Calls for reviews to be introduced to Hockey One following round two of the 2024 season
Calls have been made to introduce a goal review system into the Hockey One league while one of the competition’s champions has been decimated by injury and unavailability. Read the biggest storylines from round two here.
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Next generation Kookaburras, potential rule changes and sides decimated by injury.
Round two of the Hockey One league has produced even more storylines than the first as some sides prove they are title contenders while others are scramble to save their seasons.
ADELAIDE
Calls have been made to introduce a goal review system into the Hockey One league on following a dramatic and storm-delayed clash between Canberra Chill and Adelaide Fire.
Adelaide were 2-1 down to a fierce Chill side at the National Hockey Centre in ACT on Friday night when Richard Pautz had the chance to level proceedings after teammate Landon Morley scored from a penalty he won.
Pautz was ruled to have obstructed Canberra goalkeeper Andrew Charter on his way to scoring and quickly called for a review before realising the technology isn’t used.
In Adelaide coach Jethro Eustice’s mind it could have changed the game given the lightning that arrived at halftime and delayed the restart as players waited around 35 minutes to return for the second half. Instead Canberra went on to win 6-2.
“I would say yes, having reviews would be great but they have to be managed and efficient,” Eustice said.
“It takes about three minutes at international level and it is a long break for the players. If they could keep it to something like a minute then it would be good.
“I found myself asking for a review last year in a similar situation. Richard did extremely well and eliminated the goalkeeper quickly with the ball but his body got in the way and it was deemed an obstruction.
“The call could have gone either way and being 2-2 with the weather delay could have made the game a bit closer.”
The round two game also signalled a potential changing of the guard for Australia’s Kookaburras side as established keeper Charter eyed next generation star Jed Snowden at the other end of the pitch.
Snowden has been in sensational form in the opening two games for Adelaide and is threatening to usurp Charter when Australian officials settle on a new national coach.
“We are all waiting to hear the news of a new head coach and I think Jed, with the two rounds and performances he has put together, has pushed for contention in the Australian team,” Eustice said.
“He has allowed us to stay in the contest for longer and produced some high quality keeping.”
Adelaide Fire’s women’s coach Mark Victory remains buoyant about his side’s Hockey One season despite going down 4-2 to Canberra as they continue to search for their first win.
Canberra ambushed the Fire and scored all four of its goal in the first quarter but it was what came next that has Victory confident his side aren’t out of the race for the title yet.
“The girls are a bit flat on themselves for allowing Canberra to make a fast start,” Victory said.
“We got jumped but we were able to work our way back into the game. But our connection and ability to hold the ball longer and our patterns were all good for three quarters. We could actually control the tempo and had field position.
“Knowing that gives me confidence because our imports came across late and are going to get better the more we play.”
CANBERRA
The Canberra Chill have unearthed one of Australia’s next great hockey hopes in the form of 21-year-old Dylan Brick.
Brick scored a hat-trick on debut for the Chill in their 6-2 win over Adelaide as they cemented their status as one of the league favourites in the nation’s capital on Friday night.
Hockey’s inner-circle has known about Brick’s talent for years but injuries to both knees has meant the young star’s chances of making the Hockey One series another platform to show his wares limited.
“It’s a great story because he has been in and out of the squad for about three years,” Canberra men’s coach Seyi Onitiri said.
“He has had injuries to both his knees, one an ACL and one an MCL injury that kept him out. This year he looked destined to suffer the same fortune when he got concussed in the grand final of his local hockey league.
“He was unavailable for round 1 and up until a few days before this (round two) game.
“He played in all our junior representative programs from under-18s to under-21s. A Kookaburra of the future? I think there is a good chance.
“He just has to put a big body of work together. Because of his injuries his only focus would be having a full and consistent season. Every player wants to play for the Kookaburras but he is very focused and professional so right now he just wants to make sure he gets this series right.”
A storm delay at halftime threatened to take away Canberra’s momentum but the Chill dominated in the second half to put Adelaide away.
