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The Newtown Hockey Club 40th Anniversary gives us a great opportunity to celebrate, enjoy, reflect on our progress, and plan for the future.

The Newtown City Hockey Club officially began its journey on March 24, 1977, with 18 junior players. Through the efforts and participation of many, there have been more than 2200 players represent the Club since then. The Club now sits proudly as the largest hockey club in Victoria outside the Melbourne Metropolitan area. The Club is affiliated with, and is an active participant in the activities of the Geelong Hockey Association.

We invite all members, past and present, to come and celebrate the Newtown Hockey Club 40th Anniversary at our 40th Gala, on Saturday May 6, 2017.

The event will be held in the Peninsula Room at the Novotel Geelong, 10 – 14 Eastern Beach, Geelong.

Celebrate the achievements, both yours and the Club’s, and share with us your memories and stories. Relive your ‘Glory Days’ and catch up with some old friends.

If you have any memorabilia, photos or newspaper articles you can loan us, we would love to hear from you.

In the beginning ……

The 1976 Olympic Silver medal for the Australian Men’s hockey team was the inspiration for a Junior Expansion program initiated by the Geelong and District Men’s Hockey Association. Alan Barnes, Gavin Allen, Dennis Hatton, and Noel Smith, chose the Newtown area as their operating area, and began visiting local primary schools. Accompanied by an Olympic hockey player, the children were invited to come and try hockey. And so began a template for progress which has proved very successful in the following years.

Progress and expansion …..

The club expanded quickly with senior men’s and women’s teams added in 1978. Competition began in earnest with club teams participating in the competitions organised by the Geelong and District Men’s Hockey Association, the Geelong Women’s Hockey Association and the Geelong Junior Hockey Association. The women saw early success with a Premiership in A Grade in their first year, and a repeat performance in their second year (1979). The men’s team took a little longer but finished as Division 2 Runners Up in 1979.

Doug Stephens – and a young David Fitzgerald in the background.

Based on juniors ……

A strong focus on junior development and an active recruiting program has seen the Club continue to grow and progress. Along the way, there have been many innovations which have benefited the club and hockey in the Geelong area.

In 1980, the establishment of a high quality grass playing surface at Lloyd Reserve in Newtown allowed the Club to set up its permanent home. The Reserve provides an accessible base for children in the local area to ‘Come and Try’, and learn about hockey. The Club has been an enthusiastic supporter of recruitment at younger age groups, and introduced the modified rules Minkey (Mini-Hockey) program in 1985, for children Under 9. The Club caters for even younger children, with a Joeys program for children Under 6. The Joeys players participate in small fun games, which teach both skills and strategies in a short 30 minute session.

Great achievements ….

There have been many successes over the past 40 years. We can name numerous Premierships and Runners Up finishes; increasing numbers of members selected in Regional and State teams; construction of the Claire and Alan Barnes pavilion at Lloyd Reserve. The Club is particularly proud of its position as the largest hockey club in Victoria outside the Melbourne Metropolitan area. But we are even prouder of the honour received in 2014, when the Club was named the ‘Community Sporting Club of the Year’ in the Victorian Government’s Community Sport and Recreation Awards.

2014 – Community Sporting Club of the Year

Celebrate with us …..

Come and share the memories with us. Don’t miss your chance to be part of the joy and celebration.

Don’t wish you had been there ….. Make sure that you are!

Purchase your tickets here ……….

With the 2017 hockey season underway, teams are starting to settle into a rhythm, and Round 2 provided some excellent efforts

Kookas

A very enjoyable game of Kookas hockey this week, with the assistance of some bystanders. Girls vs boys saw some family competition on display. Great passing and good ball control skills by Charlie, with Braydn and Baxter working hard to be in the right position to receive the ball. Matilda and Emily showed excellent awareness of space and positioning of both team mates and opposition players, and the use of back passes allowed play to switch to team mates with the opportunity to attack. Overall, a great game of hockey.

Under 6 Joeys

Dribbling and scanning skills are improving as the players develop confidence and speed. Some nice spins and reverse stick work this week to avoid getting caught. Strong and accurate passing is also showing progress. Great work by these young players.

