last three matches.
TASSIE TIGERS WOMEN: 2 (Lucy Cooper 41” & 41”)
BRISBANE BLAZE WOMEN: 1 (Rosie Malone 59”)
NOV 2, The Tasmanian Hockey Centre
TASSIE TIGERS MEN: 0 (3)
BRISBANE BLAZE MEN: 0 (1)
NOV 2, The Tasmanian Hockey Centre
PERTH THUNDERSTICKS
The Perth Thundersticks women remain the only unbeaten team in the 2024 competition after yet another dominant performance, which has seen them win by five goals. This time, Adelaide was the victim of the Thunderstick’s hot pursuit, with Dutch signing Eva Drummond bagging four goals of her own as she continues to dominate the competition. Former Hockeyroo Courtney Schonell, who has returned from rehabbing major injuries in 2024 also scored her fifth goal in two weeks as she continues to stake her claim as one of the most impressive players in the League. Perth are miles clear of Tassie on the standings, sitting eight points clear, with matches remaining against NSW Pride and defending champs Brisbane, before a welcomed bye in the final round ahead of the Road to Hobart Finals Series.
The Thundersticks have officially turned around their season in the men’s competition, with Sunday’s 3-2 win over Adelaide their third straight win of the tournament, but it didn’t come easy. Adelaide was up 2-0 until Tom Wickham levelled with a goal and a conversion in the 41st minute. Once again, the match winner came down to Brodee Foster who’s having a standout Liberty Hocket One League season. His goal in the final quarter secured a narrow win for Perth on a hot night in Perth by one goal. The Thundersticks hold a narrow three-point lead over Melbourne to sit in third on the standings. They’ll need strong showings against the Pride and Brisbane before a bye in the final round.
ADELAIDE FIRE
A match-up with the women’s competition leaders on a hot spring evening in Perth was always going to be a tough outing for the Adelaide Fire, who are battling to get off the bottom of the ladder after failing to secure a win all season. They remain 0 from four matches after a gruelling five-goal loss to Perth on Sunday night. Dutch import Margot van Geffen came up against her Netherlands teammate Eva Drummond in a match that went all Eva’s way, and all but ended Adelaide’s finals hopes. Adelaide welcome a much-needed bye this week, before taking on the Pride and defending champs Brisbane in the final round.
The Fire has been somewhat unlucky in 2024, suffering narrow losses in each round to remain at the bottom of the ladder with zero points. This time, they went down to Perth after a late fightback denied them a much-needed season-saving win. With the scores locked at nil-all in the second quarter, Hugh Snowden delivered a quick double with a goal and conversion to hand Adelaide a two-goal lead. But a late revival and match-winner by the in-form Brodee Foster saw Adelaide crumble to yet another loss despite many impressive individual performances.
PERTH THUNDERSTICKS WOMEN: 5 (Eva Drummond 6”, 6”, 28”, 28”, Courtney Schonell 12”)
ADELAIDE FIRE WOMEN: 0
NOV 3, Perth Hockey Stadium, Curtin University
PERTH THUNDERSTICKS MEN: 3 (Tom Wickham 41” & 41”, Brodee Foster 52”)
ADELAIDE FIRE MEN: 2 (Hugh Snowden 29”, 29”)
NOV 3, Perth Hockey Stadium, Curtin University
Hockey One
