The last round of matches this week before the winter hockey season breaks for the school holidays, and we are probably all looking forward to the return of longer days and warmer weather.
Under 8 Mixed
Newtown Spirit v Geelong College Blue
Great start for Spirit with good spreading out across the field. Spirit team members were pushed to defend from the first whistle. It was great to see Coach Kellie hug Amelia in the first 9 minutes for trying hard. But there was plenty of push forward by Spirit too with enthusiastic play by Oliver and Drew throughout the game. Edie worked hard in goals, keeping great position. Braxton marked his player well through the centre. Drew & Pollyanna worked well together out wide too.
Summah was great at focusing on having her stick down, which paid off with a great stop and pass. Oliver scored the first goal for Spirit with an excellent run down the field. There was great calling from all players, making Coach Kellie smile!
With lots of College attack in the 2nd half they found the goals. Braxton was great in the second half pushing the ball well in the final few minutes, getting close to goals.
Thanks to Amelia for filling in. Edie earned the Subway Player of the Week, with great play – keeping her focus and stick on the ground.
Newtown Strikers v Kardinia Kookaburras
Strikers had a another strong performance this week against Kardinia Kookaburras.
Throughout the game Strikers passed well to one another and attacked strongly, working well together as a team. All players worked hard and, when the opposition had possession of the ball, they never gave up and defended well. Strikers are improving each week of the hockey season, particularly by taking free hits quickly and cleanly which catches their opponents off-guard. The players are listening well to their coach Colleen by staying in the correct positions, not crowding around the ball and moving into space to ensure their teammates always have someone to pass to.
All in all, another excellent game and Willow was awarded Subway Player of the Week for moving around well and finding space. Congratulations Willow!
Newtown Rebels vs College White
College White were unable to field a team as they had many players away on holidays, but Newtown Rebels found a way to have some fun with a ‘Parents vs Kids’ match.
Fantastic running and ball control skills by George who began on the ‘Parents’ team, with Dion (Zeph’s dad) and Tash (Marlo’s mum) discovering some long forgotten or newly discovered hockey skills. The ‘Kids’ played very well together with Edward, Marlo and Zeph doing some great passing and Sam ever watchful in front of goals. When Harrison joined the game, and with a team switch between George and Zeph, the ‘Kids’ began to move the ball very quickly, finding space in attack and taking free passes very effectively. Great work by Zeph, keeping his stick on the ground, and making some excellent tackles, putting pressure on the opposition. A great fun game with some really good hockey skills in evidence.
Under 10 Mixed
Newtown Rebels v Bellarine 9-0
Congratulations to Eliza and Amelia on reaching 50 game milestones. Thank you to Rach for coaching the team for the last couple of weeks.
A fantastic game by everyone this week with multiple goal scorers and others that had some very close attempts. It was rather quiet for Ruby in goals so after halftime she changed to nominated kicker. Despite being unwell Elliott backed up Ruby in goals and blocked anything that came her way. Amelia also in the back line and also played forward and nearly scored her first goal of the season. Alex showed how far you can push the ball without using a golf swing and making smart choices. Jai and Tommy teamed up together through the middle and were a scoring machine. India moved straight to the corner post in from the wing and successfully flicked in the ball to score her first 2 goals. Emma and Eliza never gave up throughout the mid field with great trapping and tackling. Lucinda focused on keeping the ball in play when it was close to the sideline and pushing the ball up the field. Mia showed some lovely ball control. Baxter made fantastic position to be able to tap the ball across the line to score his first 2 goals. The goals were very crowded at times and everyone kept at the ball until they scored. Subway and Best Team Player Awards were presented to Tommy and India.
Newtown Spirit vs Red Jaguars 1-2
With plenty of reminders from Kellie before the start of the game everyone was ready to run, tackle and play well. Kellie reminded everyone to use the width of the field with square balls and go out sideways. By using the sidelines, the opposition may push the ball over the boundary and that’s perfectly ok cause we win the push in. Be ready to switch between attack and defence, remember to mark players and have confidence in your dribbling skills.
With 3 of our team members out we were pleased to have Ruby, Amelia and Michael fill in. It took a while for everyone to work together with new members but slowly the passes were getting out to the sides and we were feeling more confident with dribbling, tackling and meeting the ball. Kellie suggested at half time to keep the ball out of the middle as the grass is clumpy, so the ball won’t run smoothly. We need to be ahead of the ball. There were numerous times when there was no one to pass onto as the forwards were behind the ball. We need better positioning and more marking of the ball. Kellie asked the team what they thought of the game and most knew where they needed to improve.
The second half was a better game of skills with more marking and tackling. Not our best game of this hockey season but everyone came away having learnt that we need to keep the pressure up and have more confidence in ourselves to dribble up the field, come out to meet the ball and stay ahead of the ball particularly if you are a forward. Red Jaguars certainly were more confident than the last time we played them as they met the ball a lot better and kept up the pressure throughout the game. The final score was 1:2 with Red Jaguars the winners. Subway and Best team player Awards went to Ruby for meeting the ball well and playing confidently and Annabelle for trusting herself and great movement of the ball out wide.
Under 12 Mixed
Newtown Strikers vs Geelong 0-12
Geelong were dominant from the start and all through the game winning 12-0. Their game was everything the Strikers should aim for in our game plan – playing their roles, attacking from the wings and in correct positions in the circle to name a few. Curtis and Amber were both able to play well in defence and attack and Thamindu marked his opponent in defence. Lots of lessons to learn from this game against the top team in the competition.
