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Hockey Season 2019 – June 1 & 2

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As the hockey season progresses, it is pleasing to see players stepping up to the challenge of the game, with some younger players filling in for older teams and really enjoying it.

Under 8 Mixed

Newtown Spirit vs Newtown Rebels

Saturday’s game was one to be proud of for Spirit. All players displayed an improved ability to maintain their field position during game play. This resulted in passages of play which used the width of the ground, and gave players time to display their improving stick skills.

Maia’s game exemplified the areas of improvement seen in the team and she received the Subway Award this week. The Best Team Player Award went to Joseph for being willing to even the numbers and play for Spirit when his team had a bye. Thank you Joseph and well done Spirit.

Newtown Rebels vs Newtown Spirit

This week’s game showed players working hard to focus on the play and intercept passes by Spirit.  There were some great efforts from Luc, Albie and Isaac to gain possession and keep control of the ball before looking for someone to pass to.  Lennie, Manny and Jake were always ready to chase and tackle and were able to make some lovely passes to move the ball into attack for Rebels.  Kai’s desire to asssist his team and get the ball was fantastic and he was always available when needed. Kasey continues her great work, with steady play following great tackles.

Newtown Strikers – Bye

Under 10 Mixed

Newtown Spirit vs Newtown Strikers 2-2

Spirit were excited to play against their friends from Newtown Strikers again this week and were keen to make amends for the loss earlier in the season. Strikers had most of the possession early in the game and put Spirit’s defence under pressure. Spirit lacked discipline in sticking to their positions and got drawn into the congested centre of the pitch. Strikers took the lead in the first half and if not for some great tackling and defensive work by Baxter, Oscar and Drew the score would have been higher than 1-0.

Spirit came out strongly after half time and made much better use of space to string together some good passes. Perseverance from George, Matilda and Michael up front gave Spirit an equaliser. After a few great shots that were stopped by the Spirit defence Strikers eventually got a second goal. Just like last week, the team really pulled together in second half and didn’t give up. A fantastic goal from Michael in the dying seconds of the game made it a draw 2-2.

Great team work and perseverance again this week – if they can do it for two halves they will be unstoppable!

Newtown Strikers v Newtown Spirit

Spectators were treated to a fantastic match between the two Newtown sides. These two teams last met in the first round of the hockey season and the improvement from then to now from individuals and teams was notable.

Strikers had majority of the play and field position in both halves of the game creating several scoring shots and penalty corners. Spirit was able to use their speed through the middle of the field which enabled them to be very dangerous on the counter attack. Both Strikers goals scored by Madison and Avah came from terrific passing, positioning and showed great goal sense to slot past the Spirit goal keeper.

The battle continued, with one minute to go the score was 2-1 to Strikers, before Spirit were able to fight through desperate defence from the Strikers to tie the game 2-2.
Stand out performances were from Grace, who showed real determination and mental toughness, and Edward who is gaining confidence every week and contributing with several tackles and passes to teammates.
Awards to Grace and Edward: Grace – Subway Award, Edward – Best Team Player Award

Under 12 Mixed

Newtown Spirit vs Kardinia 0-10

Newtown Spirit played a strong defensive game despite what the score line showed. This young team are showing courage and improvement every game. It is not easy to take defeat well, but Spirit continue to show camaraderie and sportsmanship regardless. Well done to our captain this week Grace M.

The match was dominated by an older, faster and more experienced Kardinia team. Whilst our attackers tried hard we just didn’t seem to be able to get past Kardinia’s defence before their attackers would whisk it away again. Having said that some great play was seen from our somewhat frustrated attackers to name a few: Nate, Grace F, Bella, Leo and Grace M. Meanwhile our own defence handled the pressure with gusto, Ruben, Charlotte, Lucy, Leo and our brave goalie Hamish had a tough job and saved many so all in all it could have been a lot worse.

The team were cheered up by a team outing in the afternoon letting off some steam in a less pressured bowling show down. This was followed by a noisy happy dinner at The Groove Train and by the time ice-cream came all were healed and restored!

Newtown Strikers vs Torquay 0-3

We were coming off the bye this week, and had a full squad at the game, which was great to see. Before the game Kurt emphasised to the team how well we worked as a cohesive team when our effort levels were high, and we worked together.

Unfortunately the week off meant we were a little slow in getting back into the flow, with lots of congested play, and some hockey ping pong. The kids however were pushing up and back, and had a few shots on goal. Our defence was again strong, keeping out the Torquay forwards, and keeping the first half fairly even, unfortunately a late goal to Torquay saw us go into half time 0-1.

Kurt again rallied the troops at the break, and made a few changes to try and get some more drive forward, and hopefully get on the board.

We had some very good movement forward on a few occasions, when we looked up, we found the players in space, and nearly scored on several occasions. Torquay was continuing to run hard, and moved the ball wide around our defence, and managed to get in another 2 goals. In the end we went down 0-3, but the kids were fighting it out to the final whistle.

Under 14 Mixed

Newtown Strikers vs GBS Black 2-0

This week 4 players from other teams help Strikers to a great win. It was exciting to see how well the players came together and worked as a team. A combination of quick and accurate passing created opportunities. We were strong in defence and looked for free players. Basyl and Jai displayed some great stick work and Kayla worked her position well. Most of the play was in Strikers’ attacking half and they drew around a dozen short corners. Basyl and Max scored impressive goals to help Strikers to a solid win. Thanks to Eliza, Jai, Luca and Mai for filling in.

Newtown Spirit vs Kardinia Blue 0-4

On Saturday Spirit, down three players, came up against top team, Kardinia Blue. They pressured us right from the opening whistle, playing very direct hockey and passing quickly. Their intensity resulted in a score only 2 minutes in, followed quickly by a short corner, and then 2 minutes later, another goal to take the score to 2 nil. Spirit fought back, manning up well and took some opportunities to counter attack with Luca running the ball out of the back line. Kardinia scored again before half time but Spirit was lifting, led by Grace, holding possession longer, passing more accurately and marking the opposition more closely. Half time score was 3 nil.

Coach Darren praised the team for the turn-around late in the half and urged, once again, to look for space out wide when coming out of defense.

Spirit started the second half with a different level of intensity, with Matilda running out of offence to man up on key Kardinia strikers in defense. Mai saved a certain goal and we held Kardinia scoreless for the first 12 minutes of the half. Kardinia’s 4th goal seemed to spur Spirit on even more, starting with Mai repelling what would have been Kardinia’s 5th. Scoring opportunities were created; one with Adam running the ball skillfully from right centre into the D and passing to Harry resulting in a short corner. Another saw our Full Back, Tom, almost score. In the closing minutes, another short corner had Adam & Matilda combining to create another opportunity that very nearly resulted in a goal. Score at full time was 4 nil.

All up a great effort with the score not really reflective of the lift in Spirit in the second half. Well done everyone.

Under 17 Mixed

Newtown Spirit vs Kardinia 2-3

After an easy first game in round 1, Kardinia took us by surprise with a very tense start to the game last Saturday in round 6. Once again with no substitutes for Newtown Spirit, the team showed lots of determination with several players working tirelessly across the midfield to gain the upper hand. A number of scoring opportunities arose after a few short corners, but our opponents were too strong in their defence. Kardinia managed to score 2 goals to nil for Spirit at half time.

There was vigorous contest of the ball from both sides during the second half of the game, where Spirit gained lots of possessions and became more aggressive, and Ethan scored a brilliant first goal followed by another from Tom. With Kardinia showing no signs of slowing, Spirit increased their tackling skills with lots of great passing wide across the field. With less than 2 minutes remaining, despite Tom gaining possession in the circle keeping the ball locked in our attacking end, we were unable to score another goal. All boys played exceptionally well in this very tight game. Thank-you to Harry Whelan for filling in.

