There were some excellent matches in Round 1 to get the 2022 season off to a good start.
Congratulations and well done to the players, in a range of age groups, who played their first game of hockey ever. There were lots of players moving up an age group, and showing their ability to manage the move. Well done to those who played their first senior games for the club – Jarret, Bailey, Jess, Georgia, Scarlett, Serena, Anessa, Charlotte and Brett. It was fantastic to see 18 keen hockey players join a club team after having participated in the Hookin2Hockey Program. Great work everyone.
Under 8
Newtown Strikers vs Kardinia
Good ball control skills from Newtown Strikers led to some excellent passing and team play. A fantastic first game from a team which gained confidence as the game went on and which will continue to improve with each game.
Newtown Spirit vs Torquay
Newtown Spirit showed some excellent focus on the ball and great teamwork. Keeping sticks on the ground paid off as Newtown were able to gain possession and look for teammates in good position. Thomas and Cate defended well, stopping a number of forward thrusts by Torquay. Edith’s persistence in the centre was well matched by the position and speed shown by James and Harry on the wings. James pounced on the ball and quickly moved it into attack creating great opportunities in front of goal for Spirit, with some success. Great game by everyone with Harry, James and Edith playing their first ever games of hockey. Well done all.
Newtown Navigators vs Torquay Tornadoes
A combination of players from Golden Plains Hockey Club and Newtown Hockey Club forms the basis of the Newtown Navigators team. With all of these players in their first game of hockey, the standard of play was very pleasing. Good passing and dribbling skills learnt in the Hookin2Hockey programs were on display, and the teamwork is developing well. Keep up the good work everyone.
Under 10
Newtown Strikers vs Torquay 6-0
What a fantastic start to the 2022 hockey season for Strikers. With a core of experienced U10 players, and only 10 players on the field, the work ethic was obvious. Great desire to win the ball and good passing saw the ball hit the back of the net 6 times. Goals to Chelsea, Eddy, Joseph, Jack and Evan.
Newtown Spirit vs Geelong 1-1
Newtown Spirit took the field with 10 players, only 2 of whom had played hockey before. But the standard of play and the effort was fantastic and didn’t reflect the lack of game experience.
The opposition tended to crowd the play and in the first half, Newtown were drawn into the crowd too, making it hard to get any consistent control and ball movement. Geelong scored early in the first half as players were getting used to their positions and their roles. Great defence from Lucas, Jessica and Evelyn in the midfield was well supported by Oskar and Emily who turned back a number of shots at goal from Geelong. Alby and Chelsea showed great ball control skills and took the game forward on many occasions.
The second half saw Newtown spread the play out more and Harriet and Binuli maintained good position on the wings and worked well with Jake and Emily in support to move the ball forward into attack more effectively. Great determination to get the ball and to press the attack saw Chelsea score the equalising goal late in the second half to claim a draw.
Excellent effort by all players. Congratulations on your efforts.
Under 12
Newtown Strikers vs Torquay 2-0
Newtown Strikers had a great 1st round game against Torquay. Captain Sofia led the Strikers team of Lucy, Maia, Harrison, Audrey, Elizabeth and Cormac, with Bella, Will, Xavier, Ruby and Pollyanna lending a much-appreciated hand from other Newtown teams.
Ruby and Xavier played exceptionally well for their first-ever hockey game. Audrey, Lucy and Elizabeth also having good games with their first time on the synthetic pitch in under 12s. Pollyanna stepped up to the role of goalie, denying Torquay any goals as well as dealing with the challenges of finding the right goalie pads and learning how to put them on quickly.
The first half saw Strikers score 2 goals, with Harrison scoring one and Will scoring from a short corner. Although there were no further goals scored in the 2nd half, Strikers kept up the intensity. Following the direction from coach Jane, the team went wide with great passing to teammates. An impressive first game for the season.
Newtown Spirit Bye
Under 14
Newtown Strikers vs Newtown Spirit 2-0
Welcome back to winter hockey!
With 2 players away, and 2 missing, we were looking very light on for players for our first game of the season. Thankfully Spirit (true to their name) loaned us 2 players, to make it 11 on 11. Thank you Spirit, this was very much appreciated, and made for a good game.
The first half was very even, with some excellent forward thrusts, and great defensive efforts. We got some early looks into the attacking D, but some good defence from Spirit had the ball rebounding back out. Late in the half, we moved the ball around better, sharing the ball around multiple players, resulting in a late goal from some sharp work to get the ball around the keeper.
Kurt did some work at half time, talking about ball movement, and areas that we thought Spirit might attack in the second half.
In the second half, again there was some great play from both sides. Spirit had changed their structure, putting some added pressure on our defence, and only an excellent stick save from our keeper Charlotte, stopping Spirit from
getting on the board.
