WA sets sights on ultimate gold glory

A chance for claiming the ultimate glory sits in the laps of the two WA under-21s state teams, after both the men’s and women’s sides booked their place in their respective gold medal matches of the Hockey Australia Under-21s National Championships – a thrilling result for WA hockey.

The WA women’s claimed a victory for the ages, defeating the competition’s dominant side in Queensland 2-1 in their semi-final, while the men’s side has completed an undefeated run, downing the ACT 4-1 on their quest for the gold medal.

Women’s captain Jolie Sertorio says the opportunity for her side to claim gold has stemmed from continuous hard work from the group.

“We are all pretty over the moon as it’s been a bit of a whirlwind tournament for us, but we’ve continued to put in the hard work, so we’re stoked to make it to the final match,” Sertorio says.

“It’s been a great challenge going against Australia’s best – we did not know what to expect and it’s been pleasing to go against some tough opponents who have challenged us to step up another notch in our game.

“More importantly there were a lot of girls who missed out on the under-21s last year and missed the age bracket for this year’s tournament, so we are not only playing for ourselves but we are playing for them – it has really driven the group.”

The chance to play in front of a home crowd is set to elevate the occasion, with men’s captain Cam Geddes ready to shine in front of friends and family.

“We are really excited to have reached the gold medal match, but to be able to play in it at home is really special,” Geddes says.

“I could not ask for a better bunch of boys to compete with, we compete as one and we’re a family.

“It helps us to trust the process and stick to what the coaches say, which is what we’ll do in the gold medal match which will hopefully lead us to gold.”

The two WA under-21s sides will compete in their respective gold medal matches on Wednesday 27 July. The women’s gold medal match commences from 4:00pm and the men’s 6:10pm at Perth Hockey Stadium at Curtin University – entry is FREE.

For live scores and standings, click here.

Can’t make it to Perth Hockey Stadium? Watch all the action LIVE here.