Newtown Strikers vs Torquay 1-5

Strikers came out strongly against Torquay on Sunday, scoring early with a lovely goal by Sam following a fast attack through the centre with Ben. With 10 minutes left in the first half Torquay replied. Strikers were able to absorb pressure in defence and kept the score even until the half time mark.

The second half saw a similar style of play with good passing by both sides. However, Torquay pulled away through continual pressure on Strikers via both team and individual play. The final result of 5:1 to Torquay reflected the continued pressure and to some measure a reduction in marking by Strikers towards the end game. Credit to Strikers for a positive start and terrific team play at the outset. Thanks to Tilly for stepping up from U/14s to provide a valuable player on the wing and a substitute option for the team.

Division 1 Women

Newtown Falcons vs Torquay 0-7

Senior Men

Newtown Spirit Bye

Newtown Strikers vs Saints 1 2-5

An excellent game for Strikers in their first match against a Division 1 team in the new combined competition.

Division 2 Women

Newtown Spirit vs Saints White 0-5

Newtown Spirit are continuing to develop great teamwork and create attacks, although couldn’t find the lucky touch in front of goal this week. A steady defence lead by Kirsty A and Tracey held their ground and met Saints early, turning the ball back to our advantage on many occasions. Excellent marking in the midfield and great running on more than one occasion denied Saints what seemed like certain goals. Highlight of the game was a 50 yard sprint by Beth back to help defend the goals, and then she saved the shot on the line!  With players looking for each other, rather than just getting rid of the ball, there were some nice passages of play which penetrated deep into the attacking circle. We had a number of shots at goal which just missed, and we are due for some luck soon. Great work by Maryanne in her first game for 25 years, and thanks to Kate for filling in – dragged off the sideline at the last minute.

 

Hockey Season 2019 – May 25 & 26

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Hockey Season 2019 – May 25 & 26

Round 5 of the 2019 hockey season sees some variability in player availability and team performances, but teams are showing the benefit of working together and are achieving some pleasing results.

Under 8 Mixed

Newtown Spirit vs Newtown Strikers

Team Spirit worked hard throughout Saturday’s game against Newtown Strikers. This consistent effort was exemplified by Braxton and Lachy, who received the Best Team Player and Subway Awards respectively. At times, both teams were encouraged to maintain their field position when the game became congested. When this was done, we saw fluid ball movement. This improvement in team work is pleasing to see and we look forward to it continuing to develop.

Newtown Spirit vs Newtown Strikers

The U8 Newtown Strikers played against Newtown Spirit this week. This was the first time for this hockey season in which Strikers have played another Newtown team and it made for a great contest. Eddy, a very welcome new team member, joined Strikers this week. Eddy showed fantastic skills for his first game, and we look forward to his future contributions.

Eddy was not the only new face in Strikers this week, with Mia and Charlie from the Saints joining for the game. Five Saints players were split between the Strikers and Spirit teams when Saints had no opposing team for their game. This gave each team 9 players, with all players on the field making a very crowded game at times.

In the first half, the players sometimes formed a large clump around the ball, but Josien and Audrey were both still able to get good movement forward. Joseph showed skillful reverse stick work several times and had great vision from the centre to pass out of the mass of players to Charlie. Audrey made a great cross in front of goal to Joseph who narrowly missed scoring.

At half time coach Maggie observed that play was somewhat difficult with so many players on the field. She asked Strikers to spread out more and advised them that only the closest player should go to the ball, and other teammates should move to where they could then receive a pass. In the 2nd half, Lucy started an attack from defence with a well-chosen switch of play, passing out wide across the field to Hunter. Josien made a great intercept in attack and finished with a goal. Hunter was a stalwart in defence, stopping many Newtown Spirit attacks throughout the game.

Charlie had a great run through traffic, scoring a goal after his persistent attack. Unfortunately, Josien was hit hard in her knee by a high ball and left the field. But she showed determination and commitment to the team to return to the field soon after. Joseph scored a late goal after one of the many intercepts of free passes by Josien.

This week’s Best Team Player and Subway Awards went to Josien and Hunter.

Next week is a bye for Newtown Strikers, with the next game on June 15th, but Strikers team members are welcome to come down to King Lloyd Reserve next Saturday and join one of the other Newtown teams for a game.

Newtown Rebels vs Kardinia

With a couple of players missing, we were happy to welcome Jake and Paton from Saints to bolster our numbers.  Newtown Rebels are showing great improvement in their approach to the game, with sticks on the ground and better concentration on the ball leading to increased possession. Everyone is keen to get the ball, and great passing from Manny, Lenny and Kasey moved the play into our attacking zone on a number of occasions. Luc did a fantastic job of defending the goals, in good position and with his stick on the ground, and rebuffed a number of the Kardinia advances. Isaac and Kai put pressure on the opposition players, and won the ball for our team.

Best Team Player and Subway Awards this week went to Lenny and Luc. Well done all.

Under 10 Mixed

Newtown Spirit vs Torquay 2-5

Spirit met their match this week with Torquay dominating the first half. Newtown struggled to make use of their wings and were sucked into the congested centre of the pitch. Despite a couple of great saves from Oscar in his first time in goal, Torquay were leading 2- 0 at half time. After a great pep talk from Colleen, Spirit came out fighting in the second half. Torquay took another 3 goals but Spirit didn’t give up and a great passing move between Charlie and Michael saw Newtown secure their first goal. With their spirits lifted, a second quickly followed from Matilda. Newtown dominated the remainder of the second half and showed great determination and perseverance against a tough opponent.

Under 12 Mixed

Newtown Rebels vs Golden Plains 2-7

The match began at a furious pace with Rebels earning a quick short corner. While it wasn’t converted, a team effort to keep the pressure at that end of the field quickly became a goal. While it was Toby who scored, the whole team can take credit. Golden Plains worked hard and responded with a goal of their own and we had an exciting match on our hands. Wide use of the pitch saw a pass land on the end of Toby’s stick, and he was able to run the wing and take a lovely shot from the edge of the D that the goalie was unable to stop. Wide use of the pitch was a highlight of the first half and it showed the quality of play that this side has put together over the first rounds to become a team. In particular we saw great running and position making from Isla and the tenacious tackling we have come to know as Eliza’s trademark. Trey held up to a barrage in goals, but unfortunately had to retire unwell. Golden Plains made the most of the depleted team and scored 3 more goals, and Amelia’s arrival bringing the team back to strength.

Eager Elliot leapt into the goalie gear at half time. We had a tough fought second half, but 2 quick breaks from Golden Plains left the Rebels ranks in disarray. To their absolute credit the team gradually rebuilt their form from the back with great clearances from the back with a pass from Gil to Peri who then pushed to the far corner where Jai and Toby brought it into the circle for shots on goal that were well defended by Golden Plains.

Alex played swimmingly helping score and defend goals. She coped well when having to change position. Ruby ran and worked very well remembering to pass out wide. Emma was in great position the whole match. She came very close to a goal but Golden Plains’ defense was extremely strong. All together everyone played beautifully and tried hard to achieve greatness. MVP for this week was Peri.

Newtown Spirit vs Geelong Jaguars 1-2

A close game this weekend. A goal by Emma saw us in the lead at half time. With some great attacking work by Grace F, Nate, Bella and Hamish K.

In the second half, Jaguars came out fighting and despite the best efforts of our goalie Hamish S and defence work by Ruben and Charlotte they managed to even the score and later another to put them in the lead. With limited time to go we were all on the edge of seats. A great match to watch with everyone playing well as a team.

