Hockey
26 June, 2025
Nothing separates Dimboola, Kaniva
A hard-fought draw between Dimboola Roos and Kaniva Women and two close matches in the open division highlighted the latest round of the Wimmera hockey season, which was played in mild conditions at Warracknabeal’s Anzac Park on Saturday.
In the Open grade, The Warrack Hoops moved back into second place on the Open ladder, a position they had relinquished after some recent patchy form saw them lose their previous two games, when they overcame a determined Nhill Rangers by just one goal.
Although the penalty corner count of twelve to one suggested that the Hoops dominated the game, the play on the field was far from one-sided, with the Nhill forwards looking dangerous on the occasions that they challenged the Warrack defence.
After a scoreless first quarter, Tim Jorgensen got the Hoops onto the scorecard with a solid shot that eluded the Rangers’ defence six minutes into the second quarter, and while this proved to be the only score for the match, the intensity remained until the final whistle, with the Rangers forcing the Hoops to play at their best to earn the win.
Jorgensen was named as the Hoops' best player, along with defender Hamish Wagenknecht and forward Ben Williamson, while Nhill forwards Joseph Knoll and Jason Reichelt and full-back David Reichelt were their best players.
The Horsham Hurricanes continue to impress despite their loss to the dominant Yanac Tigers.
In an intense first half, the Tigers earned thirteen penalty corners, but some resolute defence led by goalkeeper Lars Simmons saw the Hurricanes deny them any score before half time.
After the long break, a further eight penalty corners were all repelled by the Hurricanes, and it took a sharp pass from Rourkey Croot to Simon Farmers to open the scoring for the Tigers with less than two minutes of the third period of play remaining.
The Tigers upped the pressure on the Hurricanes early in the last quarter when Zach Dorrington converted a penalty stroke, and despite several more Yanac corners, the Horsham defence kept the scoreline at just two goals for the game.
Dorrington and Farmers were the Tigers’ best players, and if it were not for a sterling effort by Simmons and fellow defenders David Jochinke and Justin Hawke, the margin could have been much larger.
By remaining undefeated, the Tigers have a firm grip on the top rung of the ladder, but the movement below them continues.
After Saturday’s results, the Hoops hold second place, but only by goal difference, ahead of the Kaniva Cobras, who had the bye this week.
The Hurricanes slipped back to fourth, but they are just one win behind the two teams above them, and they remain well in the mix to press for a top-two finish.
The Nhill Rangers are in fifth place without a win, but have come very close over recent weeks, and
remain a significant player in determining the make-up of the finals, and are still in with a chance of breaking into the top four over the remaining eight rounds.
In the Women's grade, Yanac retained its undefeated status on top of the Women’s ladder with a comfortable win over the Horsham Jets, but the action just below them on the ladder is heating up.
Their two closest contenders, Kaniva and the Dimboola Roos, fought out an entertaining draw, which confirms they are evenly matched and capable of mounting a challenge to the competition leaders.
Across the first three quarters of play, the Dimboola Roos marginally dominated the play of the pitch, but the Kaniva defenders were up to the challenge, and although towards the end of the game the balance swayed towards Kaniva, but the Roos’ defence matched that of their opponents, and the game finished in a draw.
While this was a very even match with many players making contributions, Roos’ midfielder Brooke McMaster and fullback Cara Hadzig and Kaniva half-back Imogen Williams, and forward Lisa Stimson stood out for their respective teams.
The Horsham Jets’ patchy form continued when they came up against Yanac, who monopolised the play for the first three quarters of the game before they eased their intensity in the last.
They scored regularly throughout the game, with three goals by quarter time, to which they added another in the second period, and three more in the third, to finish with a seven goal margin.
Caitlyn Alexander and Alexis Famers hit two goals each among the five Yanac players who scored goals, and Makayla Mackley joined them as their best players while reliable performers.
Lorna Schilling, Hannah Mackereth, and Carmel Lawson all put in solid performances for the Jets.
The Thunderbirds returned to the top four, at the expense of the Jets, after a win over Warrack Women.
Most of the scoring came from field goals, with Warrack successfully defending all but one of 20 penalty corners Rachel Clarke scored four goals, and Kendra Clark two to be the highest scorers for the match, with Cally Shurdington being named as Nhill’s best player.
Olinda Elsom, Ellie Williamson, and Kate Williamson stood out amongst the Warrack players in another performance where some determined defence prevented a much larger margin.
The gap between the top three and the rest of the field in the Women’s competition continues to widen, and although it would take a significant reversal of form for Yanac to drop from the top of the ladder over the remaining rounds, the battle between the Roos and Kaniva to claim second place, and the second chance in the finals, could continue until late in the regular season.
The last place in the top four will also be keenly contested, as the Thunderbirds and Jets are tied on points, so they will have some fierce competition to see which one advances to the finals.
While Warracknabeal is yet to win a game, they are improving and will play their part in influencing the makeup of the finals.
Even if they don’t make it themselves, they can cause some headaches for the teams above them over the next eight rounds.
The result sin the under 16s did not lead to any positional changes on the Under 16 ladder, but some teams are solidifying their places.
In the clash between first and sixth on the ladder, the Horsham Bombers matched their more fancied opponents with a one-all scoreline at half time, but they could not keep up the pressure, and the Yanac Warriors put on two more goals in the third quarter to take control.
In an improved performance in the last period of play, the Bombers got back to within a goal of their opponent but ran out of time to further challenge the competition leaders.
The game between the Nhill Leopards and Warrack Revengers was also quite close until half time, before the Leopards extended a two-goal lead to a seven-goal to two win to keep them in touch with the leaders on the ladder.
In the third game in this division, the fifth-placed Kaniva Raiders moved a little closer to challenging for a place in the top four, with a tough two goals to one win over the Dimboola Kangaroos, which has them just half a game outside the top four and ready to advance if any of the teams above them falter in the next few weeks.
