Stiles Electrical Premier League Finals Week 1 Wrap

The first weekend of the Stiles Electrical Premier League finals has come to a close, delivering some thrilling hockey action at Perth Hockey Stadium.

Men’s Qualifying & Elimination Finals

UWA have begun building momentum during their latest Premier League finals berth, while Fremantle Cockburn continue their finals run after knocking off YMCC.

UWA put in a spirited effort against Hale during the Qualification Final for the Stiles Electrical Premier League Men’s competition at Perth Hockey Stadium.

During the action-packed start, UWA would draw the first blood with a successful penalty stroke by Chris Bausor to put them in front.

As Hale looked to respond, UWA extended their lead even further with two penalty corners from Chris Ciriello in quick succession to lead 3-0 by half time.

The third quarter saw the contest reach a stalemate as Hale tried to stage a comeback amid UWA’s efforts to take control of the match.

It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that the stalemate would be broken with two further goals for UWA via James Hackett and Jacob Evans.

Although Hale had a late reprieve with a last-gasp penalty stroke via Ian Grobbelaar, UWA held strong to win 5-1 and book a date with minor premiers Melville in the Semi Finals.

In the Elimination Final, Fremantle Cockburn and YMCC went head to head in an intense match-up.

While the contest would be in a deadlock for the first quarter, the Magpies would break through to take the lead with two goals via Dylan Martin to put them in front.

As YMCC looked to fight back, the match-up would reach a stalemate once again during the third quarter.

As the intensity picked up, YMCC got themselves on the board via Luke Blee to try and stage a late comeback.

However, a late field goal by Jack Welch would seal the deal for the Magpies, who went on to win 3-1.

Women’s Semi Finals

There was a sense of déjà vu from the 2023 season during the Women’s Semi Finals, with UWA securing the first Grand Final spot and Suburban Lions defeating Victoria Park to progress to the Preliminary Final.

The Women’s Semi Finals took over Perth Hockey Stadium on Sunday 1 September, which brought plenty of thrills.

Minor premiers UWA went head-to-head with Westside Wolves for the first spot in the Grand Final, where both teams were evenly matched.

During the high-pressure contest, Westside Wolves would draw the first blood with a successful penalty corner shot by Greta Hayes to put them in front.

UWA would eventually respond with a goal of their own during the second quarter via Prada Herron to level the score.

The second half saw both teams fighting hard in a bid to claim victory, but the contest was stuck in a deadlock at 1-1.

With the scores still level, the match was forced into extra time with golden goal rules.

The first five-minute period saw UWA make several charges towards goal, but the Wolves would hold them off thanks to an outstanding goalkeeping effort by Evie Dalton.

It wasn’t until halfway through the second five-minute period that a result would be drawn, with Britney Desilva slotting in a goal to get UWA into another Grand Final, forcing Westside Wolves into the Preliminary Final.

Meanwhile, Suburban Lions held off Victoria Park 5-2 to secure the second spot in the Preliminary Final.

After the initial back and forth, Suburban Lions would be the first to score with a field goal via Matilda Banfield.

Victoria Park would quickly respond with a goal via Chantelle Ciallella to bring the scores level by quarter time.

Suburban Lions would take back the lead and extend it further throughout the second and third quarters, with goals via Jolie Sertorio, Chelsea Turner, Georgina Dowd and Meg McCaffrey.

The dominant effort by the Lions created a mountain for Victoria Park to climb to get back into contention.

Despite a reprieve with a Georgia Hiskins goal during the 52^nd minute, Suburban Lions held strong to claim the win and book the second spot in the Preliminary Final.

Division 2

Westside Wolves overcame a slow start to knock Reds out of finals contention, defeating them 4-1 in the Men’s Elimination Final.

While Rourke Palmer would put the Reds on the scoreboard first with a successful penalty corner late in the opening period, the Wolves would fire back in the second quarter with goals via Ryan Armstrong-Boase and Daniel Needham.

Although the contest reached a stalemate in the third term, the Wolves would extend their lead and seal Reds’ fate with goals via Jake Raymond and Nick Woodford in quick succession to claim the win.

In the Qualifying Final, WASPS pulled off a comfortable 4-0 win over YMCC to book a date with UWA in the Semi Finals.

Shaun Shackley was a standout player for WASPS, scoring a hat-trick off penalty corners to help the WASPS on the way to victory, backed up by a successful penalty stroke by Liam Mudd.

In the Women’s Semi Finals, YMCC have become the first to lock in a spot in the Grand Final, holding off a determined UWA outfit 2-1.

Although UWA would score first in the early stages of the second quarter via Matilda Nelson, YMCC would quickly respond with a penalty corner via Bente Baekers to level the score.

Just as it looked like the match would be forced into extra time, Baekers would score a second penalty corner to give YMCC the win.

Meanwhile, Victoria Park locked in a spot in the Preliminary Final against UWA with a 3-0 win over Suburban Lions.

After the initial back and forth during the opening quarter, Zoe Stewart-Yates opened the floodgates for the Panthers with a goal late in the second term.

Victoria Park would extend their lead even further with goals via Katy Clarke to secure the win.