Thank you to Amelia from Rebels for her great play and helping us out with extra numbers giving everyone the chance to have the odd rest.

What was nice to hear was a loud resounding 3 cheers for Geelong Jaguars lead by our captain for the week Ruben, well done Ruben for showing great sportsmanship. The team are really starting to come together and gain confidence with the faster paced larger ground. Keep training hard!

Under 14 Mixed

Newtown Spirit vs Torquay 2-0

Saturday’s game was against a depleted Torquay, minus a goalie and no subs. Spirit hit the pitch with a squad of 15 which made for a hectic bench. The match started evenly but play was very congested and both teams struggled to run the ball into open space. Spirit forced a short corner early in the half but failed to convert and the Torquay mid field & defense managed to shut down most of our attacking plays for the remainder of the half. Luca was instrumental in defense denying any easy scoring opportunities for Torquay. At the break the score was nil all.

The second half began much the same as the first with Spirit struggling to get the ball into the open. Only minutes in, Harry B took aim from left field just inside the D and landed a great goal to send us to a 1 nil lead. The following few minutes had Spirit grinding forward again with little structure but determination, resulting in a short corner. Harry B landed his second to take the score to 2 nil. For the remainder of the match Spirit struggled to coordinate – probably not helped by frequent subbing. Coach Darren requested long passing out wide to set up a structured advance into attack, but a determined and persistent Torquay made this very difficult. 2 short corners in quick succession gave the opposition a few late scoring opportunities, but Spirit defended well. After the whistle Spirit players showed symptoms of vitamin C deficiency due to the lack of half time oranges!

Newtown Strikers vs Kardinia White 0-2

It is fantastic to see Strikers coming together as a team. Ollie played a great game as goalkeeper, stopping a number of potential goals. Sam C. applied good pressure and Kayla held her position well. Tom was strong in defence and team captain Maggie displayed good ball control. Oskar was unlucky not to score on a couple of occasions. The players showed good communication between each other, were quicker when taking free shots and their passing was improved. Overall it was a solid game by Strikers.

Under 17 Mixed

Newtown Strikers vs Kardinia 1-3

Strikers played Kardinia in round 5 of this hockey season on Sunday. Always competitive, Kardinia started out strong with a goal early in the first half. Kardinia marked well and their solid defence made it difficult for Strikers to capitalise on their attacking opportunities.

In the second half Strikers lifted with a strong goal created through some attacking play by Tom, and good use of pressure through Harry in the circle. Passing was stronger out to the wings, avoiding interceptions in the middle that held up their play in the first half. Full credit to the team for following coach Gordon’s half time instructions. Robbo’s play in right wing position in the second half created many attacking opportunities and is a positive sign for the development of the team. Kardinia won the game 3:1 at the final siren.

U17 Spirit Bye

Division 1 Women

Newtown Falcons vs Geelong Jaguars 1-4

Senior Men

Newtown Spirit vs Corio 3-8

Newtown Strikers vs Torquay 2 11-0

Division 2 Women

Newtown Spirit vs Geelong Jaguars 0-5

With only 11 players this week, our work was cut out for us from the start. Geelong began strongly, moving into our defensive zone in numbers. Isabel and Tracey held their ground, and covered players well, and with Emma A, Georgie, Peta and Amelia providing support in the midfield we were able to turn the play to our advantage and create some attacks for Newtown. Great co-operation on the forward line saw the ball move into attack, using both wings to make ground. Kirsty lead well to the ball, and then made some lovely passes across in front of goal to create scoring chances. Claudia, Georgie and Deb worked hard and covered plenty of ground and Katie capitalised with some great runs down the right wing.

Newtown Spirit had a number of near misses, with one of Peta’s shots hitting the post.  However, Geelong’s quick movement out of defence caught us unawares at times, and we were unable to cover all Geelong’s options. When Isabel went off in the second half, with an injured hand, the task became even more difficult. However, all players continued to work hard, and Emma, Tracey and Amelia worked hard to cover the gaps. Well done all.

Saturday Social

It was another great game this week, with Fletcher in his second week gaining confidence, and playing as if he had been playing for a long time. Great co-operation between Brett, Audrey and Fletcher saw many passes to space and great switching of play to gain an attack advantage. When Marie joined the game, the Red team had another option, keen to get that ball in the goal.

The Non-bibs team set up some great interceptions with Luke showing great reach, and then making nice passes to Claire, Heston and Atticus. The second half saw Heston in perfect position on many occasions to receive the ball and head to goal, and he ended with some great ball control and a couple of lovely goals.

Under 12 Girls

Despite the cold weather this week, there were plenty of enthusiastic players who arrived for the U12 Girls game. The program provides the opportunity for girls to practice their skills and game strategies while playing against other girls.

Great improvement has already been shown in this first 5 weeks, with Grace, Bella Br and Bella By all gaining confidence and controlling the ball well.  Great work this week by Amelia playing in a different position, with excellent passing and supporting positions in attack from Charlotte and Alex.

2019 Hockey Season – U12 Girls Program

 

Hockey Season 2019 – May 18 & 19

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Round 4 of this hockey season saw some very summery weather, which meant hard work maintaining the pace for many teams, but the continued effort was fantastic.

Highlight of the week this week was the first win for this hockey season for the U12 Spirit team. After a couple of tough matches, the team still came out and gave it everything they had.

Under 8 Mixed

Newtown Rebels vs Golden Plains

Newtown Rebels played Golden Plains on Saturday. We were a couple of players short and were very lucky to have Paige fill in for the team and she played really well. In the first half, she made a couple of great passes and was in great position, and Manny scored two goals with great focus on the play. Isaac, one of our youngest players, showed great commitment in chasing and defending.

In the second half, Albie made some really good tackles, and Lenny scored a goal. Paige continued to show her skills, made a good tackle and a nice dribble. Newtown Rebels are really showing some good team work, and listening to Claire’s instructions to spread out to make space for passes. Well played everyone! Thanks to Lenny and Manny for each playing a half for Golden Plains, continuing the great sportsmanship shown by this team.

Paige was the deserving winner of the Subway award for the game.

Newtown Strikers vs Kardinia

This week Newtown Strikers faced up against Kardinia and they managed to keep Kardinia scoreless, whilst scoring many goals themselves.  The standout feature in the first half was the good calling and great passing up the wings and into attack by Strikers, leading to several shots at goal.  Other great things to see were the tackles made by Lucy, and Josien cutting off a pass from defence and being rewarded with a goal.

Strikers didn’t slow down in the second half, with lots of running from the whole team.  Audrey scored a goal after great passing play by the team.  Josien also made a great tackle on the goal line and pushed the ball into the goals, and Charlie ran hard into goal for a successful deflection.

Coach Maggie was very happy with the team, especially with their passing.  This week’s awards Subway and Best Team Player Awards went to Audrey and Charlie.

Newtown Spirit – Bye

Under 10 Mixed

Newtown Strikers v Geelong College 5-0

Strikers lined up for their 4th round match against Geelong College who were playing their first game of this hockey season. From the first push back Strikers were dominating play and field position. To Geelong College’s credit, they defended valiantly with several on the line saves to deny the Strikers attack. Strikers continued to build on last week’s performance using width and depth which was rewarded with a goal before half time.

