Rolling Thundersticks look toward Brisbane match up

The Perth Thundersticks men and women are on a roll to begin the 2022 Sultana Bran Hockey One season.

The sides are both undefeated and lead the league through the first two rounds, with wins against the Adelaide Fire and HC Melbourne to begin their campaign and a highly anticipated match against Brisbane scheduled for Saturday.

Perth faced their first road trip of the year at the weekend and came away with two thrilling victories.

Four goals to Kookaburra Tom Wickham and two each to Cambell Geddes and Liam Flynn saw the men take a massive 8-5 victory over Melbourne on Friday night.

Meanwhile, the women claimed a 2-0 win thanks to fourth-quarter goals from Georgia Wilson and Line Malan in their matchup with the Victorian side.

The two wins on the weekend follow both sides claiming thrilling victories over the Adelaide Fire in round one.

The Thundersticks have four men – Wickham, Geddes, Flynn and Aran Zalewski – inside the top eight goal scorers for the tournament so far, while Line Malan is one goal clear on top of the women’s scoring table.

Two mouth-watering clashes await the Thundersticks on Saturday when they host the Brisbane Blaze at the Perth Hockey Stadium.

The men’s match is a top-of-the-table clash, with Brisbane sitting just one goal behind Perth on the ladder with wins over Tassie and Canberra to start their campaign.

Meanwhile, the Perth women head in as favourites for their match against a winless Brisbane women’s side.

Thundersticks women’s coach Phil Hulbert said his side could not afford to underestimate their upcoming opponents.

“I am expecting they will come out pretty hard this weekend,” Hulbert said.

“They probably haven’t had the start they wanted, and they are a quality unit, so I am sure they will be looking to bounce back.

“I am expecting them to be desperate and I think it will be a challenging game.”

Hulbert said whilst Perth’s start to the competition had them well placed, there was still a long way to go in their campaign.

“To be two and zero is pretty good at this point in the tournament,” Hulbert said.

“You obviously don’t win or lose Hockey One in the first two rounds, but it is always nice to have some points in the bank.

“The girls haven’t had a lot of success over the last decade, so to be able to win the first two is really important and will hopefully start to build some belief.”

The first-year Thundersticks women’s coach said there was a positive atmosphere around the group which had them excelling on the pitch.

“We spent a bit of time on culture and our expectations, and I think the girls have really come along on that journey and are doing really well,” Hulbert said.

“They are quite a cohesive group; they have come from lots of different clubs but are really gelling together quite well.”

The women will play at 6pm on Saturday at the Perth Hockey Stadium, and the men’s pushback is scheduled for 4:30 pm.

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