Under 8

Newtown Strikers vs Newtown Spirit

This week the Strikers fielded a full team. The game started off quite technical with lots of instruction and teaching from the coaches. As the game progressed the players started to get the hang of it with the second half flowing well. The players all starting to display some of their skills with passing to their team mates and calling for the ball. Both the boys (Will and Alex) played well in the middle taking on their opponents with some solid dribbling skills. Matilda was the recipient of the Subway Best Team Player Award this week. Well Done.

Newtown Raiders vs Torquay

Well done to everybody on a great second round. It was great to see everybody really start playing as a team and looking for their team mates to pass the ball to. Well done to Charlie and Hannah who did a fantastic job goal keeping. Chloe, Jesse and Oscar worked very well together in the forward line, especially in passing the ball wide. Lily and Isabelle did a great job in the backline helping to stop many attempts at goal.

Congratulations to Hannah for being awarded the Subway Best Team Player Award!

Newtown Spirit vs Newtown Strikers

Spirit had to defend hard in an entertaining match against Strikers when the two Newtown teams met in Under-8 competition at Lloyd Reserve on Saturday. While Spirit enjoyed several runs towards goal, the team was kept on its toes by the opposition who pushed forward at every opportunity during the first half. But Spirit players tackled hard and ran hard, making Strikers work for every ball.

Right wing Michael and centre Juliette showed their determination through constant tackling while Avah intercepted several passes from Strikers players and fed the ball capably to her teammates including Summah on left wing.

At half time Coach Kellie urged her young side to keep their eye on the ball at all times and spread out to boost passing options and prevent crowding. In the second half centre forward Drew took his coach’s words to heart and put in a strong effort, combining well with Michael, while left wing Braydn tackled keenly every chance he got. Baxter worked hard across the half back line, showing good ball control in a quick break towards goal, and Pollyanna provided pace on right wing. Avah, protecting the goals, was quick to snap into action when taking free hits but was sometimes limited in her options. But there were still plenty of pleasing signs that came out of the round-two game including increased calling.

Drew received the Subway Best Team Player award for the game after great two halves. Well done Drew for your fantastic work.

Newtown Rebels vs College White

Rebels displayed excellent skills in defence in the first half and, as the game progressed, their confidence grew and they started to attack more. At half time Colleen spoke about spreading out and staying in position. Rebels dominated the second half, which had a much quicker pace. Tommy scored his first goal of the season while Sophie narrowly missed out on two chances at goal. Genevieve was also key in moving the ball forward and keeping up the strong attack. The rest of the team worked hard in defence and Annabelle was awarded Subway Best Team Player for her improved performance.

U8 players getting in some practice

Under 10 South

Newtown Spirit vs Torquay Tornadoes 0-4

This week saw us play a strong opposition, with them getting to the ball first, having multiple short counters and dominating the play. However, Spirit were able to hold them off multiple times with a strong defence. Torquay scored 4 goals in the first half.

Kellie’s half time chat discussed that we needed to work on getting the ball to our players, ‘marking’ the opposition players, clearing and tacking the ball. The second half saw Torquay remain goalless….. great defence with Meyah as the goalie. Best Team Player Awards to Max and Hana……Kellie did have a hard time deciding, her dancing around on the spot seemed to help her make a decision. Great game Spirit.

Newtown Strikers vs Golden Plains 0-5

The Strikers team showed their determination and resilience in the match this week. They faced many short corners and provided strong defence. Every member of the team made great tackles, particularly Anna with her reverse stick work. Thamindu proved a most reliable full-back, stopping the attack numerous times and Alexandra showed some fantastic footwork by clearing heaps of shots on goal. The players are learning to hold their positions and pass out wide, and later in the second half Newtown players were spread well across the field. This allowed some great cross-field passes from Elliott to Charlie who switched it right across the field to Isla for a great attacking run, followed by similar attacks towards goals by Jai and Eliza-May.

I would like to say to the Strikers team members – you all tried your hardest for the whole game. You always played with respect to your team mates and to the opposition and that is what being a good sport is all about. On behalf of your parents and your coach, we are all very proud of you.

