Cairns Hockey: Souths skipper injured in premiership triumph
Not even a “snapped” hamstring could dampen the spirits of Souths captain Caitlyn Whipp after her side defeated Saints 1-0 in the Cairns Hockey Association A-grade women’s grand final.
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Not even a “snapped” hamstring could dampen the spirits of Souths captain Caitlyn Whipp after her side defeated Saints 1-0 to claim the Cairns Hockey Association A-grade women’s premiership.
The midfielder was writhing in pain on the ground when the full-time hooter sounded but only moments later she could not wipe the smile off of her face.
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“I feel good,” she said, after rejoining her teammates on crutches.
“We just won — I don’t think you can feel any better.”
The skipper was at her dangerous best on the night, making good runs in attack and scoring what would eventually be the match-winning goal with a blistering strke off a short corner in the 41st minute.
In the final minute of the game, after making a rudimenatry pass upfield, Whipp’s leg weakened and she dropped to the ground in obvious pain.
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“I think I just tried to run a bit too fast,” she said.
“I got a bit too excited and I felt a hamstring snap, so we’ll see how that goes.
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“But we got the result we wanted so I couldn’t ask for anything else. That’s all that matters.”
Souths’ fullback and Whipp’s mother Susan said she was proud of her captain.
“I’m not biased at all, but she’s fantastic,” she said.
“She leads by example with her effort and determination and that’s why she’s our captain.”
Susan said Souths’ tenacity helped them claim victory in “the toughest game of the season”.
“It was pretty even and we both had a lot of good chances, it just took us a while to convert one in the second half,” she said.
“I think we had about 10 short corners so it was just persevering for us until we got one on the scoreboard.
“Everyone put in a big effort, especially that last five minutes when we were under the pump and everyone had to keep running back for the ball.”
Teenage striker Sarah Cochran said the team saved it’s most complete performance for the last game of the season.
“We kinda gelled together finally for the end of the year and brought it home,” she said.
“It was a bit stressed in our defence and I think we pulled it off really well by transitioning back into attack right at the end at the last minute.”
Saints coach Kylie McArthur was disappointed with the result but said she couldn’t be more proud of her players’ effort.
“We always knew it was going to be hard match and it definitely was,” she said.
“The girls dug deep. We tried really hard and that’s what I’m most impressed about.”
Michelle Senior, Rhylee Pendrigh and captain Teneal Kelly were among Saints’ best, while Thea Lazarus, Nicole Stoddard and Patrice Butler were strong for Souths.
Originally published as Cairns Hockey: Souths skipper injured in premiership triumph