The second half saw more improvement with terrific ball movement and positional play allowing great passing sequences netting a further 4 goals. Harrison played a great game with fantastic enthusiasm and Zac used his elite hitting skills to break open the game to allow teammates space to attack behind defensive lines.
Goal scorers Zac (3) and Will B (2). Subway and Best Team Player Awards to Zac and Harrison

Newtown Spirit vs GBS Black 5-1

Newtown Spirit got off to a flying start this week with a great run from Michael straight off the opening whistle. The first half continued at pace with some great passing from Spirit and amazing team work. It was great to see everyone working hard to find space and get the ball outside of the congested centre of the pitch. Spirit kept up the pressure right through the first half and a goal from Matilda saw them take the lead.

After lots of running in the first half in the warm conditions, the second half was a bit slower but the great passing continued and the Spirit defence played well together to keep the opposition at bay. Three goals from George and another from Matilda saw Spirit take home the win.

Under 12 Mixed

Newtown Strikers vs Newtown Rebels 1-1

The kids all came together well again this week. We started with only 9 on the field, but luckily Rebels were very kind and loaned us Brayden, bringing the numbers up to be 10 on 10. All the kids continued to run hard this week, and spreading around the field, back to the form that got us the win in week 2.

With people away, Amber dropped back in defence, and did a great job with Thamindu keeping a solid back line defence, both teaming up well with Mai to stop many forward thrusts and spread the ball wide out of defence. Isabel, Scarlett and Sam provided plenty of run out of the back line, with Charlie dropping back to help when the heat was on. Chloe and Brayden provided great link play, running the lines, and helping to bring the ball up the field, linking in with Kye to get the ball into dangerous positions in the forward line, where Sam, Charlie and Brayden all got shots on goal. At half time the kids came in looking exhausted, with the scores reflecting the game at 0-0.

It was very pleasing to see the kids keep running in the second half, especially the midfield, who had done plenty of two way running in the first half. After fighting hard in defence, the kids were a little unlucky with a rebound, and Rebels got on the scoreboard.

Strikers didn’t drop their heads and kept pushing hard. Some good composed play through the middle saw us again pushing forward, getting a couple of short corners, and we were very close to scoring, with the ball at one stage bouncing off the post. Strikers kept running hard, some great change of direction with her running saw Isabel run the ball out of defence, and put the ball into the middle, linking up with Sam, and Brayden, again pushing us forward. Some good work in the D saw a pass get to Charlie, who got a shot through the defence, and we had levelled the scoreboard. The kids kept running hard and looked dangerous right up to the final whistle. In the end a fitting final score of 1-1.

Newtown Rebels vs Newtown Strikers 1-1

Rebels had a fast, furious and high-quality game against Strikers this weekend. The final result of 1:1 was indicative of the closeness of the two teams.

The first half was a tight affair with a lot of hard running to defend the fast breaks from the Strikers. Our defenders worked very hard to keep Strikers at bay, with Isla showing some fancy footwork as the goalie to keep one good opportunity out.  Our attacks on goal were well constructed with Rebels moving the ball well to the top of the D. Rach reminded the team to make sure they keep running deep into the D to create pressure on the defenders and get rebound opportunities.

The second half was a similarly fast paced affair, with Perri breaking the deadlock to score, the result of a good team effort to force the ball forward.

Elliot was voted as the MVP in this game for her positioning as a deep full back, often clearing the ball away from goal whilst under pressure. A great game of Hockey played in tremendous spirit.

Newtown Spirit vs Golden Plains 3-1

Both teams were evenly matched during the game and with both teams without a GK there was plenty of pressure on defenders. Golden Plains scored the first goal after a number of skilled attacks vs Newtown. Leo, Ruben and Charlotte were brilliant in defence and kept intercepting Golden Plains’ passes, assisting a great team effort seeing Hamish score our first goal for the season and his personally – what a goal! Ruben, who did not want to play as GK in goalie gear ended up being a goal keeper saving many Golden Plains chances.

Spirit had many contributors on the day with Grace F, Emma, Emme, Sam and Bella getting into good positions on the field as it is important we go into attack out wide to the wings. Emma R showed great stick skill with a number of forward runs and scored our second goal to go 2-1 up at half time (thanks for filling in Emma).

The 2nd half was very exciting as Golden Plains had double figures in Penalty Corners to ours NIL and Spirit defence continued to deny them off the post, last second deflections or out wide so it was certainly our day. Nate had a great game as Captain and led the way on PC defence too. ‘Sticks on the ground’ was a popular call from the bench and defence turned to attack on many occasions and one with Grace M scoring our 3rd goal which was awesome for the team. Well done team.

Under 14 Mixed

Newtown Spirit vs Kardinia White 1-5

Spirit had a tough match against Kardinia who piled on the pressure from the opening whistle. Our defenders held up well until around midway through the half when Kardinia finally broke through and scored. Spirit hit back with some excellent passing out wide and great teamwork through Amber, Grace and Claudia to give us our first real scoring opportunity. Matilda finished off the good work to even the score at 1 all. Kardinia replied with 2 goals in quick succession and put Spirit firmly on the back foot.

Mitchell, Adam & Thomas had their work cut out in defense under huge pressure and playing out of their usual positions. Mai, under siege from the Kardinia forwards, made a great save when the ball came in hot from a short corner.

At the half time break with the score at 1-3, coach Darren stressed the need for our defenders to force the ball out wide to avoid giving the Kardinia forwards an easy angle at the goals.

Our defense was kept under pressure in the second half with most of the play on the sad side of the centre. Izzy and Claudia teamed up well on the wing with Izzy at times displaying skillful ball control to keep possession. Kardinia scored 2 further goals and took a well-deserved 5-1 win. Well done Spirit for a valiant effort.

Thanks to Claudia for filling in this week with 3 of our players away at the Junior Country Championships. Thanks also to Deanne for stepping in as team manager (and providing me with scant detail and dubious ‘factual’ information on which to base this report).

Newtown Strikers vs Kardinia Blue 0-4

Strikers came up against the in form Kardinia Blue team on Saturday. Despite a number of great saves from goalkeeper Ollie, Kardinia set up some good play and managed to score. Tom and Max were relentless in defence and Oskar was persistent in chasing down the ball and applying pressure. Kate played a focussed, consistent game and some terrific passes and great running with the ball gave Strikers a few chances to score but Kardinia’s defence was too strong.

Under 17 Mixed

Newtown Spirit vs Newtown Strikers 6-0

What an exciting game playing our other Newtown Team for our last sunny autumn day. Both sides were down on players but still managed to play a fierce game.  Spirit stood their ground early against determined Strikers and at times pushed deep into attack to prevent Strikers in gaining any goals. Spirit worked tirelessly across the midfield giving several players control to gain our brilliant first goal 15 minutes into the game by Tom from the half circle.  Then slowly but surely Spirit gained the upper hand controlling the ball to gain yet another goal straight after by Tom then later another excellent goal by Harri. New player Mason managed to show some talent to support the Spirit Team before leaving at half time, where the score was 3-0.

Spirit manage to dominate in the second half and were too strong for Strikers, where there was vigorous contest for the ball. Harley and Max gained lots of possessions to support Tom and Ethan on several occasions, along with Mitchell’s sheer determination.  Bailey claimed some great defending skills along with Angus, and Caleb to prevent Strikers from achieving any goals.  Spirit managed to earn a number of short corners to give scoring opportunities and brilliant goals each to Harri, Ethan and Tom, which gave us our final score.

Newtown Strikers vs Newtown Spirit 0-6

Newtown Strikers played Newtown Spirit on Sunday in a friendly though competitive game. Strikers faced a strong opposition who were able to score well through some very good passing sequences and individual play. There were however, many positives to be taken from the game. Our fullbacks played up to put pressure on the opposition and support our attacking play. We were also a player down for the first half which tested the team physically and all players put in and ran hard. Thanks to Mason for swapping teams and playing for us in the second half. Spirit scored 3 goals in the first half and another 3 in the second half to win the game 6:0 at the final whistle.