Under 12

Newtown Spirit vs Bellarine Thunder 1-2

Round 2 saw a much improved game by all. We had a full team with the help of Eliza who had a great game despite being out of her age group! Spirit came out of the blocks very fast and had the ball in our circle very quickly. Unfortunately we were unable to convert. Bellarine had a great defense which was hard to get around despite some great positional play up front. One thing that did continue through out the entire game was the fact that the players forgot Pete’s instruction of playing out wide. More often than not the ball would be received/or intercepted but would be put straight back from where it came from!

The second half had our defense being placed under an enormous amount of pressure. Oliver was our volunteer goalie and what a game he had! Anyone would think he had been doing it all the time. 4 times he stopped definite goals and 2 of them were one on one contests! Liam was also kept busy and was solid in defense.

Some big hits from Angus saw the ball rocketed forward into our attack but we were unable to get onto the end of them. Our forwards were certainly not laying idle and we had a passage of play from Mitchell (playing his second game ever!) that effortlessly made his way around a few opposition players with the greatest of ease to have the ball well into our attacking end. He surprised not only his parents but himself as well! Our first goal for the season came from Maggie who followed her hit into the goalie’s pads, controlled the rebound and was able to put the ball into the goal.

Newtown Strikers vs Kardinia 1-1

Round 2 proved to be a very tough match against Kardinia ending in a 1-1 draw. Goals were very hard to come by with a strong defence shown on both sides and the first half remaining goal less. Early in the second half Jack scored a lovely goal with some nice assistance by his teammates. Ruby played a great game holding her position and showing good control with her passing shots. Some great passes to the forwards and great assistance in defence saw Adam have a remarkable game. Jamie’s role as a sweeper was commendable, leading the way in defence and giving some nice passes out wide to his teammates. Well done Strikers!

Newtown Rebels vs Torquay 1-1

Rebels put on a strong team display against Torquay this week. In the blink of an eye, Olivia scored an early goal to put the Rebels 1-0 up. Torquay tried on several occasions to even the score but were unable to get the ball through the impenetrable defence of Lachlan and Luca. Rebels kept on the attack with the quick feet and swift passing of Basyl, Brandon and Isobel placing continuous pressure on Torquay.

At the break, the message from the coach was to pass the ball around more – to open up the game and Torquay’s defence. Olivia and Sam opened up with some good switches, creating holes in Torquay’s defence and several early opportunities. The efforts of Imogen and Adele to keep the ball in Rebels’ forward half was outstanding, putting significant pressure on the Torquay defenders.

Fantastic teamwork by the forwards produced the second goal. Pat showed excellent vision to pass across goals to Kiah who unselfishly passed the ball to Teijai, who finished the exciting passage of play with a goal. Teijai continued to look dangerous up forward, and was unlucky not to get a 3rd goal for the team, hitting the bar. Torquay’s strongest opportunity saw our goalkeeper (Mai) one out with a Torquay player running in to goal. Mai kept her composure, kicking the ball away on the very last line of defence.

U12 Newtown Rebels vs Torquay

Under 14

Newtown Spirit vs Geelong Jaguars 8-0

Geelong Jaguars played host to U14 Newtown Spirit on Saturday at Stead Park. Our designated goalie Max H. was away but our other Max H. was happy to volunteer to be goalie for the day. From the get-go, Spirit’s attack was able to make inroads into the Jaguars defence and through Ella we drew a foul in the circle. Jamie received the ball from the short corner and his hit made the back of the net but was disallowed. Spirit defended well all day and Geelong Jaguars were not able to make many entries into their attacking circle. At half-time, Newtown Spirit were up 3-0 with goals to the always dangerous duo of Harry (1) and Jamie (2).

Some second half highlights were Charley always running hard to beat her opponents to the ball, and also having a few good hits at goal, Harry with a nice strong hit off a penalty corner. Sam doing some nice penalty corner pushes, and also some “crumbing” in goals to score his first goal playing in U14s, Will with a nice hit at goals, albeit just a little too wide, Amelia taking the ball from defence deep into attack, and Ella having a nice hit at goal but ultimately defended by the Jaguars goalie.

The final result was Newtown 8-nil with goals to Harry (2), Jamie (5) and Sam (1).

