Thundersticks women book place in Hockey One finals series

The Perth Thundersticks women are set for a trip to Bendigo after their win against the Canberra Chill solidified their spot in the 2022 Sultana Bran Hockey One League finals series.

The 3-1 win, the Thundersticks’ fourth for the season, means that the side will breathe easy in their bye round next week as their finals are locked in, with their opponent to be decided based on results in the final round of the season.

The Thundersticks got off to a red-hot start against the Chill, with the first score falling in the first minute of the match, with Georgina Dowd the beneficiary in her first-ever Hockey One goal and conversion.

Penny Squibb found the back of the net again in the sixth minute, with a lone goal to Chill’s Kalindi Commerford in the 24^th minute not enough to mount a comeback.

Thundersticks young gun Dowd was pleased to lock in a finals berth, with the side to now play the waiting game to see who they face in two weeks’ time.

“It was a great team effort from the girls today and we played the way we want to heading into the match – it was a good end result,” Dowd said.

“It has been a bit rough not having the bye in the middle of the season but it is nice now that we have pushed our way through now and can have a bit of a rest heading into finals.”

The Thundersticks men will have to anxiously wait on the results for next week to fall to see if they make it through to finals, falling to third on the ladder with the NSW Pride and Tassie Tigers hot on their heels with a game in hand.

The Thundersticks men were handed a 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Chill, with Matt Willis and Tom Wickham the scorers in a tough challenge for the side in their final match of the season.

Thundersticks men’s coach David Guest was pleased with the effort on display from his side, but says they need to capitalise on their opportunities when they arrive.

“Canberra Chill played a fantastic game, but for us it just comes down to our opportunities,” Guest said.

“We had a bunch of penalty corners and shots on goal but they just were not dropping for us, so we have got to work out how to turn those opportunities into scores, which will be crucial if we head through to finals.”

The Thundersticks men and women have a bye next week for the final round of the season, with hopes for the men to join the women in Bendigo in the 2022 Sultana Bran Hockey One finals series on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 November.

FULL SCORES

Perth Thundersticks Women 3 defeat Canberra Chill 1

Goals:

Perth Thundersticks – Georgina Dowd (1’) (2’), Penny Squibb (6’)

Canberra Chill – Kalindi Commerford (24’)

Perth Thundersticks Men 2 defeated by Canberra Chill 4

Goals:

Perth Thundersticks – Matthew Willis (3’), Tom Wickham (34’)

Canberra Chill – James Day (7’), Aiden Dooley (15’), Jamie Hawke (24’), Garry Backhus (36’)