Double bronze for NSW teams at Australian Hockey League

The NSW Waratahs men’s hockey team and NSW Arrows women’s team have both departed from the Australian Hockey League (AHL) in Perth with bronze medals.

 

In total there were 27 NSWIS affiliated players as part of the NSWIS effort across both the men and women’s competition.

 

In the men’s tournament Rio Olympians Simon Orchard and Matthew Dawson helped NSW to a 5-1 win, while the Olympic trio of Georgina Morgan, Grace Stewart and Mariah Williams assisted the Arrows to a 2-1 recovery mission in their game.

 

Unlucky to miss the gold medal game, the Arrows went down to eventual gold medallists Queensland in the semi final and were then pitted against the Canberra Strikers in the battle for the final step on the podium.

 

However it didn’t go the way of the Arrows in the opening stages of the bronze medal game as the Strikers made an intercept to be first on the scoreboard. They managed to maintain their lead into the half time break.

 

Playing catch-up it took until the 37^th minute for the Arrows to equalise, NSWIS athlete Kate Hanna doing the damage with a superb field goal.

 

Four minutes later the Arrows struck again with fellow NSWIS player Murphy Allendorf nailing a field goal to put NSW in the lead. Allendorf’s goal proved to be fatal for Canberra, who couldn’t find a response.

 

NSWIS head coach Katrina Powell led the Arrows as their coach.

 

Meanwhile the Waratahs romped to a 5-1 win over India in their bronze medal game, NSWIS’ Brent Livermore helping the NSW side execute the strong showing in his capacity as assistant coach.

 

It was a close tussle early in the game, until NSWIS player Lachlan Sharpe found himself in the circle with very few Indian defenders there to prevent his backhand tomahawk that sailed into the net.

 

While India took a handful of cracks at goal, it was the NSW team who continually peppered their opponents with shooting attempts.

 

Minutes into the second quarter another NSWIS shooter converted, Tom Craig finding the back of the net. Soon after teammate Landon Morley also scored for NSW to be leading 3-0 at the main break.

 

India returned to score their only goal of the game, but Morley had other ideas and negated their effort with his second for the game, NSW leading 4-1.

 

Capitalising on desperate India attack, Craig also scored his second to secure the bronze medal for the Waratahs.

 

NSWIS athletes in the NSW Arrows team:

Murphy Allendorf

Jocelyn Bartram

Mathilda Carmichael

Kate Hanna

Greta Hayes

Rene Hunter

Georgina Morgan

Kaitlin Nobbs

Mikaela Patterson

Grace Stewart

Mariah Williams

Abigail Wilson

Tamsin Bunt

Kyah Gray

 

NSWIS athletes in the NSW Waratahs team:

Tom Craig

Matthew Dawson

Jack Hayes

Sam Liles

Kurt Lovett

Flynn Ogilvie

Simon Orchard

Lachlan Sharp

Nathanael Stewart

Matthew Willis

Ben Craig

Zac Brazel

Luke Noblett