Hockey
22 August, 2025
Finals positions still in play
With key positions on all three competition ladders still to be decided, the last round of the Wimmera Hockey Association’s regular season promises to be entertaining.
The valuable second chance in the finals that comes with second place on the open ladder could still change, and fourth place on both the women’s and under 16 ladders are two-way battles to see who will progress to the finals.
Open
The open division game that will hold the most interest will see the Kaniva Cobras, who still have the chance of rising to second place on the ladder, play the Horsham Hurricanes, who will go into the finals in fourth place regardless of the result.
The Warrack Hoops currently hold second place, and with the points they received for the bye last weekend, they are effectively one win ahead of the Cobras and enjoy a goal difference advantage of eight.
This means that the Cobras must not only win to draw level on points but also need the victory to be by at least nine goals if they are to move up.
Unfortunately for them, the Hurricanes play the turf at Dimboola well so even a Kaniva victory will be a big ask, let alone by the required margin.
The last game for the round will see the competition-leading Yanac Tigers take on the fifth-placed Nhill Rangers.
With neither team able to change its position regardless of the result, this may look like an unimportant encounter.
Still, the Tigers will want to maintain their momentum going into the finals, and the Rangers have nothing to lose and will want to put in a good performance before they pack their gear away for the season, suggesting this should still be an entertaining match-up.
Women
The opening women’s match is on Friday evening when the Dimboola Roos will look to bounce back from their loss to Yanac last weekend when they take on Warracknabeal.
Defying their lowly ladder position, the Warrack team have registered a win and a draw in their previous three outings, and while toppling Dimboola on their home turf will be a big assignment, they still have the chance to end their season positively.
The most interest comes on Saturday afternoon, firstly with the Nhill Thunderbirds versus Yanac game, and then the Horsham Jets versus Kaniva match-up.
A win or a draw by the Thunderbirds will be enough to confirm that they will stay in fourth place and play finals, but considering Yanac’s undefeated record this season, inflicting their first defeat, or even a draw, could be asking too much.
A Yanac victory will keep the Horsham Jets in the mix when they take to the field for the following match against Kaniva, who have shown some patchy form of late.
In this scenario, if the Jets register a win they will overtake the ‘Birds by two points and claim a final berth, which looked very unlikely several weeks ago.
Under 16
While all three under 16 matches could have an impact on the matchups for the first round of finals, the one with the most significance will open the round on Friday evening.
Put simply, the winner of the Warrack Revengers versus the Dimboola Kangaroos game will play finals and the other team’s season will come to an end.
A draw would be enough to see the Revengers, who are currently tenuously holding fourth place, remain there.
The Nhill Leopards and Yanac Warriors meet in a big game on Saturday morning.
While the result is irrelevant to them meeting again the following week in the semi-finals, the winner will claim the minor premiership and go into their next encounter full of confidence.
The Horsham Bombers have their last chance to record a win this season when they play the Kaniva Raiders, who confirmed their place in the finals with a win last week, so this will also be an entertaining game.
The under 12 development program will conclude on Saturday with its last round of games and award presentations from midday.