The 2017 hockey season is fast drawing to a close, and this week’s matches showed the determination of players to do their best, with only one round of home and away matches to go.
Kookas
The Kookas game this week was a great display of teamwork and skill from all players. Some great tackles were followed by excellent passing to players running to receive the ball in space. The use of back passes to switch the play worked well for both Team Orange and Team Red, and defenders were able to move the ball quickly into attack. Some lovely goals were scored with players in just the right positions, but there was some equally good defence which prevented a higher score. The game ended in a draw – a fitting reflection of the efforts of all players.
Under 8
Newtown Strikers vs Newtown Rebels
Strikers took on the Rebels team this week. There were some great hits, with the ball travelling long distances despite the wet grass. Strikers struggled to score in the first half, despite their determination to get to the ball first. The players all wanted the ball, but did really well staying in their positions and passing it. All players showed great hockey skills with solid trapping skills, looking for and executing the pass to the player in space. The girls showed real hunger for the ball with Eliza, Bella and Lucy seeing plenty of the ball.
In the second half Matilda took on the Rebels team despite playing in the backline and managed to score 3 goals. One of these was a brilliant half field run, ball on stick and a goal with a cheeky dance celebration. Well done. The boys (Sammy and Alex) also saw plenty of the ball in defence, passing it well to the forwards. Alex displayed some great stick skills this week. Bella displayed some solid hockey skills with defensive tacking and some dribbling in the forward line. This saw her win the Subway Encouragement award. Great Job.
Newtown Rebels vs Newtown Strikers
Rebels had a great match this week against Newtown Strikers. Rebels displayed a positive attitude throughout the game and all players were enthusiastic and worked well together. In the first half both teams were evenly matched. There was strong attacking from both sides along with some very effective defending. Rebels moved forward well and showed greatly improved passing skills.
At half-time Colleen praised the team’s efforts and reminded them to keep calling to one another and stay in position. In the second half Rebels started to dominate, displaying great tenacity and always keeping up the attack. All in all Rebels had a fantastic last game of the hockey season. The team has improved so much since the start of the season and we would all like to thank Colleen for being an amazing coach!
Paddy was awarded Subway Player of the Week for most improved player.
Newtown Raiders vs College White
The Newtown Raiders team has shown considerable improvement during this hockey season, and it is very pleasing to see them giving their best efforts each week. Hannah took on the task of defending the goal this week, and did a great job. Her focus on the ball and stick on the ground allowed her to stop and clear a number of College shots at goal. Quick free passes to team mates in space got the ball out of the danger area quickly and effectively. Oliver, Charlotte and Chloe found space away from College opponents to receive passes, and Raiders were able to move forward into attack.
In the second half, Charlotte and Oscar were able to gain possession and run the ball into attack on a number of occasions. Good midfield defence and support for the forwards by Jesse, Lily and Isabelle, prevented their College opponents from dominating the play. Overall, this was a great game, with Raiders playing well together and showing great teamwork.
Subway Best Team Player Award to Hannah.
Under 10
Newtown Spirit vs Geelong College 6-0
What a great game. …..lots of positives!! Kellie was really proud of the lovely plays we had. The free hits were taken very quickly and we had some great 2nd and 3rd efforts at the ball. We were also passing across the field rather than just down the middle. Also, we were taking our time to see where our team members were and looking out sideways for them too. It was a game that saw us getting to the ball first so this enabled us to show off the skills just mentioned and what we had practised all hockey season.
We marked well and continued this play right through the whole game. Goals were scored by Riley, Oliver and Nate, none of which would have happened without the spectacular team work at the goals. Kellie was super impressed and it was nice to see what we had trained for all season come together beautifully in the second last match. Best Team Player Awards this week went to Scarlett and Bella.
Newtown Strikers vs Torquay 0-5
Another fantastic effort from everyone and a display of how far the team has come in this hockey season. There was a great resilience shown by all, with some players being hit by the ball but staying on the field and continuing to play.
Anna took up the challenge through the centre and blocked the run of Torquay. Thamindu assisted Amelia in goals by stopping Torquay’s attack. Emma and Elliott teamed up together on the wing and put pressure on their players with their tackles. Charlie and Jai covered a lot of the field, pushing the ball forwards and looking for options to pass to. Isla and Eliza made great position and showed determination to get the ball back after any turnovers and would not give up. Eliza May made great decisions with her direct passes. Alex and Ruby put everything on the line including themselves. Isabel kept the ball away from the goals and pushed it out wide.
Best Team Player Awards were given to Isabel and Anna
Under 12
Newtown Rebels vs Newtown Spirit 5-0
Newtown Rebels put in a strong display this week defeating Newtown Spirit 5-0. Clever switches of play from defence and the consequent fast ball movement made it extremely difficult for Spirit to defend. It is fantastic to see this part of the Rebels game develop each week. Well done to Adele who scored a lightning fast goal from a clever cross by Teijai. Fantastic teamwork!!!
