Grand Final Day Was Awesome!
August 31 saw 8 Newtown teams participating in all 7 divisions of the Hockey Geelong Grand Finals.
Under 13
Newtown Maroon vs Golden Plains 4-1
A beautiful day to begin a heady Grand Final day which saw Newtown City Hockey Club represented in each division and age group. Newtown Maroon were ready to take on Golden Plains again, confident following their previous win against them in the Preliminary Final. All the team present and ready to go with Marcus reiterating lessons and game plans focused on throughout the 2014 Winter season.
Much of the play was forced down the Newtown end throughout both halves, but maybe nerves or some over play contributed to failure to convert possession into goals early on. Success eventually came with sheer determination (not Newtown’s most polished game) and Maroon finished the first half ahead. More dogged determination in the second half with some flashes of potential by Golden Plains, effectively thwarted by Newtown Maroon. Finally, a lovely finish to the season with a well deserved Premiership to Maroon, winning 4-1.
Well done everyone and HUGE thanks to Marcus for persistent coaching throughout the winter.
Under 15
Newtown White vs Kardinia Maroon 3-6
What a glorious day for a Grand Final. We sat at the top of the ladder all season, but Kardinia came out hard and by half time they were leading us two nil. We managed to score 3 in the second half, with individuals to Jonah, Jimmy and Tom – whose shot on goal was sensational! Kardinia were relentless and scored another 4 goals in the second half. We may not have walked away as premiers on the day, yet all of our team members should be very proud of a hard fought effort and a wonderful season.
A BIG thanks to Tom Mahon and Amber who played many games with us this season – well done to you both. We would like to wish Bronte a speedy recovery after sustaining an injury during warm up on Sunday. The team would like to acknowledge and thank Don who coached us for the majority of the season and also to Ross and Richard who stepped in for a number of games.
Thanks for an outstanding season team, it was an absolute pleasure working with a great bunch of young people and credit to all the families for your support and commitment.
Under 17
Newtown Maroon vs Kardinia 4-6
Newtown Maroon had the daunting task of playing Kardinia in the U17 Grand final at full strength. The Coaching team of Courtney and Gwyn were confident that we possessed the
skill, teamwork and ability to win this game. The game started with a few nerves showing, Sean, Amy, Baiden and Nick came under a lot of early pressure down back from The Mack and Ryan show. Ryan scored a field goal 5 minutes in. 1 nil down.
We continued to push the ball forward, not quite to the game plan, having several forward charges that were cut off by the ever-smart Mack in Kardinia’s defence. Emma continued to do lots of work in the mid field. Some good link ups were happening with Kelly, Tianha and Gus but couldn’t quite penetrate the Dee. Mack and Ryan scored another goal apiece and at 3 nil down Kardinia looked comfortable. The last 10 minutes of the half saw a lot more positive forward movement from Us and some smart passing through Noah and Adam had Gus in the D and score. The half finishing 3-1 down.
At break Courtney and Gwyn reinforced the game plan needed to create more scoring opportunities and keep possession. Kardinia scored early in the half before we started using better structure with Pat and Jack using back passing through Emma then working up the lines to Chris, Adam and Luke, Sean went forward early in the Half and scored a great goal from near the base line. 4-2. Kardinia had another person score a shock goal, with Will thinking it would be a pass. 5-2 down. The last 10 minutes saw Newtown now applying lots of pressure up front. A short corner saw Gus weave close to goal and slot it past the Goalie. At 5-3 down it was great to see the Team still had belief it could win. Ryan scored a goal for Kardinia 7 minutes from time but it didn’t seem to phase our team. Gus created another goal and with 3 minutes to play scores were 6-4. In the dying minutes, Sean almost scored to show the crowd just how close this game really was. A great effort by the whole Team but sadly it wasn’t to be.
Runners up for 2014.
Division 1 Men
Newtown Falcons vs Torquay 7-0
Newtown Falcons defeated Torquay 7 nil in the Grand Final on Sunday afternoon in front of a large crowd at Stead Park to go back to back Division One premiers. A fitting result for another amazing year of local hockey at the highest level.
Goal scorers for the game were captain Luke P (2), James H (3), Will (1), and Josh (1). Congratulations to Will Crosbie for being awarded man of the match, his games in both the Semi and grand finals were outstanding displays of hockey.
Coach Peter Eastman said the second half of the match was the best he had seen the Falcons play all year. Every player executed the game plan to perfection in what became a dominant display of hockey by Newtown. The superior skill and athleticism of the young Falcons was just too much for Torquay.
A special mention goes out to Adrian and Matt who unfortunately were not available for the game. Their significant contributions to the team throughout the year made the premiership dream a reality.
Well done Falcons on another enjoyable and successful year of hockey.
Division 2 Men
Newtown White vs Saints 2-1
A great Grand Final match by Newtown White, up against Saints after many close matches during the season and a draw in the Semi-Final. Newtown began well with good teamwork and great running in the midfield forcing the ball into attack. Great ball control skills and creation of space by Rodan to score the first goal for Newtown. Excellent defence by Ash, David and Gordon and great teamwork in the forward line by Baden, Nik and Nic.
Congratulations to Rodan who was named Player of the Match.
Division 1 Women
Newtown Falcons vs Bellarine 10-9
A very fast and even game for the first half with Bellarine scoring the first goal. A few minutes into the second half Bellarine scored another goal. To the Newtown ladies’ credit they didn’t give up. They fought hard to score three goals to go one goal up, and with about ten minutes to go Bellarine evened the score and at full time the score was 3 all. We then played 15 minutes of extra time with no further score. We then went to penalty strokes and after 5 each way there was still no result, so there were another five strokes for each team. Neither team could break the deadlock. The next step was sudden death penalty strokes. Bellarine took the first shot on goal and Jessie made a brilliant save. Courtney decided this had to finish so with a very determined shot on goal, converted the goal and that was the result we fought for – A WIN. A win I don’t think we expected to have but one we wanted. Both teams fought hard.
Congratulations to our players for never giving up and fighting to the end to earn a well deserved win. A big thanks goes to Kellie Barnes for filling in and helping us to achieve the premiership. Thank you to all other players who filled in for all games throughout the season.
Division 2 Women
Newtown Gold vs Newtown Maroon 1-0
A fantastic way to finish the season for Newtown Gold. A return to good form throughout the finals series gave us some confidence going into the Grand Final and thanks to another great team effort we were able to achieve a very narrow 1-0 win against the Maroons in what was a very tight, exciting (and very hot!) game. It featured a terrific game winning goal from Kate in the early stages of the second half, some brilliant saves from Penny at the other end, sublime skills on the back-line (as always) and some great run off the half and through to the forward line. Congratulations to all.
Newtown Maroon vs Newtown Gold 0-1
A young at heart side took to the field in the Battle of Falcons, Maroons vs Gold. Maroons took off strongly and broke through Gold’s defence, penetrating the circle and forcing a few corners. The second half saw Gold take an upper hand and score. Maroons fought back hard and were unlucky not to equalise. Maroons’ defence was solid. Leading the charge was Edna with great saves and calls, supported by the dynamic duo of Hilary and Andy. Jacinta, Bron and Pam constantly fed the ball up to the forwards who made great inroads into Gold territory. Well placed wingers, Deanne, Sarah, Kirsty and Katrina took up the challenge and were well directed by Hayley in the centre and Rachel and Nicola as inners.
Congratulations to Katey who deservedly won best Player for the Grand Final. From start to finish she was relentless in attack and defence. Well done on another great season, Maroons. We’re just like a vintage red, getting better each year.