Newtown Spirit Bye
Under 14 Mixed
Newtown Spirit vs Newtown Strikers 7-2
Despite having some tired and sore bodies, Spirit put up a great showing in the third Newtown derby. Captain for the day Lachie was in the action early on the half line as the play was end to end in a quick-paced, even contest. Harry’s first of 5 goals was immediately countered from Strikers and we knew we were in for a tight tussle. Luca was again excellent in defence, supported this week by Sam and Charlie in Amelia’s absence. Harry controlled the midfield well, switching play several times and sending some great balls through to the forwards, to Grace and Brandon on the right, and Basyl and Ethan out left.
Ethan’s lead in to the centre was honoured in the second half leading to an exciting 1 on 1 contest with Gus, who was unlucky not to keep the ball out. Spirit scored an excellent goal from a
well-executed short corner drill, but not to be denied Strikers scored a second goal from another powerful strike in the second half despite Jack’s lunging efforts. An entertaining game before the 3
week break for school holidays.
Under 17 Mixed
Newtown Strikers vs Kardinia 1-0
Strikers played host to Kardinia on Sunday and with 1 win apiece and their last encounter a draw, both teams were hungry for a win.
Miles was away and Strikers were given 2 fill-ins from Kardinia which allowed us to have 11 on the field. The first half was an even contest with Kardinia having 2 penalty corners and Strikers having one, but neither side was able to convert. Our passes to free players and the transition out of defence is working well and it was good to see Jack, Caleb and Harry combining to move the ball swiftly into attack.
In the second half, we had a great chance early on with Jack intercepting a hit in from Kardinia’s 25 yard line but his hit on goal was wide. Another opportunity occurred with fill-in Ben and Jarret getting past the goalie but a Kardinia defender saved the ball right on the goal line. EJ and Jarret passed the ball out of defence nicely, giving Jack a chance in attack that went across the face of goal. Our goal finally came late in the game when Jarret passed to Harry who scored a nice goal, giving us a 1-0 win.
Our next game is against Newtown Spirit on Saturday July 21.
Newtown Spirit vs Torquay 1-4
A young 8 sided Spirit played an in form 9 sided Torquay last Sunday. Thanks to Harry, Oli and Angus for stepping up from U/1s and playing well in a fast paced and tough game.
Torquay came out strongly from the outset with multiple shots on goal in the first half saved well by Angus. At the 20 minute mark Torquay managed to score, however, Spirit remained strong with Rachel and Oliver a solid defensive combination on the backline to keep the score 1:0 at half time. Coach Paul praised and encouraged Spirit’s defence and they held off many attacks from Torquay in the second half. With fantastic passing down the wing and a strong pass from Miles, Riley was in the perfect position to score and did so effectively. However, two short corner opportunities to Torquay were converted and followed up with another strong goal to see Torquay with a 4:1 win. Credit to Torquay for a highly competitive game and well done Spirit on a fast paced, tough game that tested both defensive and attacking skills for the full game.
Division 1 Men
Newtown Falcons vs Saints Red 4-1
It was a frustrating game for the Falcons this week! Even though we ended up victors against the Saints Red team 4:1 it was certainly a long way off from where we should be playing. There were lots of undisciplined aspects to our game which was disappointing. We did try and focus on our short game, particularly out of defence and this was one pleasing aspect. We were able to generate lots of scoring opportunities which was also pleasing but unfortunately at times were unable to finish off (the coach was banished to the backline after missing 2 simple goals served up on a platter by Matt B!!).
We certainly need to refocus and come out next week concentrating on our game as we take on the might of Torquay.
IGA Player of the Week Award to Tom Mahon.
Division 1 Women
Newtown Falcons vs Torquay 1-7
Thanks to Katie and Jessie J for stepping up and helping us to start the game with a couple of subs, and congrats to Katie on her first Division One game. Given injury and absence from the regular lineup Kylie also suited up for her first game of the season. Unfortunately, her knee wasn’t quite ready. Amanda had her knee act up as well so it wasn’t long before the team entered the second half and the remaining 11 had to tough it out.
An experienced Torquay team were able to generate a fairly steady attack, earning corners and converting on their opportunities. Young Falcon, Hayley, had a go in the midfield and did a good job of containing her opponent. Ainsley was instrumental in thwarting the Torquay attack on many occasions and had some great assists into our attack play. Young player Erin played a great two way game, coming back on defence to slow down Torquay’s attacking defenders and working hard to create attack.
A strong Torquay defence didn’t allow many opportunities. For spectators there was some very good between 25s hockey. Congrats to Erin Skene who was the IGA Player of the Game.
Division 2 Men
Newtown Spirit vs Geelong 3-1
Division 2 Women
Newtown Spirit vs Golden Plains 2-5
The game began on a positive note with Spirit showing some great teamwork and determination in defence, with Andie, Tracey and Hill making interceptions and getting the ball clear to our midfield. Astrid and Jessie worked hard on the forward line and Deanne and Kirsty made some great moves to meet the ball coming out of defence. Golden Plains began to take control of the game though and found space to attack through the centre of the field, and with some slick passing scored two goals before half time.
The second half began on a better note with a number of short corners in our favour, and giving us some optimism when Astrid scored a goal from a difficult angle. However Golden Plains continued to find plenty of space in the middle and their quick play caught us out on occasion. Late in the second half, there were some excellent passages of play from Astrid, Jessie and Kellie, which saw us create a number of attacks, and Kellie was in the right spot to finish with a goal.