Division 1 Women

Newtown Falcons vs Saints 1-3

Falcons lined up for the second time this season to play Saints with a similar line up to the first game.  In the first go around Falcons met defeat with a 0-4 result, played a full roster allowing for some rest and struggled to get past the goalkeeper.  By start of game, with two double ups, Claire and Georgie, from Division Two, Falcons had 11 Warriors determined to do their best and they did not disappoint.   With the only rest relief to come by swapping for a time with a teammate, each and every Falcon played with grit and dogged determination.  The game was well contested with a lot of mid zone play, when Saints would get into the Falcons defensive zone the ladies created a strong defense with forwards and mids helping back, with very few penalty corners allowed and none that resulted in a goal against.

Of the three goals Saints got it was from field play and usually a result of transition that occurred in the attacking zone with players pushed up the field and where  Saints, upon gaining possession released the ball quickly up field.  While we did a good job of making the first stop and kill the play, Saints’ quick use of ball eventually caught us with numerical disadvantage in our defensive 25.  With similar resolve showed in the final 12 minutes of the Torquay game, Falcons once again mustered energy and focus to open the field up and score one to break the goose egg on our side of the score board.  With still time to get more scores on the board, Falcons did apply pressure but couldn’t add to the tally.  What a terrific team effort, with everyone leaving it all on the field.  Congrats to Astrid, Charley, Claire, Emily, Emma, Georgie, Hailey, Maggie, Siobhan, Xanthia, and Deb on a fantastic game.

Division 2 Men

Newtown Spirit vs Golden Plains 7-0

Continuing the run of form that Spirit have been having, we were able to apply pressure throughout the game, creating a large number of scoring opportunities and forcing mistakes from the opposition which we were able to capitalise on.

We’ve got some tough games coming up which will be a chance to gauge where we are within the competition, regardless of the opposition we’ll give it our best.

Newtown Strikers vs Geelong Blue 0-2

A very warm 25 degree day for late autumn proved to be challenging for Strikers.  Geelong scored early in the game from a corner but we were confident that we could claw it back with 2 on the bench and Geelong having no bench in the heat.  We controlled the general play better than Geelong and had many entries into our offensive D than they did.  However we just could not seem to get through Geelong’s last line of defence.

Geelong managed to put another ball in the net in the second half.  We continued to penetrate up forward and had much more offensive play than Geelong in the second half but unfortunately remained scoreless.  We will be hungry for a rematch later in the year.

Division 2 Women

Newtown Spirit vs Torquay 2-2

Buoyed up by a win in the previous round, Newtown Spirit came out with enthusiasm and purpose. Better use of the wings and square passing allowed Claudia, Isabel and Deb to find space to move into attack, with confident approaches to the ball and pressure on the opposition. Great defence by Bron and Kylie at full back, with Lauren, Andie and Beth meeting the younger opposition early, and making effective passes to team mates.

Newtown scored the first goal, with Georgie showing great determination and good vision, and with Deanne and Katie in good position leading to receive and use team mates in supporting positions.

Torquay rebounded and continued to attack, with lots of play making it to our defensive zone, but slightly misdirected passes did not allow them to capitalise on all their opportunities. They were successful in putting two in the net, but Spirit redoubled their efforts and continued to push forward. With only a few minutes to go, and facing an upcoming operation, Kylie gave it her ‘all or nothing’ effort, and moved into the forward zone to score the equalising goal with less than 1 minute remaining on the clock. A fantastic effort by all with some excellent team play and maximum effort.

Saturday Social

The warm weather also meant it was a lovely day to play some Saturday Social hockey, with having fun being the main aim.

Welcome to Fletcher who joined us for his first game. Great work from Luke, Atticus, Heston, Kate and Claire who worked well together to move the ball into attack. Not to be outdone, the skills and strategy shown by Brett, Audrey, Charlotte, Fletcher and Maryanne were a match and there were many forays into the scoring area at both ends of the field.

Hockey Season 2019 – May 11 & 12

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Hockey Season 2019 – May 11 & 12

We are up to Round 3 of this hockey season already, and teams are beginning to settle into their lineups. There were some great efforts this week, with some teams facing some strong opposition.

Highlight of the week is the never say die attitude of Annabelle and the u12 Spirit team, and a message which is an example to all of us.

Under 8 Mixed

Newtown Rebels vs Torquay

Newtown Rebels played Torquay on Saturday. The team showed a lot of enthusiasm and worked really well together. Lenny did some desperate defence (sometime one-handed!), and backed up Kasey in goal in the first half. Kasey made a fantastic save, and did some good passing with Jake, while Manny scored a goal, leaving the game fairly even at half time.

In the second half, Jake went into goals and there was some nice passing between the brothers Manny and Isaac. Luc made a good stop and pass in the back half.

In his first game for the season, Kai showed a lot of dash, and Albie made a couple of nice passes.

The team is learning to listen to Claire, and how to spread out and make space so they can get open to receive passes. The more experienced players are doing a great job of including all of the players on the team by passing and encouraging. At the end of the match, the game had been evenly matched throughout and all players had worked hard. Well played all!

Lenny received the Subway Award and Albie got the Best Team Player award.

Newtown Strikers vs Golden Plains

Newtown Strikers came up against an under strength Golden Plains this week. With only 4 players on the Golden Plains team, Strikers helped out by giving them a player to better balance the game. Audrey joined Golden Plains for the first half of the game, and then Josien swapped with her for the second half. This gave each team 5 players, but Strikers still dominated the game with the players from Golden Plains being younger and less confident.

The game saw many goals from Strikers, especially from Joseph, including a great team goal when Hunter, Josien and Joseph combined. Some of the other highlights included Josien running the length of the field with the ball to score a goal and Hunter making excellent position to receive a pass and being rewarded with a goal.

The awards this week went to Charlie and Lucy. Charlie listened well to coach Maggie, who at half time had asked the team to make sure they passed to a team mate before trying to get a goal. Late in the game Charlie could have scored a goal, but instead made a great pass to Joseph, allowing him to score. Lucy worked very hard on her position on the field, making sure she was marking players when in defence, and getting around opposition players when in attack.

Newtown Spirit vs Kardinia

This week saw Newtown Spirit play competitively against a strong Kardinia team. The Spirit team was boosted by the inclusion of Blade, our new team member. Spirit team members worked hard, transitioning between attack and defence throughout the game. Paige stood out this week with numerous forays forward and for this effort was given this week’s Best Team Player Award.

Under 10 Mixed

Newtown Strikers v GBS Black 1-0

Strikers took the field full of energy for their round 3 match against GBS Black. The first half saw a congested game with both sides struggling to gain any momentum.

The second half was a different story with Strikers taking on board coach instructions to back their hitting skills, passing wide and hitting through the lines to get in behind the GBS defence. Charles, in only his second game for Strikers was solid in defence and gained in confidence as the game went on displaying great tackling and distribution skills. Persistent pressure resulted in a turn over from GBS which was snapped up by Jacob, who ran several metres to the circle pushing past the keeper to score a well-deserved goal.

Subway and Best Team Player Awards to Charles and Jacob

Newtown Spirit vs Kardinia 5-0

After last week’s Bye, Newtown Spirit came out firing this week and really took the game to Kardinia in the first half. There was some great use of space and beautiful passing up the centre and out on the wings. The continued pressure from Spirit was rewarded through a goal by George. Matilda and Baxter both had shots on goal but couldn’t quite get through the Kardinia defence. George snuck in another goal before half time.