Newtown Spirit vs Newtown Rebels 0-5
It was a Newtown Hockey Club derby for Round 13 and Spirit were taking on the very in-form Rebels. With a full team everyone was rearing to go.
Harry stepped into goals for us and did a stellar job despite the seemingly constant attack during the first half. Our players were caught a little off guard by some great stick work and quick play from Rebels! Our defence were having a tricky time of their job and unfortunately Rebels were able to score numerous times. Rebels showed Spirit what it meant to play wide, look for square passes and to spread out.
The second half was a totally different game! After some words from Pete about not standing back and letting Rebels run, the team took to the field a little tentative but willing. It was like a different team had stepped onto the field! Instead of standing back and watching the swiftness of the stick work and the legs, Spirit followed their players and put an enormous amount of pressure onto Rebels, restricting their movements. They never gave up. It was truly wonderful to watch how they all worked together and managed to have the ball in the D numerous times as well as getting a corner or two.
As a result of this determination, Rebels were restricted to one extra goal in the second half. I think Spirit should be very proud of their efforts. It was always going to be a hard match but the team did so very very well and the score did not reflect the game at all. Well done to you all.
Newtown Strikers vs Bellarine Thunder 3-0
Inspiring game Strikers!
Despite the cold weather the sun was shining down beautifully making perfect hockey conditions. From the start of the match you could see the determination on the Strikers faces to win and keep alive their hopes of experiencing a final. In the first half the game was mostly played in the attacking zone giving Bellarine Thunders’ defenders and goalie much work to do, but to their credit they continued to save many near goals. With no score at half time it made for a very exciting second half.
Strikers fought hard to get through the defence and finally found a way with a lovely goal by Gil. Jack followed up with another goal and Rory got the final goal of the game with a lovely pass from Kenna setting up the shot for him.
It was a great team effort to win this match making it difficult to highlight who the best players were. However Kenna had to be rewarded for her great positioning and support during the match. She is becoming a pro at trapping the ball and passing to the best option in her team. Gil is also showing what a great hockey player he is becoming through his hard work and efforts on field and Ruby stuck to her player all match running hard and putting the pressure on at all times.
Special mention also to Archie who played his first game as goalie and did a great job. He had great support from our strong defenders and in the second half managed to save a couple of goals. It was a great game to watch and Strikers look forward to the final game of the hockey season next week with the hope of the finals looming.
Under 14
Newtown Strikers vs Golden Plains 1-3
Newtown Spirit vs Kardinia 10-2
Kardinia started well and had Spirit’s defence under pressure early, drawing a short corner and holding the ball in attack for the first few minutes. But Spirit then settled and took control of the first half. Goals came from Harry (4), Nick (1) and Charley (1), with a few attempts also from Will and Ella. There was great assistance from Claudia who continues to give us good run into attack. Grace had a nice steal and penalty free in the D, and Harley had some good passing up forward. Sam executed a blind spin to draw a penalty free.
Coach Cal was happy with the good passes into space, but as always, wanted us to look for a back pass to move the ball around and open up space. He also wanted us to look for space when hitting at goals because many shots were right at the goalie. Coach Darren gave a demonstration of good positioning when confronting an opponent head-on, in order to take the ball on our fore-sticks.
In the second half, Kardinia again started well, which saw our defencers, Amelia, Bailey and Harley using good ball movement to clear from defence. Nick received a nice pass from Harry to score his second goal and take Spirit 7-0 up. Then Kardinia fired up and hit a goal past Max, making the score 7-1. Harry scored a further 3 goals for the half, and Kardinia had another goal but multiple hits were required due to Max’s fantastic defending and a diving save.
Everyone contributed well across the pitch and we had many options in the half-circle. We are looking forward to our encounter next week against Golden Plains, which is sure to be a fantastic contest.
Under 17
Newtown Strikers vs Torquay 5-0
We came up against the second team on the ladder this weekend (Torquay); a team that beat us earlier in the year. Fortunately we had a goalie this week and also had the pleasure of Sam R and Ollie S filling in for us, giving us two players on the bench. The first half was a tight tussle with both teams working the ball back and forth with good precision. Torquay had trouble penetrating our defences with Ollie R once again proving that a strong defence will win the big games. Corey and Jonah did a great job at nullifying the key Torquay forwards, and together with great tagging from Rachael and Sam R, Torquay really struggled to break our defences. We managed to score a goal through Erin in the first half and went into the half time break with a 1-0 lead.
Unfortunately for Torquay, a key player of theirs become injured late in the first half and reduced them to 10 players for the second half. As Torquay tired they struggled to keep up with our pace and we created some great passages of play in the second half. It was clear that some of the Torquay players were getting frustrated. Our team should be highly commended for their high work rate, especially midfielders Angus and Jamie who created some great opportunities for their team mates to score goals.
