Snakes and ladders: Premier League sides tussle for spots as season continues to sizzle

Two tight clashes at Lemnos Field opened this week’s round of Premier League action, with the men’s and women’s Westside Wolves clashing with Melville and North Coast Raiders in close results. 

The women’s match saw Wolves claim a narrow victory over Raiders in a 1-0 win, with Elly Buckley the lone scorer for the match in the 22nd minute. 

In the men’s match, Melville returned to the winners’ list after last round’s defeat to UWA, defeating Wolves 2-1 in a come from behind victory. 

Wolves opened the scoring through Alistair Murray in the eighth minute, but Melville’s Sam Geers and James Day secured the points through goals in the 25th and 40th minutes. 

Old Guildfordians Mundaring and Hale hit regional WA for this week’s Premier League clash in the men’s competition, with Hale claiming a 6-0 win at the Northam Hockey Turf. 

Liam Flynn continued his red-hot goal scoring form, hitting the scoreboard four times to take his tally for the season to 19 goals in five matches. 

Suburban Lions sit at the top of the women’s Premier League ladder after three rounds, adding to their winning run with a 7-1 win over WASPs. 

Jolie Setorio scored a hat-trick in the victory, which sees her sitting at the top of the goal scorers for the league with six goals to her name after three rounds. 

The men’s and women’s Victoria Park and Whitford sides competed in a double-header at Perth Hockey Stadium at Curtin University. 

Victoria Park claimed a 2-0 victory in the women’s clash, while the men’s hit-out ended in a 3-3 draw with Whitford’s Fraser Heigh starring with two goals – one of which snatched a point for Whitford in the 50th minute. 

Reds claimed their second win for the season in the women’s competition, defeating Curtin 6-0 at home. 

Reds had five individual goal scorers, with import Sofi Viarengo scoring two in the win. 

WASPs claimed a stunning victory over last year’s grand finallists Reds in the men’s competition, with the 5-3 win their first of their season after five rounds. 

Duncan Pearce and Trent Mitton starred with two each for WASPs, while Charlie McIntyre also added to their score in the final minute of the match. 

Fremantle Cockburn claimed their third win of the season and now sit fourth on the men’s ladder after a strong 10-0 win over Curtin. 

Magpies’ Matthew Nelson, Ehren Hazell and Kieren Abbott both scored a hat-trick in the win, while Declan Spencer also scored to steer their side to a thumping victory. 

Hale secured their third win on the trot in the women’s competition, defeating UWA 2-0 at UWA Superturf.  

Miesa and Nic Grobbelaar both scored to lead Hale to the three points. 

The final match of the round saw UWA defeat YMCC 3-1 at their home turf, with the win for UWA resulting in the side sitting first on the men’s ladder and one point clear of Hale. 

Full Premier League results and goal scorers