In the second half Spirit’s defence was tested a few times but the backs worked well together to keep out any shots on goal. Pollyanna made some great saves in her first game as goalkeeper. Two more goals from George and a goal from Matilda sealed the game for Spirit 5 -0. It was great to see the team using the feedback from their last match to good effect, with much better positioning and passing of the ball. A great team effort!

Under 12 Mixed

Newtown Rebels vs Newtown Spirit 11-0

Rebels played an exciting game with very strong attack against Spirit in Round 3. We saw a couple of near misses on goal early on and the first conversion came from Isabelle – holding fantastic position at post. The team gained pace and sharpened their passes to continue with a daunting attack on goals.

The main highlights from the match were very strong defensive play from Eliza and Ruby with quick intercepts and strong stick work; great holding of position up high from Isabelle, Brayden and Alex; impressive control working the ball up the field by Gil and Jai. Our backline contributed some sound match analysis – provided by Trey and Amelia at the half time review. However the highlight of the day would have to be when Brayden had a reverse stick shot on goal basically from the baseline and managed to score from a very tight angle.

Despite the one-sided score, the game was played in fantastic Newtown ‘spirit’. MVP for the day was Gil closely followed by Ruby, Toby and Isabelle.

Newtown Spirit vs Newtown Rebels 0-11

Newtown Spirit had another hard game this week with an 11-0 loss to fellow club team Newtown Rebels. From the sideline viewing perspective, Spirit had a better game than last week with better ball control.

It is worth acknowledging that 3 of the team Nate, Ruben and Hamish S, had played in matches prior to their own allowing those teams a better chance, (Hamish playing goalie for U14 strikers)! Well done and thank you!

Nate did a great job moving the ball into the attacking half. Our defenders put up an outstanding fight in particular Lucy and Charlotte C. Bella showed control of the ball taking it up the left wing, and Emma was a significant presence in the centre of the field until a bout of asthma took her off the field, much to her displeasure.

Some of the best attacking play was just prior to half time where Rebels were under real pressure, Spirit were in with a real chance when a car alarm was mistaken for the umpires whistle, the ensuing confusion allowed Rebels to clear the ball.

When asked how she felt after the match Annabelle reminded me of a quote which I thought was worth sharing.

“ It’s often been said that you learn more from losing than you do from winning. I think, if you’re wise, you learn from both. You learn a lot from a loss. You learn what is it that we’re not doing to get to where we want to go. It really gets your attention and it really motivates the work ethic of your team when you’re not doing well”. Morgan Wootten

Newtown Strikers vs Kardinia 0-2

Strikers had another tough game this week, up against Kardinia. We had 4 people away this week but were very lucky to get top up players from Spirit and Rebels. Thank you to Ruby, Amelia, Nate and Ruben, and their respective parents for bringing them down early, all provided great support both on and off the field.

The kids all ran hard again this week, moving the ball around the field, and trying to find scoring opportunities. We got a few opportunities in the first half but were not quite able to get one across the line. Our defence held up well, with some strong clearances from defence required. After some even play we went into half time 0-0.

Kardinia came out hard in the second half scoring 2 quick goals. We pushed hard, providing plenty of run through the middle, and getting the ball up into the attacking D. Despite keeping the ball locked into our attacking end, we were not able to get a score across the line. In the end Strikers going down 0-2.

Under 14 Mixed

Newtown Spirit vs GBS Black 1-0

Spirit started the match with four players from the team absent and no sub. GBS stood their ground early against a determined Spirit and at times pushed deep into attack. Luca was brilliant in defense assisted by Tom, denying GBS any clean shot at goal. Mitchell and Harry worked tirelessly across the midfield giving our full backs plenty of options to clear the ball. Spirit slowly but surely gained the upper hand controlling the ball and passing well to maintain possession. A number of scoring opportunities arose later in the first half with aggressive moves forward down the right side with Adam and Tilly combining well, but at half time the score remained at nil all.

The second half began much the same as the first but Spirit continued to maintain the advantage and always looked more likely to score. Daniel made his presence felt in mid-field gaining possession on numerous occasions and feeding short passes out to Grace, Mitchell and Harry. Tension built deep into the half as Spirit failed to break through GBS’s persistent defense. With less than three minutes remaining Amber gained possession at left half and pushed the ball forward with sheer determination. Isabella found space and swept a perfect pass to Harry at the top of the D who reacted quickly to thread the ball through a defender to Tilly, mid D in front of goal. She finished off the best passage of play for the match sending us to a 1 nil lead. In the dying moments GBS had their best opportunity to score, but Mai was having none of it. 1 nil to Spirit; a well-earned win.

A big thanks to Grace who showed courage to ensure her team had 11 sticks on the pitch despite feeling quite unwell. Also, thanks to Amber again this week, and Isabella for filling holes in our team. We also welcome Mai as our permanent goalie.

Newtown Strikers vs Torquay 1-5

Strikers came up against a strong team in Torquay and despite the end score, played a good game. There was vigorous contest for the ball, with great tackling and dispossession from both sides. Kate and Maggie worked well on the left wing with Maggie scoring a goal for Newtown and Brandon on the right wing narrowly missed a second goal. Charlie and Oskar played solid games and Basyl and Liam ran hard at the ball throughout the match.

The team showed maturity with their post-game reflection and we look forward to the next match.

Under 17 Mixed

Newtown Spirit vs Geelong Jaguars 1-3

Round 3 saw Newtown Spirit take on Geelong Jaguars, in a fast moving game. Since Spirit was short of players this week Sam Skuza was kind enough to jump in once again after just finishing his U14 game, giving Spirit 10 players. While Spirit was still short of players, Geelong Jaguars didn’t have a goalie.

Spirit showed good marking in the first half of the game. Jaguars were dominating the game with the ball in their forward for much of the first half. Angus showed determination and applied pressure when surrounded by multiple Jaguars players. Max’s willpower to stop multiple goals saw him drop to the ground protecting the ball. While Newtown managed to get the ball up forward it was short lived with a short corner shot that was counted as too high. Spirit held Jaguars with a half time result of 0-0.

Sam Skuza didn’t return to the field for the second half which left Spirit with just 9 players. Max had his work cut out for him during the second half with Jaguars getting 5 short corners. Within a couple of minutes Jaguars got their first goal, Spirit continued to apply pressure and with an early pass from Nick up the line to Jarret saw Jarret score their only goal for the game. Jaguars were continuously applying pressure on Tom as he was trying to move the ball forward.

During the last 5 minutes Jaguars dominated the game which saw them score another two goals and another opportunity to score once the siren blew with a short corner.

Newtown Strikers – Bye

Division 1 Women

Newtown Falcons vs Torquay 2-4

Division 2 Men

Newtown Spirit vs Geelong White 0-0

A fantastic game of hockey by all involved. Both teams had multiple attempts on goal with the game lifting in intensity till the final whistle. Each game for the Spirit  team has seen improvements which is positive to see early in the hockey season.

Newtown Strikers vs Saints 4-4

Division 2 Women

Newtown Spirit vs Golden Plains 3-2

A great game from Newtown Spirit this week, made easier by Golden Plains’ lack of players. The first half saw some great defence from Tracey, Bron and Kirsty A, with good disposal of the ball from 16 yard hits, reaching players linking in the midfield. Excellent running by Claudia, Isabel, Lauren and Georgie kept the ball moving forward into attack. There were some great forays down the right side by Katie, supported by Beth and Emma A, with Amelia and Andie combining well on the left. Kirsty M worked hard, despite having some injury issues.

