WA puts on ‘clinical’ effort to claim National Championships opener

The Western Australian Under-21s Men’s State Team secured a dominant 7-0 victory over the Northern territory to open their 2022 Hockey Australia Under-21s National Championships campaign at Perth Hockey Stadium at Curtin University.

WA’s Brodee Foster scored five goals for the match, with Hamish Adamson and Jack Pearce adding to the scores in a stellar team effort.

Men’s head coach Tim Geers was pleased with his side’s efforts but remains focused on the task ahead.

“We were just really keen to play, it’s been a long preparation and obviously we had the bye yesterday and we were ready to get out there and perform,” Geers says.

“The hallmarks of our game were high pressure to create opportunities and I think that really showed in the first half, but I am keen to see the boys put that effort in for the full 60 minutes.

“The way the tournament is structured means that every game matters so we can not afford to slip up at any point, so for us we will enjoy the win, but our focus will be immediately shifted towards our next opponent.”

Above: Brodee Foster scores his fourth goal for the match as a result of brilliant team play from WA

Perth Thundersticks squad member and star striker for WA Brodee Foster earned the Player of the Match honour with his five goals in the victory.

“It was really nice to hit the score board early, but full credit goes to the side as a whole, my goals were a result of the play up the field so it was great to be on the end of a great team effort,” Foster says.

“I think it sends a bit of a message to the rest of the competition that we’re here to perform as a group, not as individuals and to put in an effort like that sets a really high standard for our group.

“More importantly, it was great to get out there and play in front of friends and family, which many of us haven’t had the opportunity to do, so it’s a bit of a privilege to be able to put on such a performance in front of a home crowd.”

The WA Men's side are set to compete against South Australia in their second match of the competition from 5:30pm, Friday 22 July at Perth Hockey Stadium at Curtin University

The WA women’s side competed in their third match of the competition, suffering a 2-0 loss to a strong Victorian side.

After two matches in Pool B, the result sees them sit in second place, with their sights set on Tasmania on Saturday 23 July.

Keep up to date with all the results here.