Key clashes set to spark

Perth Hockey Stadium on Saturday will host the Lizzie Watkins Memorial match and will see players, spectators and North Coast Raiders faithful pay their respects and tributes.

The match, which is played annually between North Coast Raiders and Curtin University, will go ahead again this year to honour the life of Lizzie Watkins, nine years after she tragically passed playing the game she loved.

The match will take place at 5pm on Saturday, May 8, and all are welcomed to come down and commemorate, after COVID-19 forced the postponement of last year’s event.

Other matches on the weekend will commence Friday night, with a double header between WASPs and UWA men’s and women’s sides, all four teams looking to maintain their spots in the top halves of their respective All Flags Premier League standings.

Saturday afternoon, Hale and Melville will line up in both the men’s and women’s All Flags Premier League, the men’s match looking red-hot, with the combined 10 games played by the two sides this season only resulting in one loss, a narrow loss for Hale to Wolves earlier in the season.

In the women’s match between the two, an eighth-placed Melville will take on ninth-placed Hale, both of the 2020 finals playing teams sitting on one point apiece.

A bottom-of-the-table clash in the men’s All Flags Premier League will also take place Saturday, between Old Guildfordians and Curtin, both teams scratching for a win coming into their sixth match for the 2021 season.

YMCC will host 2021 Premiership winners Victoria Park in the women’s All Flags Premier League, with YMCC relying on the home ground advantage, yet to get a win just two matches in.

A couple hours later, Suburban Lions women’s side will play Westside Wolves in a Lemnos College derby, both sides calling the blue turf home.

The weekend will be rounded off Sunday with three matches in the men’s All Flags Premier League, the first between Fremantle Cockburn and Wolves, Wolves currently sitting on top of Fremantle Cockburn on the standings by just one point.

Aquinas Turf will light up when Reds take on Victoria Park at home on Sunday afternoon, both teams currently in the top five, Reds sitting in second and Victoria Park just a win and a draw behind in fifth position.

Whitford will take on a young YMCC team which comprises a number of the silver medal winning Under-18s Men's players, including dynamic striker Hamish Adamson who was recently awarded the player of the tournament and was the co-top goalscorer at the National Under-18 championships.

For fixtures, results and more, stay tuned to the Hockey WA social media channels and website.

This weekend’s matches below.

Fixtures

Friday 7 May

Men’s WASPS vs UWA

19:00 PHS 1

Women’s WASPs vs UWA

20:30 PHS 1

Saturday 8 May

Women’s YMCC vs Vic Park

12:30 Lemnos Field

Men’s OGMHC vs Curtin

14:00 Guildford Turf

Women’s Lions vs Wolves

15:30 Lemnos field

Men’s Hale vs Melville

16:00 Hale Turf

Women’s Curtin vs Raiders – Lizzie Watkins Memorial Match

17:00 PHS 1

Women’s Hale vs Melville

17:30 Hale Turf

Sunday 9 May

Men’s Fremantle Cockburn vs Wolves

14:30 Lakelands Hockey & Sporting Facility

Men’s Reds vs Vic Park

16:00 Aquinas Turf

Men’s Whitford vs YMCC

17:30 Warwick Hockey Centre