Livestream hockey: Under 15s to watch at Victorian Country Champs

The next generation of Victoria’s regional hockey stars are showing their stuff at Greensborough for the U15 championships. Here’s the updates and how to watch live.

Regan Smith (goalkeeper pictured) was in between the posts for Victoria Development at the u15 titles. Photo:ClickIn Focus

Some of Victoria’s finest young junior hockey players will be on display this weekend at the state’s junior country championships.

Seventeen teams (eight boys, nine girls split into two pools) will travel to Greensborough to compete in the two-day event.

WATCH THE ACTION LIVE HERE ON SUNDAY IN THE VIDEO BELOW

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Girls gold medal match: West Gippsland 3 Ballarat 0

West Gippsland were the champs after putting three unanswered goals past Ballarat in the gold medal match.

Captain Bianca Zurrer was responsible for two, while the other was scored by Skye McDonald.

Boys gold medal match: Goulburn Valley 4 Sunraysia 1

Goulburn Valley took the gold with a commanding performance in the final against Sunraysia.

The first four goals of the game went to Goulburn Valley, scored by Liam Caiafa, Max Cole, Luke Greig and Samuel Holland.

Sunraysia got one back, via Taj Flentjar, as they applied some late pressure.

Girls third place playoff: North Central 3 Glenelg 0

North Central proved too strong for Glenelg when they played off for third spot.

Elise Fitzpatrick had two goals and Shelby Giorlando scored the other in the 3-0 victory.

Boys third place playoff: Albury Wodonga 3 Ballarat 1

Albury Wodonga took out bronze after accounting for Ballarat in the playoff for third.

Shon Francis scored twice and Hamish Morrison once in the win, while Lachlan Tilley got one through for Ballarat.

Girls crossover match: Albury Wodonga 4 Goulburn Valley 0

Albury Wodonga put in a strong showing in their meeting with Goulburn Valley, putting four past their opponent.

Lydia Ross-Anderson scored twice, while Chloe Burns and Evie Case each added one.

Girls semi-final: Ballarat 3 North Central 1

Ballarat gave themselves the chance to play for gold after defeating North Central.

Scores were tied at 1-1 before an impressive spin move after a penalty corner put Ballarat in the lead.

A third goal iced the victory.

Zoe Klopak, Breanna Quirk and Amelie Reddick scored for Ballarat, while Eliza MacDonald produced North Central’s goal.

Boys semi-final: Sunraysia 2 Ballarat 1

Sunraysia have won through to the gold medal game after coming from behind to defeat Ballarat.

The scoring opened through a Ballarat penalty stroke but Sunraysia responded with two goals right before half-time.

Scorers wouldn’t be troubled in the second half as the boys from Mildura held on for the win.

It set up a clash with Goulburn Valley in the gold medal game.

James Lewin and Courtney McMullan were the scorers for Sunraysia, while Will Roberts scored for Ballarat.

Girls crossover match: Central Vic 6 Warrnambool 1

After a close start, Central Vic pulled away from Warrnambool to secure a confidence-boosting win.

Central Vic, who went in as the third-ranked team from pool A, put six past Warrnambool, who were fifth in pool B.

Imogen Coffey led the way with three goals, Pippa Symes had two and Ruby Gorton one.

Claire Benson scored for Warrnambool.

Boys crossover match: West Gippsland 3 North Central (2) 0

West Gippsland, the third-placed pool A side, were too strong for North Central 2, who finished fourth in pool B.

Thomas Pettigrew fired through two goals for the victors, while William Stephens scored the other.

Girls, pool B: Ballarat 1 Sunraysia 0

The Ballarat girls started their day off with a win, breaking the scoring deadlock with a second-half goal.

Matilda Pinson was the goal scorer, strengthening Ballarat’s position in second spot on the Pool B ladder with a 3-1 record.

Sunraysia were 1-3 and in fourth spot.

