NSW the Pride of Australian hockey

November 20, 2022 05:36 PM AEDT | By AAPNEWS
Image source: AAPNEWS

NSW Pride have claimed Australian hockey bragging rights with a pair of thrilling men's and women's One League grand final triumphs in Bendigo.

The Pride women completed an amazing turnaround with a dramatic extra-time shootout win over over defending champions Brisbane Blaze.

Hockeyroos goalkeeper Jocelyn Bartram was the hero, producing three world-class saves in a tense shootout after the scores were locked at 2-2 at fulltime on Sunday.

The Pride finished deserving winners after out-scoring the Blaze with two field goals to one only to miss both conversion attempts and then watch heart in mouths as rising star Grace Young's gallant last-ditch attempt sailed across the face of the goal with 12 seconds left on the clock.

No matter, though, as Bartram stepped up to deny Claire Colwill, Rosie Malone and Hannah Cullum-Sanders with three consecutive saves as Grace Stewart, Greta Hayes and striker Mariah Williams all scored for NSW.

The victory came after the Pride finished second-last in 2019 before state border closures wiped out the 2020 and 2021 leagues.

"It's so, so exciting," said Williams, who was crowned player of the match.

"We're really happy and stoked with the win. Our keeper's awesome and she did amazing in there."

The Pride had trailed 2-1 after contentious Hockeyroos discard Savannah Fitzpatrick converted her slapped-home goal to cancel out skipper Abby Wilson's 22nd-minute "tomahawk" backhand reverse strike.

But a diving deflection equaliser from the league's leading scorer Stewart early in the second half set up an exhilarating finish in a free-flowing affair.

Despite Brisbane's defeat, the Blaze still produced a spirited title defence.

They only scraped in to the semi-finals in fourth place after winning just one of their first four games.

Yet the Blaze went painfully close to winning the grand final despite being without a host of Hockeyroos including Europe-based stars Steph Kershaw and Madi Fitzpatrick and the injured Renee Taylor.

HC Melbourne's Amy Lawton was announced as the Hockey One League's MVP of the year.

NSW Pride then completed a rousing state double with a 2-0 win over the Perth Thundersticks in the men's grand final to retain their crown from 2019.

Striker Ky Willett's spectacular tomahawk effort just before halftime, followed by his successful field-goal conversion, proved the difference in an equally exciting affair.

"It's so good. It shows what NSW hockey can do with their development and all the young ones coming in," Willett said of NSW's domination. 

"It's so good for hockey and for NSW as well."


Disclaimer

The content, including but not limited to any articles, news, quotes, information, data, text, reports, ratings, opinions, images, photos, graphics, graphs, charts, animations and video (Content) is a service of Kalkine Media Pty Ltd (“Kalkine Media, we or us”), ACN 629 651 672 and is available for personal and non-commercial use only. The principal purpose of the Content is to educate and inform. The Content does not contain or imply any recommendation or opinion intended to influence your financial decisions and must not be relied upon by you as such. Some of the Content on this website may be sponsored/non-sponsored, as applicable, but is NOT a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold the stocks of the company(s) or engage in any investment activity under discussion. Kalkine Media is neither licensed nor qualified to provide investment advice through this platform. Users should make their own enquiries about any investments and Kalkine Media strongly suggests the users to seek advice from a financial adviser, stockbroker or other professional (including taxation and legal advice), as necessary.
The content published on Kalkine Media also includes feeds sourced from third-party providers. Kalkine does not assert any ownership rights over the content provided by these third-party sources. The inclusion of such feeds on the Website is for informational purposes only. Kalkine does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the content obtained from third-party feeds. Furthermore, Kalkine Media shall not be held liable for any errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in the content obtained from third-party feeds, nor for any damages or losses arising from the use of such content.
Kalkine Media hereby disclaims any and all the liabilities to any user for any direct, indirect, implied, punitive, special, incidental or other consequential damages arising from any use of the Content on this website, which is provided without warranties. The views expressed in the Content by the guests, if any, are their own and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Kalkine Media. Some of the images/music that may be used on this website are copyrighted to their respective owner(s). Kalkine Media does not claim ownership of any of the pictures displayed/music used on this website unless stated otherwise. The images/music that may be used on this website are taken from various sources on the internet, including paid subscriptions or are believed to be in public domain. We have made reasonable efforts to accredit the source wherever it was indicated as or found to be necessary.
This disclaimer is subject to change without notice. Users are advised to review this disclaimer periodically for any updates or modifications.


AU_advertise

Advertise your brand on Kalkine Media

Sponsored Articles


Investing Ideas

Previous Next
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.