A year of classics

Wow. What a year.

A difficult year that nobody would have foreshadowed resulted in a year of firsts and growth for Hockey in Western Australia.

An interrupted start to the Premier League was quickly vanished, as the competition eventually took place in a revamped format, to the delight of the Hockey WA faithful.

Reds Hockey Club dominated the men’s competition over the course of the season, with a rare unbeaten run fitting for a year unlike no other.

The likes of Zalewski, Govers and Hayward for Reds highlighted the strength of this year’s competition, with the absence of international play leading to a breadth of national players plying their trade for clubs this season.

A 3-2 win over UWA in the grand final the cherry on top for the star-studded side, who claim their second grand final win in the past three years.

In the women’s competition, Victoria Park Xavier Hockey Club replicated the dominance of Reds, with a distinct Hockeyroo flavour helping the side claim their first ever Premier Division One Women’s title.

Led by Georgia Wilson, Karri Somerville, Aleisha Power and Jane Claxton, the side held off a fighting Hale in the Grand Final, claiming a 3-2 victory.

It was a stunning performance from both sides; Hale coming from fourth spot to become the giant killers, but to no avail, Victoria Park Xavier dampened the hopes of Hale with a last-second goal seeing them claim gold.

The sheer talent on offer this season was highlighted through the Annual Awards night; Kookaburra Matthew Dawson claimed the Olympians’ medal, with Hockeyroo Jane Claxton going home with the Charlesworth medal.

2020 Men's Premier Division One Winners - Reds Hockey Club

A headlining act of this historic year was the revitalisation of Hockey WA’s All-Stars match.

The Emergency Triage Services All-Stars was born amongst a need to allow Australia’s best athletes to experience high-level competition play in a disrupted season.

What a hit it was!

Australia’s best of the best came together to pit Western Australians against one-another in a north-of-the-river against south-of-the-river rivalry.

With mates divided, families split and teammates enemies, some of the world’s most talented hockey players graced the iconic blue turf of Perth Hockey Stadium at Curtin University to create a spectacle for the ages.

With the crowd settling in and music blaring, the women’s All-Stars flooded the pitch amongst sparks and lights to commence the momentous occasion.

It was double the trouble for north of the river, with both the men’s and women’s sides losing 3-2 and 2-1 respectively.

Although the north faithful may have been disappointed in the results, the quality of hockey on offer restored their spirits.

Battles between absolute stars headlined the matches, with the likes of Kookaburras co-captains Aran Zalewski and Eddie Ockenden clashing in the midst of a stacked midfield.

Zalewski and Hockeyroo Steph Kershaw put on clinics, with both players receiving the MVP awards for their southern sides.

Captain of the Kookaburras and the Northern All-Stars men's team Eddie Ockenden runs out amongst the lights.

The star-studded action didn’t stop there!

Following the Emergency Triage Services All-Stars Challenge, another tournament was formalised for WA’s up-and-coming stars to experience the action. Enter the Ric Charlesworth Classic.

A name fit for a tournament of such stature, the Ric Charlesworth Classic saw four clubs and eight teams battle it out for glory. Named after the landscapes that make up our state, the Suns, Breakers, Outbacks and Highlanders, the Ric Charlesworth Classic clubs saw mates pitted against mates.

With mouth-watering coaching line-ups in both the men’s and women’s competitions, players were picked in a draft system to teams, resulting in one of the most even competitions in recent memory.

Played over a week-long period, the Ric Charlesworth Classic proved to be an absolute hit, with fans flocking to Perth Hockey Stadium to see some of the best talent Western Australia has to offer fighting for bragging rights.

Teams fought for gold until the very end, but the Suns in the men’s and the Outbacks in the women’s proved to be too strong for the rest, winning in stunning fashion, with 3-2 and 1-0 victories respectively, highlighting the competitiveness of the competition.

It was an Outbacks domination in the individual awards, with James Collins in the men’s and Roos Swann in the women’s claiming the MVP awards.

Collins received the award with an outstanding tournament in defence as the Outbacks stalwart.

Swann put on an attacking clinic, scoring three goals over the four matches and weaving through attack with ease.

Simply the best! All the cracking goals from a stunning Charlesworth Classic

The success of the Ric Charlesworth Classic was then translated into our talented juniors and the Future Thundersticks Classic was born.

The Future Thundersticks Classic saw our Under-14 Thundersticks Academy teams fight it out against the Under-13 State Talent Development Teams.

The tournament provided high-level competition play in place of missed opportunities during this year of doubt

Parents and families flooded Perth Hockey Stadium to see their loved ones compete against other talented juniors in a tournament like no other, with the Academy kids providing energetic and enthralling play.

The Breakers team in the girls’ competition completed a rare unbeaten run, defeating the Storm 5-0 in the Grand Final stunning the crowd at Perth Hockey Stadium.

In the boys’ competition, defence prevailed over attack, with the Storm claiming the gold with a 3-1 win over a rampaging Suns leading them to victory.

The obvious delight of all was on display, with a hope to continue the tournament in the years to come.

After a year of such turmoil, the strength of Hockey in Western Australia has only seemed to increase against the odds.

We hope you enjoyed the ride – we can’t wait to see what next year brings!