Stage set for epic Premier Division 1 Grand Finals

The stage has been set for grand final clashes of epic proportions following an action-packed day of Premier Division 1 preliminary finals.

Hale have put themselves one step closer to their first Men’s grand final berth since 2019 after pulling off a rare second clean-sheet performance in as many weeks, defeating UWA 4-0.

It did not take long for Hale to get themselves on the board with import Sam McCulloch converting a penalty corner shot just three minutes into the contest.

As UWA strived to make a response, they found themselves dismantled by a strong Hale defence.

The contest seemed to reach a stalemate with no goals scored by either side until Charlie Norman broke through for a field goal during the 36^th minute.

Corey Weyer extended Hale’s lead even further just two minutes later, converting from a penalty stroke to lead 3-0 at the final change.

Though UWA fought hard throughout the contest, Hale captain and league leading goal scorer Liam Flynn put the exclamation mark on the clean-sheet victory with a successful penalty corner shot conversion.

Flynn said the victory meant a lot to the team, particularly for the players that competed in Hale’s last grand final appearance in 2019.

“It’s been a bit of a long road to get back to making a grand final and it’s a bit of a relief after how we started the finals campaign but putting together two really good performances, I think we have proved we deserve to be there,” he said.

“The best part of it was probably having two clean sheets in two finals games which is rare.

“I think we’re feeling pretty good defensively which is a good thing to have going into a grand final.

“You don’t want to leave too many soft goals so it’s a big positive for us.

“We’ve always been able to put them in the back of the net but being able to stop them is a massive part of hopefully winning a grand final.”

Hale will go head-to-head with Melville in Saturday’s grand final, as Melville looks to pull off a three-peat.

Earlier in the afternoon, Suburban Lions shut down Hale’s hopes of winning back-to-back Women’s premierships, defeating them 3-1 on their quest to achieve their maiden premiership.

A high-pressure contest during the opening quarter seemed to result in an early stalemate until Amy Lawton broke through with a field goal during the 13^th minute to give the Lions the 1-0 advantage by quarter time.

As Hale looked to make a response, Alice Arnott extended the Lions’ team with a field goal to lead 2-0 by half time.

While Hale looked to salvage their first-half efforts, the Lions continued to maintain control of the contest, with Georgina Dowd successfully converting from a penalty corner shot during the 37^th minute.

Determined to prevent themselves from being held scoreless, Hale made a quick response to get themselves on the board with a field goal via Harriet Shand.

Despite several opportunities to stage a late comeback with a few penalty corner shots during the final term, Hale fell short of taming the Lions, who went on to book themselves in for a date with UWA at the grand final.

Lions captain Natasha Del Borrello said the team was ecstatic by the result and were very excited to have made the big dance.

“We’re a smaller club so having the opportunity to play in those big games doesn’t come around too often,” she said.

“[Hale] have lots of ex-internationals and current internationals so we really had a challenge on our hands in shutting down those influential players but we had a game plan and we stuck to that and it paid off.

“Nerves aside, we’re very excited.

“UWA have been involved in finals for a long time and they’re a strong club so we know we’re going to have to really bring our best game on the weekend.”

2023 Premier League Grand Finals

Saturday 16 September, Perth Hockey Stadium at Curtin University

4.30pm – Women’s Premier Division 1 Grand Final

University of Western Australia Hockey Club v Suburban Lions Hockey Club

6.15pm – Men’s Premier Division 1 Grand Final

Melville City Hockey Club v Hale Hockey Club