The second half saw a more open game, with shorter passes well directed to team mates, and using the space along the wings, and team mates in good supporting positions. Altogether a pleasing game, showing some excellent awareness of space and leading to receive the ball in space. Goals to Claudia, Isabel and Lauren.

 

Hockey Season 2019 – May 4 & 5

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The second round of matches for the 2019 hockey season was a mixed bag of results, but the effort from all teams was fantastic.

Highlights included some great goalkeeping by Bella (U10 Strikers) and Mai (U14 Spirit), and some excellent sportsmanship shown by all teams, especially U8 Rebels, U14 Spirit and U14 Strikers, and u17 Strikers.

Under 6 Joeys

Even after 2 weeks of this hockey season, the Joeys players are showing great enthusiam and attention to the instruction, and learning new skills very well. ‘Monster Forest’ is already a favourite game, and one in which the players have shown excellent awareness of the options for moving the ball past opponents with  controlled skills. It’s very pleasing to see this next group of future hockey players joining our club and enjoying our game, and thanks to the parents for their support.

Under 8 Mixed

Newtown Strikers vs Torquay

Newtown Strikers welcomed Charlie to the team this week, and he made a very valuable contribution in defense for his first game with
some great passing. Strikers played against Torquay, who attacked the ball and were very committed right from the start and for the whole game. The Torquay team followed the ball closely with their players often bunching up, and there were many times when a Striker was opposed by 3 or 4 Torquay players. But Strikers continued to play their own game and made sure that they spread out so that they could more easily
receive passes. The first half saw a lot of running from the forwards Audrey, Joseph and Josien, with Josien scoring a goal after running nearly the length of the field with the ball.

Strikers continued to play well in the second half, with a long run with the ball from Lucy, great stops and hitting out of defense by Hunter, and some good passing and switching of play by Joseph. Strikers’ coach, Maggie, was very pleased with how the team was always looking to find the best option for their pass, and how well they were calling for the ball.

Newtown Spirit vs Golden Plains

Newtown Spirit combined well this week to play some quality hockey. We saw the team maintaining position well at times and using the width of the ground in attack. Odin’s strong passing from half back put Spirit players into space on numerous occasions. This, along with maintaining his field position, won Odin the Best Team Player Award. Thanks goes to Summah for playing for Golden Plains to even up the numbers.

Newtown Rebels vs Saints

Newtown Rebels had a bye last week, so fronted up for their first game of this hockey season with enthusiasm. Jake, Kasey and Lennie had filled in last week for Saints, but were playing against the Saints team this week. Rebels were joined by Emmanuel, Albert and Luc. The team began very well with great focus on the ball and determination to get there first, resulting in many forward passages of play. Thanks to Kasey and Lennie who played one half each for Saints. The Saints team is quite young and inexperienced, and the coach and the club are both very proud of the excellent sportsmanship shown by the Rebels players who allowed Saints some time to play the ball before putting the pressure on.

Coach Claire introduced a special rule for the Rebels team, which required them to make 3 (and then 4) passes in a row before they could score a goal. This was an extremely effective strategy for teamwork and well directed passing as the players all began to make sure that they looked for a team mate to pass to. At one point, the team had a sequence of 6 uninterrupted passes – a fantastic effort!

Awards this week went to Emmanuel for his great sportsmanship, and Lennie for his continuing effort throughout the whole game.

Under 10 Mixed

Newtown Strikers vs Torquay 0-7

We welcomed two new team mates Grace and Charles who played their first game for Newtown Strikers against Torquay.

Torquay dominated play with an exceptional individual performance from their centre half controlling play in all areas. The Strikers goal was peppered with several goal shots, many of which were stopped by fantastic GK skills from Bella, who amazingly is a novice at this role.

The second half Strikers showed great spirit, making several line breaks in attack and continuing to fight, protecting the goal line with Will B showing great determination at both ends of the field.

Things to take out of the game and what we learnt from our opponent is the importance of transferring the ball to best use the space, which we hope to implement into our own game. Subway and Best Team Player Awards to Will B and Bella.

Newtown Spirit – Bye

Under 12 Mixed

Newtown Spirit vs Torquay 0-8

Newtown Spirit had a really tough game to start their hockey season. Their opener against Torquay didn’t go according to plan with a heavy loss (8-0). Despite the final scoreline, there were a number of positives to take away from the game.

Spirit played well under significant pressure as Torquay dominated with the ball, all players were required to use their defensive skills and many great tackles were made.

During the first half, Torquay were quick to attack. Leo and Reuben were solid in defence, committing themselves in tackles with Hamish S saving a number of shots on goal. Charlotte playing at left half back made some of the most impressive tackles, following up to clear the ball. Just before half time we started using the ball to run up the wings, with Bella at right wing making two strong runs providing the best attacking play of the half.

In the second half the game started to open up a bit and Spirit made some great runs into Torquay’s half and briefly put their defence under pressure. At one point Nate made a great break through the midfield with Emma running in support and continuing the drive, unfortunately Torquay were too quick to recover and reversed the situation.

At the end of the game, Torquay’s speed and superior ball skills earned them their tally of 8 unanswered goals. The great defensive effort put in by Spirit should have kept the score slightly lower but Torquay brutally capitalised on the few mistakes that we did make.

Newtown Rebels vs Kardinia 4-3

A very spirited game from Rebels this week, fighting from 3:1 down 15 mins into the second half to end up with a 4:3 win.

The game saw Isla return for her first hockey game since u8 and she immediately showed her tenacity and bravery attacking the ball with gusto. This was also Peri’s first game with Newtown and she slotted in seamlessly, providing lots of run through the middle of the ground.

The majority of the first half was spent defending before Brayden scored in a strong run on goals just before the half-time buzzer. We are not sure what Rach said, or if there was something in the oranges but Rebels came out in the second half with renewed vigour. They started to play the ball out wide to attacking options, allowing some great offensive runs up the field. By utilising more space the team could then run in waves towards goal with heightened confidence. The biggest smile of the day came from Isabelle, who scored a goal in her second ever game of hockey! A great reward for tirelessly working on her positioning all game.

Most valued player this week went to Brayden, who ran hard with his forays forward and also managed to score a couple of goals.

Newtown Strikers vs Geelong 1-0

This week Strikers were up against Geelong Jaguars and wow what a difference a week can make!

Kurt did some great work at training helping the kids to understand where the “space” is, how to move into space and how to find a player in space. This paid off in spades in this week’s game, with all the kids showing great awareness of where the space was.

The team effort levels were amazing, with many repeat efforts, and this really proved the difference in the one on one battles. After having a few strong attempts on goal in the first half, as well as defending a few Geelong attacks (along with a couple of good saves by Mai), meant we went into half time 0-0.

The kids pushed hard in the second half, again with multiple shots on goal, and our defence continuing to hold strong, quickly repelling any Jaguar attacks. As the second half ticked down, Strikers again pushed forward, with Charlie managing to get a shot through the Jaguars defence to score our first goal. The Jaguars pushed players forward, to try and steal a win, but Strikers held strong in defence, moving the ball wide and around the Jaguars attackers and pushing back into attack. Strikers holding firm for a well-deserved 0-1 win, well done team!

Under 14 Mixed

Newtown Strikers vs Newtown Spirit 1-0

Spectators saw a really good match between the two Newtown U14 sides on Saturday. Strikers gained new brother-sister duo in Oskar and Charlie and they made a great contribution with good defense and nice passing around the ground. Max, Brandon and Kate had Spirit under pressure early and Max was able to score a goal, but Spirit too had chances with some penalty corners. Maggie in goals and Tom at full back held Spirit scoreless to give Strikers a 1-0 win.

