Nick Hill, Nathan Hochman set to fire for East Darwin Storm, Simone Liddy to do the same for Commerce Pints in 2021 Darwin Hockey League Grand Finals

Get all the latest on both the men’s and women’s 2021 Darwin Hockey League Grand Finals HERE.

NIGHTCLIFF Tigers might be the reigning premiers who enjoy a fierce rivalry with East Darwin, but the Storm players will be backing their class across the park to allow them to triumph in the 2021 Darwin Hockey League Grand Final.

And Storm playing-coach Nick Hill believes he has a couple of aces up his sleeve.

They are superstars Nathan Hochman (38 goals from 15 games this season), Karl Hochman (nine goals in 15 games) and Calvin Farmilo (five goals in 13 games).

Karl Hochman is just 17 and Farmilo is 19.

“The fitness levels those guys have is top notch. They can play the majority of our games,” Hill said.

“They’ve got great skills and give us a lot of direction, and they’ve always got a lot of time and space.”

With a side full of class, the Storm will go in favourites.

East Darwin star Nathan Hochman has enjoyed another fine season at the Storm. Picture: Michael Franchi

Their undefeated regular-season record saw them finish with 15 wins, one draw and no losses.

But recent history is on Nightcliff’s side, the Tigers triumphing 5-3 over Easts in last year’s grand final.

“This will be my fourth grand final against the Tigers and I’ve lost all three,” Hill said.

“Both these teams enjoy a strong rivalry, especially our young kids coming through who’ve played against Tigers their whole lives.”

Hill gave special mention to Toby Jenner and Joe Lauritsen, who will miss this game.

“We’ve gone with a more experienced side for this game, but they’ve been good for us this season and they’ll still have their under-14 grand final in the morning,” Hill said.

“Everyone in this team has worked really hard on their fitness this year, and hopefully that helps us get over the line.”

Tigers coach Steve Versteegh – who mentored his side to a second-placed finish in the regular season before losing 4-3 to the Storm in the major semi-final – said his outfit had nothing to lose.

“We got them in the grand final last year and they got us in the semis this year. This season we’ve lost eight of our players from last year and they’ve beaten us on all four occasions,” Versteegh said.

“So we go in with nothing to lose.

“I want to give credit to (departed players and Kookaburras representatives) Des Abbott and Joel Carroll.

“They’ve been great role models for our younger players to follow in their footsteps and step up this year.

“Guys like Cameron Cooke (nine goals in 16 games), our captain Jared Swart, Luke Broadway (12 goals in 14 appearances) and Jason Weedon (25 goals in 14 matches) have all impressed for us this year.

“Dave Skippings came back for us this year – we needed him after he hadn’t played A-grade for four or five years.

“And he’s given a lot of confidence to this playing group.

“Both these sides enjoy a healthy rivalry, and Nick Hill and Nathan Hochman are ones to watch for East Darwin.

“Our boys are very excited for this one.”

It has been Versteegh’s first year coaching at A-grade level. “I’ve really enjoyed it, and a couple of older guys coming back have helped,” he said.

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COACHING the Commerce Pints women’s team has given Mark Davis nothing but happiness this year.

And his players have reflected that attitude, losing just once during the 2021 Darwin Hockey League regular season.

This is why his minor premiership-winning outfit will go in as favourites in Saturday’s final against Waratah.

“The girls are really excited. We had our best training session of the year (on Thursday),” he said.

“They’re all really pumped.

“This team has been really consistent all year and we’ve had no dramas off the field.

“This is a really close-knit group.”

Suze Rijks, Candice Liddy and Simone Liddy (14 goals in 15 games) have been among Commerce Pints’ standouts this year.

“Suze has been great as a midfielder/striker and Simone is the competition’s leading goalscorer, almost averaging a goal a game,” Davis said.

“We’ve got a really good mix of players – Macenzee Dixon is just 15 and she is an amazing defender.

“She’s stepped up and kept her spot in the team.

Candice Liddy-Stokes from Commerce-Pints Redbacks, and Elle Richardson and Lucy Barrett both from Waratahs Hockey Club ahead of the 2021 Darwin Hockey Grand Final. Picture: Paul Markou

“And Michelle Caden is one of the best defenders in the competition.

“She makes it hard for opposition offences back there.

“The strong rivalry between these two teams is definitely there. Early in the season both sides had two draws.

“We’ve got a lot of respect for them.

“We try and keep our game plan pretty simple and we pride ourselves on our high workrates.”

First-year Waratah coach Tayla Ainslie will also promote a simple game plan for her side which finished the regular season in second spot with 10 wins, four draws and three losses.

“I’ll tell the girls not to try to pass long too often – play nice and short through the middle with solid defence,” she said.

“I did an ACL injury last year, so it’s been tough not playing this year after hoping to return this year. But this role has given me more confidence in myself.

“Our younger players Phoebe Wiltshire and Abbey George have stepped up this year.

“It’s nice to be playing in a grand final after a tough loss in the semi-final (defeated 5-1 by Commerce Pints).

“We had two draws against Waratah this season, so not much separates us.”