UNDER 15 BOYS TO WATCH

Before the competition, we sat down with representatives from some of the regions to find out who the hottest talents are going to be:

Harry Brown (Glenelg): Brown is a reliable defender who is rarely beaten in one-on-one situations. He has really impressed coaches in the lead-up to the competition.

Darcy Dhillon (Ballarat): One of his side’s most important players given his ability to work hard at both ends of the field.

Hamish Morrison (Albury-Wodonga): Has shown he can score plenty of goals at local level and will be hopeful of translating that form onto the state stage.

Jacob Burke (Ballarat): A forward with a keen eye for goal, Burke could score quite a few in the coming days.

Ciaran Nelson (Glenelg): An exciting player on the ball, Nelson is expected to turn a few heads throughout the weekend.

Byron Dicks (Albury-Wodonga): A midfielder who likes to get on the ball, Dicks has previously shown the ability to control the tempo of a game.

Joshua Sly (Ballarat): A no nonsense defender who gets the job done more often than not.

UNDER 15 GIRLS TO WATCH

Regan Smith (West Gippsland): Victoria Development’s goalkeeper at the national titles where Smith impressed with a number of strong saves.

Zoe Klopak (Ballarat): Klopak can play anywhere in the final third as either an inside forward or centre half. After scoring four goals at the recent national championships she enters the tournament in fine form.

Elizabeth Hogg (Albury-Wodonga): A strong finished in the final third, Hogg will play a vital role at striker for her team across the weekend.

Matilda Pinson (Ballarat): Used mainly in midfield, Pinson is an exciting talent to keep an eye on.

Elise Fitzpatrick (North Central): Recently represented Victoria at the national titles and was a strong performer with five goals.

Anne Davis (Warrnambool): Plenty of responsibility rests on Davis’ young shoulders after she was given the honour of captaining her team. Playing through midfield, her teammates will look to her to lead the way.

Zizi Pozzebon (West Gippsland): Featured in all seven games for Victoria Development at the recent national championships.

Krystal Stenner (Sunraysia): A coach’s dream in many respects due to her ability to play anywhere across the field. Stenner is a strong defender but can also turn the game in attack.

Elsie Bennett (Ballarat): A leader in defence, Bennett loves helping her team keep a clean sheet.

Zoey James (Albury-Wodonga): A player who has shown she can switch positions throughout a game, James is a key player for AW. She will mostly play in defence but can move into midfield.

Hockey Victoria operations manager Ben Seccull said he was looking forward to an exciting weekend after the disappointment of missing out on last year’s tournament.

“This is really the only opportunity a lot of players have to compete against teams from other regions because a lot of them play locally,” he said.

“We’re looking forward to seeing regional hockey come together again after a tough 12 months. There is plenty of excitement from right across the state.

“There is going to be a lot of talented players in action with some of the athletes recently involved in our state teams who travelled to the under 15 national championships.

“A number of these players have also been selected in their zone teams to participate in the Junior State Championships in Bendigo and Shepparton later this year.”

LIVE STREAM SCHEDULE

9am: Ballarat v Sunraysia (Girls)

9.45am: West Gippsland v North Central 2 (Boys crossover - 3rd pool A v 4th pool B)

10.30am: Central Vic v Warrnambool (Girls crossover - 3rd pool A v 5th pool B)

11.15am: Ballarat v Sunraysia (Boys semi-final - 1st pool A v 2nd pool B)

12pm: North Central v Ballarat (Girls semi-final - 1st pool A v 2nd pool B)

12.45pm: Goulburn Valley v Albury Wodonga (Girls crossover - 4th pool A v 3rd pool B)

1.30pm: Ballarat v Albury Wodonga (Boys 3rd place playoff)

2.15pm: North Central v Glenelg (Girls 3rd place playoff)

3pm: Goulburn Valley v Sunraysia (Boys gold medal match)

3.45pm: Ballarat v West Gippsland (Girls gold medal match)