There were a number of very memorable goals in the second half, including a 40 yard toss from Jonah in defence to Tom on the run just outside the offensive D, which rewarded their combined efforts with a well deserved goal. Our special guest Harry put on a show scoring two goals including a rarely seen lollipop toma which even had some of the Geelong Rep players on the sidelines envious. Sam also delivered again, scoring a goal in every match for 4 weeks now, edging himself into the top 10 goal scorers in the competition – not bad for a new comer.
Finals start soon and we are hitting our stride nicely. However we have to keep working hard because the other teams have us on their radar and would love to beat us.
Newtown Spirit Bye
Division 1 Men
Newtown Falcons vs Torquay 1-15
It was a lovely day to play hockey, but with only 9 players, this was a very tough game for Falcons against the top team. Thanks to Adam P for filling in.
The score was not a reflection of the effort or the play in the game. Falcons had many chances to score but could not convert in front of goals. Players received encouragement to mark their players closely, but the difficulty of marking 3 players at once was noted. Score at half time was 0-7, despite some great play by Falcons.
The second half saw no let up in the efforts of the Falcons players to keep Torquay out of attack. Falcons earned a short corner, which resulted in Jimmy scoring the first goal for the team – 1-9. Torquay kept the pressure on and Falcons responded with attacking pressure of their own, but still could not convert. Congratulations to the team on an amazing effort, regardless of what the scoreboard showed.
Newtown Strikers vs Geelong Jaguars 1-8
Division 1 Women
Newtown Falcons vs Saints Black 8-1
This game saw Falcons on the attack from the start and an early goal provided the confidence and impetus for a great possession game, with Falcons dominating the play. Great running to space and great passing to team mates was matched by improved reception of the ball, allowing Falcons to string multiple passes together. When the ball did head toward the Falcons defensive area, it was cut off without trouble by Emma P, Ainsley, Deb and Bec. With Hailey, Nicole and Georgia doing some great running, and lovely passes in front of goal, Falcons were well in control, and the score at half time was 6-1.
The second half saw the scoring slow a bit but there was no letup in the pace and precision of the Falcons game. At one point, a six-pass sequence saw the ball move from deep defence to the attacking circle, earning a short corner and nearly a goal. Kate’s presence was missed after an injury in the first half kept her off the field. Saints earned their first attacking short corner for the game in this half, but the defence held up with Jacquie, Bec and Emma H covering any Saints attacks well. They pushed the play forward to attack where Jess and Amanda created opportunities by running back to receive the ball and then passed forward to players running to space. A fantastic game by all.
Newtown Strikers vs Torquay 0-4
A fantastic game by Strikers against the second placed team, Torquay. Strikers began the game well, and withstood the many shots at goal by Torquay. Deb again proved extremely valuable as a keeper, with great support from Ainsley, Kylie, Meg and Penny. Not only did Strikers prevent Torquay from scoring until about 20 minutes into the first half, but good teamwork and passing created a number of forward moves for Strikers. Julie and Erin ran hard all game to confront the opposition and make space. Great midfield positioning and chasing by Elese converted many Torquay attacks into turnovers, with the play moving to Strikers’ advantage, and Bec and Emma A were in position to help the ball forward.
Despite having no interchange, Strikers continued to work hard in the second half, withstanding the Torquay pressure in defence and creating attacking play of their own. An excellent effort by all.
Division 2 Men
Newtown Spirit vs Bellarine Storm 2-1
Division 2 Women
Newtown Spirit vs Golden Plains 3-4
This was a fantastic game from Newtown Spirit, with great teamwork proving a very pleasing feature of the game. Playing the game with 10 players and no goalkeeper added some extra pressure for the defence. However steady play and great positioning by Meg and Hill got in the way of the Golden Plains advance on many occasions. Great midfield play by Jacinta, Andie and Tracey saw them cut off many forward moves by Golden Plains and they dropped back to support the defence on many occasions. Jacinta saved at least 2 goals on the goal line, with stick on the ground and clearances to the sidelines.
Golden Plains were able to capitalise on the lack of a goalkeeper, but this didn’t stop the Spirit defence from creating some attacks of our own. Quick free passes to space and great one-two passing combinations saw many forward moves, with Peta, Penny and Kellie working well together. Katelyn and Beth put pressure on the ball carrier, winning the ball for Spirit on many occasions, and contininuing on to the attacking circle. Great efforts from everyone to pressure the opposition whenever they had the ball, with Kellie, Katelyn and Peta running hard to gain an advantage for Spirit. When Spirit gained possession, the effort to look and ensure an effective pass to a team mate was an important aspect of this great game. Overall, despite the loss, this was a game which all players felt very pleased with.
