Thundersticks raring to go in blockbuster Pride clash

The Perth Thundersticks are set for their biggest challenge of this year's Hockey One season when they travel to Sydney to face the NSW Pride on Friday.

Perth go into the match sitting first in the men’s competition and second in the women’s league against the powerhouse New South Wales franchise.

The men’s match against NSW will be a top of the table clash for the Thundersticks, with the Pride being the only other side to remain undefeated in 2022.

The women’s team will be looking to bounce back against the Pride after recording their first loss of the season on Saturday when they went down 3-0 against the Brisbane Blaze.

Despite the loss against the Blaze, Thundersticks women’s captain Kyra White said her side would be back on the winners’ list soon enough.

“I am really happy with where we are at, we set out to play a really good style of team hockey and I think we have done that,” she said.

“Last week was a slight hiccup, but there are lots of learnings to take from it and I think we will be better for it.

“Despite not being undefeated anymore, I am still really happy with the way we have started.”

The Thundersticks women banked wins against Adelaide Fire and HC Melbourne before going down to the Blaze, while the Pride have recorded a win against the Fire and a loss to Melbourne to start their campaign.

Women’s captain White said spirits were still high amongst the group and they were confident they could get points on the road against NSW.

“Everyone is just playing their role and we are working well as a unit,” she said.

“We are gelling as a team really nicely and have got a clear way of playing and have been sticking to that consistently.

“Everyone is doing their role and sticking to it really consistently, which is all we can ask of them.”

Meanwhile in the men’s, the Thundersticks have ground out wins in their first three games, while NSW have beaten Melbourne 6-3 and Adelaide 4-3 to start their campaign.

Men’s skipper Aran Zalewski said he expected the clash between the two heavyweights to go down to the wire.

“It is going to be really interesting, they are undefeated as well, so we are looking forward to it,” he said.

“They still have a few guys away in Europe, so to have a hit out against them early in the competition on their home deck will be great.

“They are similar to us in that they have had a few good results but have been challenged as well and have been able to stand up in those moments.

“I am expecting it to be an arm wrestle this weekend.”

Zalewski said despite undefeated and on top of the ladder, it had now been a walk in the park for the Perth side.

“For a group like this, who hasn’t had Hockey One or any state hockey for a few years, to come in and get some belief from those results is great,” Zalewski said.

“What is behind the curtain is we have implemented a new way of play and I think we still have a lot of improvement and growth in us, which is exciting.

“We have some really tough games, we nearly lost against Adelaide and turned that around in the last 10 minutes, we had a tough match against Melbourne and then had to grind out a win against Brisbane.

“I think all of our hard work has led to a pretty picture on the ladder, but it has not been easy.”

The Kookaburras co-captain said whilst winning early was positive, it was important to be primed for the pointy end of the tournament.

“Banking a few wins early is really important and gives you a bit of confidence that what you are doing is working and on the right track,” Zalewski said.

“To continually keep improving is important.

“If you look at tournament hockey, it is generally the teams that are the best at the end that win.

“We want to keep learning and improving so we can make sure we are still getting the results at the end of the tournament when it gets spicy in the finals.”

The action kicks off from 3:30pm AWST - watch live on Kayo Sports.