Epic Grand Final wins
The Newtown City Hockey Club had an awesome day at the 2014 Hockey Geelong Grand Final on August 31, finishing the day with 5 Premierships and 3 Runners Up wins. Grand Final wins and Premierships came in U13, Division 1 Women, Division 2 Women, Division 1 Men and Division 2 Men, with Runners Up placings in U15, U17 and Division 2 Women.
The Club’s emphasis on the development of junior players is proving its worth, with the Division 1 Men’s team, whose average age is 19.4, winning its second successive premiership. Likewise the 2 Women’s Premiership teams contain a large number of players aged under 18.
The day began with a great win by Newtown Maroon in the Under 13 Grand Final, minor Premiers for the season, pitted against second placed Golden Plains. Great effort by Newtown saw them win 4-1 to claim the Premiership.
Next up was the Under 15 Grand Final, with minor Premiers Newtown White taking on Kardinia Maroon. Despite a great effort by Newtown players, Kardinia prevailed on the day, with a 3-6 scoreline, leaving Newtown with the Runners Up pennant.
The Under 17 Grand Final produced a great spectacle and an excellent display of skills. Kardinia continued in the winning way they had shown for the whole season, but it was a great effort by Newtown to finish as Runners Up 4-6, a great improvement on the 2-10 loss to Kardinia in the semi-final.
The Division 2 Women’s Grand Final saw minor Premiers Newtown Maroon playing against clubmates Newtown Gold. A very tight match saw Newtown Gold take the win, 1-0. Great to have both Premiers and Runners Up pennants in the bag.
The Grand Final of the Division 1 Women’s Competition saw Newtown Falcons pull off an epic win. Newtown were pitted against minor premiers Bellarine, in what was expected to be a tough match, with Newtown as the underdogs after a 0-5 loss to Bellarine in the semi-final two weeks earlier.
Bellarine scored early and looked set to continue on their winning way, but Newtown’s persistence saw them match the pressure and finish the match with a 3-3 score. The penalty stroke competition used as a Grand Final tiebreaker saw each team complete 10 penalty strokes without either team gaining the winning advantage. Sudden death penalty strokes was the next step, and when Newtown’s goalkeeper, Jessie saved the first Bellarine attempt, Newtown was in with a chance. Courtney stepped up and completed her penalty stroke with such force that she put a hole in the goal net. A very happy Newtown team was proud to accept the Premiership Trophy and the pennant – the first win in this competition for the Club since 1991.
D1 Women’s Grand Final Premiers
Very happy Grand Final goalkeeper, Coach and Captain
The Division 1 Men’s Grand Final saw 2013 combatants, Newtown Falcons and Torquay, facing off again.
The young Newtown Falcons team, having finished as Minor Premiers, had great expectations of success, but could not have been sure of the final result.
Newtown dominated the game, finishing with a 7-0 victory to claim the Premiers trophy for the second successive year.
The last Grand Final match for the day was equally thrilling, with the Division 2 Men’s match featuring Newtown White and Saints – the season’s 1st and 2nd placed teams, with many close matches between them. Newtown White had a good blend of youth and experience, and showed great effort and skill to finish the match at 2-1 up. The fifth Premiers pennant for the day.