Newtown Strikers vs Kardinia 2-0

U14 Newtown Strikers vs Kardinia

Under 17

Newtown Strikers Bye

Newtown Spirit vs Golden Plains 7-1

Newtown were out of the blocks in quick fashion against Golden Plains with three early goals to Miles. Golden Plains launched a series of counterattacks and eventually pulled one goal back via a well executed short corner. Newtown scored two further goals in the first half to Tom and Jack, both following short corners. Newtown held a 5:1 lead at half time but the score didn’t reflect how hard Newtown had to work for their goals.

Newtown had far more possession in the second half but only yielded 2 further goals, which is testament to the Golden Plains defence. Olivia had a flurry of shots on goal but was not able to beat the goal keeper or the post(!!), resulting in much oohing and aahing from the sideline supporters. A tough game but good result in the end. Thanks to Jen for keeping goal and Amelia for filling in from U14.

Division 1 Men

Newtown Falcons vs Saints Black 4-3

A long time ago on a hockey pitch on the edge of the galaxy ….. A young team, coached by Master Yoda and his band of Rebel Alliance.

The band of Rebels are: Jabbba the Hutt (Will), Obi-Wan Kenobi (Lachlan), Luke Skywalker (Sean), Qui-Gon Jinn (Tom H), R2D2 (Nic P), Darth Maul (Leo), Ben Skywalker (Pat), Princess Leia (Niko), C3PO (Jimmy), Darth Vader (Adham), Han Solo (Hamish), Chewbacca (Angus), Jar Jar Binks (Zed). The game was against the Imperial Storm Troopers (Saints).

The game started with plenty of open play from both sides. Very good defending from Obi-Wan Kenobi and the flashing light saber of Luke Skywalker, Qui-Gon Jinn, and Ben Skywalker. Quick passing by the forwards Princess Leia saw the fast Jar Jar Binks supported by Chewbacca and Han Solo to put a score on the board. But the Imperial Stormstroopers came back quickly to even the score. The game went from one side to the other with many a light saber flashing. Darth Maul had control of the middle, with Darth Vader making himself busy in the forward line. Many chances from both teams came and went.

The second half had many more chances. This hockey game had everything. R2D2 at times ran circles around everyone. Plenty of passing was great, but some work on marking opposition players would be useful. Late in the game, Darth Vader fell over the keeper and left the field with an injury, but still the game went on. The Rebel Alliance was getting tired with so many chances. The Imperial Stormtroopers kept on pushing but Jabba the Hutt, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker, Qui-Gon Jinn and Ben Skywalker kept them out. Jar Jar Binks was also great and Princess Leia had a good game. With 2 minutes to go, the Stormtroopers scored. Final score Rebel Alliance 4, Imperial Stormtroopers 3.

May the 4th be with you.

Newtown Strikers vs Torquay Tornadoes 2-2

A great first half by Strikers to lead 2-0 at half time.

Division 1 Women

Newtown Falcons vs Bellarine 13-0

Newtown Strikers vs Geelong Jaguars 2-6

Goals to Elese and Erin.

Division 2 Men

Newtown Spirit vs Saints Red 0-7

Division 2 Women

Newtown Spirit vs Geelong Jaguars 0-8

Great effort by our defence with Geelong on the attack from the first whistle. Concentration on the ball and good positioning by Hill, Beth and Eichelle with Andie, Jacinta and Hannah intercepting many attacks in midfield. Persistence by Kellie and Katelyn was able to win the ball and move into the forward line where Katie and De were available. This created a number of forward moves and some shots at goal but without success.

The second half saw Newtown tire, and with no interchange it was hard work to keep up with the speed of the Geelong game. This allowed Geelong to receive the ball with space and time to pass to team mates. The effort shown by Newtown players even though fatigued was excellent, and pressure on the ball carrier often resulted in Newtown gaining the ball.

Check out more photos on our Facebook page.

Saturday May 6 is the Newtown Hockey Club 40th Anniversary Gala. There are still some tickets available so get in and purchase yours now. Then head out to Stead Park on Sunday May 7 to watch the Newtown matches on from 9.15 am to 5.00 pm. A feast of Newtown hockey to celebrate our 40th Anniversary.