Thundersticks men remain undefeated, women suffer first loss for season

The Perth Thundersticks clash with the Brisbane Blaze provided a mixed bag of emotions in front of a home crowd at Perth Hockey Stadium at Curtin University, with the men’s side securing a thrilling victory while the women’s suffered their first loss of the season.

The ladder-leading men’s side kicked off proceedings and faced their toughest challenge of the season against the third-placed Brisbane Blaze but claimed a 3-2 victory with a goal in the final minutes securing the triumph.

Star striker Liam Flynn back up his dominant form showcased in his return match in the round prior, scoring two scintillating goals from penalty corners in the seventh and 35^th minutes.

The Blaze scored two of their own to see the sides at a 2-2 deadlock heading into the final term, but Thundersticks’ Will Battistessa proved to be the hero, scoring off a fantastic solo effort in the 54^th minute to snatch the victory.

Perth Thundersticks and Kookaburras star James Collins was thrilled to remain undefeated and played a key role in the middle with key outs for the men’s side this week.

“It was nice to bank a win at home, particularly in front of a great crowd here in Perth,” Collins said.

“The guys all around me are doing an amazing job and with a few key outs this week, their efforts gave me the freedom to have a bigger run in the middle which was nice.

 “We now have the NSW Pride next week which they have had a great start to the season, so we are really excited for the match up to see where we are at and how we can improve further.”

In the women’s match, the Brisbane Blaze proved to be too strong after a poor start to their season, defeating the women’s Thundersticks side 3-0 and handing them their first loss for the year in a tough match-up.

Young gun Thundersticks striker Jade Vanderzwan in her return to the field said there were plenty of learnings for her side to put the team in good stead heading into the back end of the season.

“The Brisbane girls really stepped it up today and gave us a big challenge which was a good learning experience for us girls after two solid wins,” Vanderzwan said.

“We needed to stick to our processes better but the learnings will provide a solid stepping stone for us to build on our campaign for the remainder of the season.”

The Perth Thundersticks hit the road for their next clash against the NSW Pride on Friday 21 October at the Sydney Olympic Park Hockey Centre.

RESULTS

Men's Perth Thundersticks 3 defeat Brisbane Blaze 2
Goals:
Perth - Liam Flynn (7') (35'), Will Battistessa (54')
Brisbane - Cale Cramer (32'), Joel Rintala (45')

Women's Perth Thundersticks 0 defeated by Brisbane Blaze 3
Goals:
Brisbane - Tatum Stewart (15') (60'), Hannah Cullum-Sanders (52')