Coach Ahmer (AJ) was happy with the team playing out wide and asked the players to look for closer passes rather than going for long hits that were often intercepted by the opposition, and also for the receiving player to come closer to the ball to avoid the intercepts.

Great skills were on display and a game played with good sportsmanship from both Newtown teams.

Newtown Spirit vs Newtown Strikers 0-1

Both teams started evenly with good passing and play making over the whole pitch. Spirit held firm in defense with nice work by Luca and Thomas until Strikers broke through at about the halfway point of the first. Mitchell in right half generated good momentum for Spirit going forward linking up with Harry W and Grace. During the last 8 to 10 minutes of the half Spirit managed to force the play more into offence with some great team play that led to a number of short corners. One of these nearly resulted in a score but at the half time break Strikers held onto a 1 nil lead.

Luca sat out for the first part of the second half after a fast ball to the throat, but showed great courage and returned to the game with the same level of intensity. Once again, our defenders held firm and rebuffed continuous offensive drives by Strikers. Spirit had some opportunities to score generated by fast moves down forward, but none finding the back of the net. Cameron stepped up in mid-field to limit the Strikers’ forward momentum. In the dying moments of the game, Strikers sent a searing shot from right field which looked certain to make it 2 nil, only to see the ball rocket back past them after a terrific save by our goalie, Mai.

All round great team effort. Thanks to our guest coach, Thomas and to the players that stepped in to help out this week (Mai, Amelia & Amber). We look forward to the return of Harry B and Mason, who we all hope is feeling well.

Under 17 Mixed

Newtown Spirit vs Torquay 0-5

A very strong first half from our opponents who were strong in attack with multiple scoring opportunities. However, with no substitutes Spirit showed lots of determination in our defence to prevent further goals with a score of 0-3 in the first half.

After a few strong words from Coach Pete at half time, Spirit really rallied well in the second half becoming more fierce and amped up their speed with lots of fast foot work. Spirit was able to spread out more across the pitch and came close to scoring on a few occasions, where Torquay scored only another 2 goals.  Thank-you to Grace, Sam, Oscar and Charley for filling in.

Newtown Strikers vs Geelong Jaguars 1-4

Newtown Strikers worked hard against Geelong Jaguars on Saturday to find their stride while still adapting to their new structure and game
plan. Jaguars were strong in attack and set up a couple of short corners in both the first and second halves. Jaguars had a strong, fast and
skillful team with a number of players able to penetrate and put shots on goals and pressure on the Strikers defense. Jaguars were able to
score two field goals and 2 conversions. Strikers moved the ball well out of the deep defense and converted for a field goal in the second
half after strong play through Tom and Joshua to lift the team. However, they were unable to take further advantage of the Jaguars lack of a
goalie and finished the game 4:1 down.

Strikers showed strong resilience throughout the game, working well as a team and finished the game in good spirits. Their respectful play was commended by the umpires after the match who commented “they were a pleasure to umpire”. Well done Strikers.

Division 1 Women

Newtown Falcons vs Geelong 0-0

Falcons game two came up against last year’s Premiers team so it was a great result to come away with our first point in a 0-0 draw.  The score was very indicative of the play, as movement was from end to end at times and strong battles all over the pitch.  It is always a positive sign when players come off feeling challenged and like they have left it all on the field. Individual technique improved from last week as did team tactics with the ball being distributed to the outside more frequently, a bit more small game connection and some numerical advantage generated in our attack circle.  As we work on converting circle entries to PCs and goals, it is going to be very exciting. Defense did a good job drawing the line outside the circle allowing very few penalty corners against.  A near full roster allowed work rate to stay high while on the pitch, players to identify adjustments on the sideline and come into the game with intense focus. It was a great team effort and good foundation to move forward in the season.

Division 2 Men

Newtown Strikers vs Geelong White 5-1

We had quite a different team compared to last week with 7 players from last weeks’ victorious team missing.  However this did not deter our young team (7 of our players were 21 or under) from putting on a good performance.  Woody showed again that he rules the post by scoring 2 goals in 2 weeks when he was in the right place at the right time to score our first goal early in the game.  Our midfield controlled the game well and didn’t give Geelong many opportunities to make it through to their forward line.  The team out-ran Geelong, used empty spaces well to lead and displayed a lot of patience by building up the play.

Newtown Spirit vs Torquay 8-1

A much better effort from the Spirit this weekend. After losing to Geelong Blue 1-0 the previous weekend in a match where we lacked system, tried to go too directly and were perhaps a bit rusty with the skills, Spirit put in a good performance this weekend. There was much better movement of the ball, good use of both sides of the ground and some good switching of play from one side to another, that opened up a range of opportunities, many of which were taken. With Pete controlling the midfield, Andrew dominating in the back-line and excellent marking and running from our halves (Rodan, Lockie, Dave W, JJ) and inners (Carl, Luke, Alex), there were a number of opportunities for our forwards. Ian set up a couple of goals with great crosses from the wing and AJ was moving towards his goal sneaking best. Four goals came our way in the first half with none for the opposition; the second half brought another 4 for us and one for Torquay to give a pleasing 8-1 result. Goals: Pete 2, AJ 2, one each to Carl, Alex, Rodan and Alex (I think – it was hard to keep count!). In a sign of the evenness of the contribution, 12 of the 13 players received votes from team-mates at the end of the game. Overall best players went to Pete, Lochie, Dave W. Previous week’s best players were Lochie, Will H, Andrew.

Division 2 Women

Newtown Spirit vs Saints Red 0-3

Welcome to Georgie who joined the team this week. This was a great game against the 2018 hockey season Premiers, with excellent defence holding out Saints, and in many cases meeting them in the midfield rather than in deep defence. Much tighter marking of opponents limited Saints’ oppotunities in the circle, with Andie, Hillary and Tracey making many interceptions and sending the ball out of defence. There were some excellent hits to forwards in space, but Saints controlled the centre of the field and passes across this area were not as effective as they might have been.

The second half saw some well directed passing and better use of the short game, with good backup for forwards as they moved into attack. Great running by Deb, Emma A, Claudia and Beth moved the ball into attack a number of times but without any result on the scoreboard for us. Overall, a game which gives great promise for the season ahead.

Saturday Social Hockey

The 2019 hockey season sees our Saturday Social program back again, providing the opportunity for both adults and juniors to play some hockey in a fun environment. This week’s game saw Brett, Audrey, Charlotte and Claire pitted against Luke, Heston, Atticus, Kate and Maryanne. There was some great passing with players running to space or looking for the pass to switch the play to the less crowded spaces. Excellent use of the back pass by Audrey, with Brett and Charlotte showing great anticipation. Lovely passing by Maryanne in her second game in a long time, with Luke and Atticus always in support. Excellent work by Heston in his first game and with Kate showing great focus and strength in her disposal, both teams finished strongly in a very enjoyable game.

U12 Girls

Pink vs Purple

The second game of this hockey season for the U12 girls, with Amber, Amelia, Alex, Bella B (2 of them), Charlotte and Grace representing Newtown in this Hockey Geelong program,  showcased some excellent ball control skills and strong passing.  Great running to spaces was evident at times, but there was also a tendency to pass the ball through the middle on many occasions, and often this was cut off by the opposition player.

Purple began the game well with many forward moves resulting in goals. However, in the second half, well directed passing and good defence by Pink turned the tide and Pink finished the game strongly with a number of goals on the board.

With 15 girls now interested in this program, it is hoped that the number of players will continue to increase. New players are welcome – beginners or experienced players. Contact Claire Barnes for details.