Canberra’s women’s team also recorded a win, beating Adelaide 4-2 off a five-day break after being smashed 10-3 by Perth in round one.
“We had some really tough leanings last week and it was a bit of a lesson,” Canberra coach Matt Cook said.
“We only had limited time to implement some different strategies and structures and ultimately it has seen us get our season back on track.
“The players didn’t take Monday off, they had accountability and moved forward. We focused on the basics and challenged them a lot on contests. We were second too many times in round one or not even making it to contests so we needed to apply more pressure on the ball.”
BRISBANE
Dual Olympian Renee Taylor has celebrated her first game Brisbane in five years by helping guide the Blaze to a 3-2 win over NSW Pride in Newcastle on Saturday.
Taylor last played for Brisbane in 2019 and has since battled hip issues, rehabilitating it just in time to represent Australia at the 2024 Paris Olympics before returning to play for the Blaze in this year’s Hockey One series.
The defending champions come into the 2024 season with a target on their backs after winning last year’s title and after having a bye in round one have shown they will be a force again this year, returning with little changes to its squad.
“I’m very pleased. There was some exceptional stuff and some areas we can still improve on,” Blaze women’s coach Nikki Taylor said.
“We don’t want to be playing our best hockey right now. We were a bit inconsistent early but our angles, pops, and knowledge of where passes were going were great. There is expectation on us but pressure is a privilege and we will handle it.
“We know we have to be better than last year because everyone else will be better.”
Brisbane’s men’s team is also the defending champions but their road back to the top is steep as they battle widespread player unavailability.
The Blaze lost 3-2 to NSW Pride on Saturday in Newcastle while fielding a host of young players.
Corey Weir, Tim Howard and Jake Whetton are all currently playing in Europe and won’t return to Blaze’s side until round four while Noah Fahey, Hayden Pease, and Daykin Stanger are representing Australia in the Johor Cup. Joel Rintala is also out after undergoing ankle surgery.
New Zealand international and elite striker Scott Boyde missed the round two game due to a wedding and will be back for this week’s clash with Canberra.
The cupboard is bare but coach Darren Fowler is determined not to try and limp to round four when players begin returning, instead putting it on his group to lift to the level required.
“We have got a lot of personnel out at the moment and some young guys are playing who are still learning their craft,” Fowler said.
“There is no excuses. We expect the guys to step up and perform at that level. We want to win games now with the group we have got.”
NSW Pride
A NSW Pride women’s side struck down by multiple health issues remains winless after two rounds following its 3-2 loss to defending champions Brisbane.
Star midfielder Greta Hayes was ruled out a day before Saturday’s game with an eye infection, replaced by Emma Scriven who was initially dropped for the round two clash while forward Mariah Williams played despite battling a stomach bug throughout the week.
“Unfortunately we didn’t get the points but we didn’t leave the field disappointed,” NSW coach Scott Barker said.
“We played reasonably well and had enough chances to win but we didn’t quite execute in attack.
“The Blaze are a well-balanced team but we match up well with them.
“We competed but our discipline was lacking and we gave (three cards) away.
“Indications are that we are travelling OK. We are looking to build nicely and hopefully with a bit of luck with player availability we expect to be there at the back end of the tournament.”
Meanwhile, Miles Davis scored a hat-trick either side of halftime to guide the men’s team to a 3-2 win over Brisbane.
TASMANIA
Courtney Schonell guided NSW to the Hockey One women’s grand final last season but scored for the first time for new side Perth who beat Tasmania 6-3 on Sunday in Western Australia.
Schonell injured her ACL and made the shift to the Thundersticks who played out one of the most action-packed first quarters of the season so far.
Eight goals were scored in the first term between the two sides, five of those by Perth before the teams grinded out the final three quarters, Perth scoring last in the last quarter to seal the win.
The Perth and Tasmania men’s teams couldn’t be split at the end of regular play, with the 0-0 final score paving the way for a shootout where Perth won 3-2.
Originally published as Calls for reviews to be introduced to Hockey One following round two of the 2024 season
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