2014 - Round 17 Preview
Round 17
Saturday 16 August 2014
Split Round
At Kaniva Recreation Reserve
and
Davis Park, Nhill
PREVIEW
Kaniva and Nhill to host round 17
Wimmera Hockey Association round 17 matches will be split between two venues with Kaniva hosting five matches and Nhill hosting the remaining four. With only two home and away rounds to go the competition is heating up, although the ladder order has not changed for three consecutive weeks and is not likely to change after this round either.
Juniors
Warrack Revengers will play Kaniva Raiders in the early timeslot of 9.30am which is a change to the original draw, still at Kaniva. The second placed Raiders have beaten the third placed Revengers by at least a couple of goals in their two previous encounters, but solid defence from full back Colin Taylor and the proven goal scoring abilities of forward Jack Dean has kept the Revengers in good stead. Raiders can boast the two highest goal scorers in the junior division with Kylan Hendy and Lachie Mills and will put a lot of pressure on the Revengers defence.
Yanac Warriors and Dimboola Kookaburras will play at 11am which was previously earlier. In recent weeks Warriors have been short of numbers although this does not seem to have affected their strong performance each week, still leading the junior competition. Kookaburras are fresh from a bye and will be keen to get back on the field.
At Nhill the home junior side Leopards will play Horsham Bombers. Leopards won the first encounter by a couple of goals but only a few weeks ago the sides played a 2-2 draw. After a win last week Leopards have secured a spot in the top four with finals only three weeks away. This will be Bombers final game for the season due to a bye next week, and you can bet they will give it their all to go out on a high. It should be a great competitive match to watch.
Dimboola junior team Kangaroos has the bye.
Women
Top meets bottom at Kaniva when the Yanac Women play home side Kaniva Women. The unbeaten Yanac have bested Kaniva comfortably in their previous two encounters by six and five goals and despite Kaniva having the home ground advantage should still have the upper hand. Kaniva will be missing a key forward still although will welcome back their regular goalie after an overseas trip. Yanac has the women’s top goal scorer in Louise Bone and top five scorer Erin Alexander who are also both top contributors from one end of the field to the other. Known for their good defence, led by Nyree Hutchins at centre half back, Kaniva will fight hard but Yanac would be hard to beat.
At Nhill home side Thunderbirds will play Warrack Women for the second consecutive week. The teams played a draw on Friday night last week on the turf. Thunderbirds won 4-0 early in the season, by mid season Warrack was converting more goals with their confidence increasing and the margin was down to 4-2. If the statistics follow the pattern of the margin dropping by two goals each encounter after the 0-0 result last week Warrack could come out two goals in front this time. This will be an important game with only two rounds to go as this is a must win for Warrack to keep their finals hopes alive, while also relying on Horsham Highlanders to lose. Thunderbirds fast forwardline will be key to their campaign as well as having centre half back Emma Janetzki back after being unavailable last week due to a school production. Warrack has a strong half back line led by big hitting Alana Argent and they will fight hard. Thunderbirds have secured a top four spot regardless of the result of this match but will still use this is a test of resolve before finals.
Top four side Horsham Highlanders face the top two team Dimboola Women who flexed their muscles last week against Kaniva winning by nine goals, which is a goal less than Dimboola beat Highlanders in their last encounter. With Launa Schilling back in the side as of last week after an overseas trip this will boost the Horsham side and together with fellow half back Lucy O’Connor and forward Mikaela Turvey will make the Dimboola side work for their goals and provide some attack of their own. Dimboola’s Annabel Askin has scored two hat-tricks in as many weeks and Kelly Smithyman has scored only one less in the same time. Dimboola has plenty of scorers and plenty of drive through Klinge sisters Elizabeth and Jennifer and will be hard to beat.
Open
Dimboola Men will play Horsham Hurricanes at Kaniva. Dimboola secured a top four finals berth after their win last week over the top three side Kaniva Cobras. Dimboola is well-served by centre forward Nathan Jorgensen who is stepping up and matching his skilful and consistent brother Tim at centre half back, and this bodes well for the team allowing it to be firing at the right end of the season. Dimboola are also buoyed by the return of James Klinge in the past couple of weeks which has given them strength and direction from the back line. Hurricanes will not go down without a fight and have good defence led by full back David Jochinke which will force Dimboola to use their full field to attack.
Kaniva Cobras play the unbeaten Yanac Tigers who have already secured the minor premiership with two rounds to go. Top versus third this week will be a good test for of the top three strengths who are clear ahead of the rest on points on the ladder, ahead of finals in three weeks. Cobras will still be without their full side while Tigers have also been utilising junior players but still have plenty of strength all over the field.
Nhill Rangers take on Warrack Hoops for the second consecutive week. Nhill started well on Friday night last week on the turf keeping Hoops at bay until late in the first half but in the end went down 7-0. Hoops thrive on the turf and maybe the grassy fields at Nhill this week may slow them down.
- Rachel Clark, WHA Records Secretary 2014
Round 17 Draw
Saturday 16 August 2014
At Kaniva Recreation Reserve
9.30am Warrack Revengers vs Kaniva Raiders; 11am Yanac Warriors vs Dimboola Kookaburras; 12.30pm Dimboola Men vs Horsham Hurricanes; 2pm Yanac Women vs Kaniva Women; 3.30pm Kaniva Cobras vs Yanac Tigers.
At Davis Park, Nhill
11am Nhill Leopards vs Horsham Bombers; 12.30pm Nhill Thunderbirds vs Warrack Women; 2pm Nhill Rangers vs Warrack Hoops; 3.30pm Dimboola Women vs Horsham Highlanders.
Hook in 2 Hockey: cancelled for this week.
Bye: Dimboola Kangaroos