Late in the half Strikers started to work together well, showing signs of what the group can do when they work together. We got multiple forward thrusts, resulting in a few shots on goal, but some excellent defence, and keeping from the Spirit keeper, still kept us wanting. Again it was a nice section of ball movement late in the half, where we moved the ball between multiple players, we managed to get the ball around the Spirit defence to register our second goal on the board.
An excellent and exciting game to start the season off, well done to all involved!
Newtown Rebels vs Torquay 1-3
Under 17
Newtown Strikers vs Torquay 0-4
Players and parents were excited to start the 2022 Winter Hockey Season with no Covid restrictions. With only 8 players it was great to have Isabel fill in to bring our team up to 9. Torquay had a full team with a strong line up.
We started the first half with a positive attitude and a sense of excitement to be playing full pitch hockey. Mai was kept busy defending goals with great defensive support from Ruby.
In the first half Mitchell was everywhere, hitting good defensive balls straight down the line…getting the ball out of danger. Leading up to the half time break, we continued to defend well and started to press Torquay a little in offence. At half time Torquay led 3 nil.
Coach Nik was happy with the team’s performance but asked the team to play much closer to their opponent, to keep hassling and chasing, don’t give them time for comfortable passes.
The strategy worked. In the 2nd half the ball was down our attack end more and we did a great job. Tilly stole the ball off Torquay several times and our defenders made it much tougher for Torquay to score. At the final whistle the score was 4 nil to Torquay.
Great effort from the whole team, Mai, Scarlett, Lara, Amber, Mitchell, Peri and Tilly. Thanks again to Ruby and Isabel for filling in.
Newtown Spirit vs Geelong Jaguars 6-6
A fantastic effort with only 8 players for Spirit. Goals to Liam, Neave, Charlie, Toby (2) and Luke. Well done team.
Division 1 Women
Newtown Falcons vs Saints Black 1-1
Welcome back to winter hockey, and what a way to kick off the season!
It was great to have some players on the bench, the rotations really helped in the second half. Falcons were a little unlucky not to come away with a win, but a drawn result is a good outcome.
A great goal scored by Amber after some very nice team ball movement out of defence. Good play across the field and co-operative passages of play resulted in some very close chances and great defence did not allow Saints to gain any traction.
The pressure was excellent, and Falcons had all the play in the second half. We were very glad to have Georgia and Scarlett step up to the senior team, and good to see their confidence grow as the game went on. Well done all.
Division 2 Men
Newtown Falcons vs Golden Plains 7-2
After a tumultuous pre-season, Newtown’s senior men’s team had a strong round 1 win, defeating Golden Plains 7-2.
Newtown entered the pitch without our Captain David, our B&F from last season (Tom P) and several other departing players. Only nine had said ‘yes’ in the Team app on Sunday morning, but when the sole umpire blew his whistle at 3.30pm, we had 13 players. We were bolstered by a strong contingent of juniors (Bailey, Harry, Jarret and Mitch) as well as Phil returning to play senior hockey (can you please play every week!). Golden Plains were not to be underestimated, with a full line-up, supplement by three strong players from other clubs.
We started strongly and raced to a 3-0 lead at quarter time. All players were thankful for the whistle (round 1 is hard work), but a little surprised, forgetting that we now play quarters rather than halves. We fell away in the second quarter a little carrying the ball too much rather than passing. In the second half we improved our structure and ball movement, scoring several more goals to have a strong win. Harry and Mitch scored two goals each. Carl, Luke and Dom each scored one. Marty was reliable in goals and Phil was wily as he roamed across the backline. As impressive as some of our goals were, the highlight of the game was surely Ian stripping the ball from opposition player Pete as tried to cut, weave and spin through the pitch.
We hope to back up this strong performance in round 2 against Geelong at 3.30 this Sunday.
Division 2 Women
Newtown Strikers vs Saints Red 0-2
The first match of the season saw Newtown Strikers up against the 2021 D2 Runners Up, and missing some of our regular players and with no bench. We were sorry to miss the solid defence of Hil at full back due to injury, but Tracey and Kirsty stepped up to the challenge without a problem. Proactive play met the oncoming attacks early and calm and controlled ball movement pushed the play forward. Charlotte was rock solid in the midfield, blocking Saints forward thrusts time and again. Andie and Hannah provided pressure and slowed the play before sending the ball forward where Georgie, Kate and Kellie worked hard, leading back to space and then heading goalward. We were very glad to have Anessa and Serena on the wings, both showing great control in gaining possession and then creating attacks. Saints scored from a penalty stroke in the first half, despite some great defensive play by Tracey.
The second half saw Newtown begin to gain some control of the game, with numerous short corners and a number of opportunities in front of goal, all of which unfortunately were unsuccessful on the score board. Kate applied immense pressure to her opponent, never letting her have a comfortable space to play in. Saints continued to attack but all chances were blocked until a momentary defence hole saw two Saints players unmarked in front of goal, allowing a score after a rebound off the keeper’s pads.
An excellent game to begin the season, showing great teamwork and the promise of good games to come.
