Premier League hockey: Port v Forestville men’s and women’s round one live stream

Catch up on all the action from the Hockey SA Premier League clashes between Forestville and Port Adelaide in our exclusive match replays of the men’s and women’s season-openers.

Port Adelaide feels some pressure heading into the 2021 women’s Premier League hockey campaign as the reigning champions, according to star player Melissa Garner.

SCROLL DOWN FOR THE MEN’S MATCH REPLAY

But being the hunted side in the competition is not new for the Magpies who have dominated SA women’s hockey for the past two decades.

They won seven titles in a row before losing to Adelaide in 2019, only to reclaim the crown in a shortened 2020 season by beating the side that toppled their dynasty.

In an exciting new venture, The Advertiser and Messenger will exclusively live stream the round one men’s and women’s double-header between Forestville and Port Adelaide on Saturday from 2pm.

Live streaming of further matches from the opening rounds of the season in coming weeks will follow.

Garner said the side was ready to go back-to-back.

“I think there’s always a little bit of pressure heading into a new season, especially coming off a grand final win,” Garner said.

“But at the end of the day as much as others may focus on it, we just want to play our best brand of hockey and go out there to play as hard as we can every single week.

“If a grand final appearance or win happens, it happens.”

Port has lost star player Leah Welstead who has joined Seacliff.

Welstead hurt her ankle early in the 2020 grand final only to bravely return to the field, score a goal and then be named best-on-ground.

Garner conceded losing Welstead would hurt but she was confident the side had enough talent and depth to cover the big out.

The weekend’s live streaming comes five months after The Advertiser and Messenger’s broadcast of the 2020 men’s and women’s Premier League grand finals, won by Seacliff and Port Adelaide respectively.

Port Adelaide’s Daniel Haynes clears the ball ahead of Forestville’s Jaykay Young during the Hockey SA Premier League season-opener. Picture: Dean Martin

“We’ve managed to pick up Carly Hoffmann from Adelaide so that’s a big win for us,” the centre-back said.

“We are going to come our hard like we do every single year.

“It’s going to be a good game against Forestville and I think the live streaming will be great.”

The Magpies’ men made the preliminary final last year after finishing the minor round in third but failed to earn a berth in the title decider.

Captain Scott Germein was excited for this season and hoped to challenge again.

“We managed to pick up a striker who’s come across from Victoria and we are excited to have him,” Germein said.

“We finished third last year so we feel like we are still around the mark and with a few adjustments of game plan and personnel we feel like we can be again.

“It's cool to see hockey be broadcast and be able to tell the grandparents they can tune in from far away, it makes it a lot more exciting.”

Hockey SA Premier League players (from left) Desiree Likos (Adelaide University), Paxton Silby (Grange), Scott Germein (Port Adelaide), Scott Crowhurst (Forestville), Sam Davies (Burnside), Melissa Garner (Port Adelaide), Max Bail (Adelaide University) and Jemima Davies (Burnside). Picture: Tom Huntley

Forestville men’s player Scott Crowhurst said his team was eager to test itself against the Magpies.

“We are always sort of around the mark or just out of the top four so I think you can expect some good things from us and hopefully some consistency as well,” the defender said.

“We will be staying true to who we are and our game style.

“We know how we like to play so I think we just have to stick to that and not try to worry about who we are playing at the time.”

Crowhurst, who was originally from Whyalla, said the live streaming would be a huge boost to the sport.

“It’s really exciting,” he said.

“A lot of families of players are back in the country so for them to be able to watch it will be really nice.”

ROUND ONE PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES

Men:

■ Forestville v Port Adelaide – Mate Stadium, Saturday March 20, 2pm

■ Seacliff v Burnside – Seacliff, Saturday March 20, 3.30pm

■ Grange v North East – Mate Stadium, Sunday March 21, 12.15pm

■ Adelaide University v Adelaide – Adelaide University, Sunday March 21, 2pm

Women:

■ Forestville v Port Adelaide – Mate Stadium, Saturday March 20, 3.30pm

■ Seacliff v Burnside – Seacliff, Saturday March 20, 2pm

■ Adelaide University v Adelaide – Adelaide University, Sunday March 21, 3.30pm

■ Grange v North East – Mate Stadium, Sunday March 21, 1.45pm