Country title confirms GHA top status

The Geraldton Hockey Association has confirmed its status as the number one regional league in the state, after its division 1 representative side won the recent CBH Country Championships.

Geraldton went straight into the grand final at Perth Hockey Stadium after going through the pool matches undefeated, but faced a stern challenge against fellow powerhouse Upper Great Southern in the decider.

Signs were not good after they conceded a penalty stroke and went a goal down inside five minutes, but the team regrouped and managed to equalise just before half-time thanks to a Jyi Connolly strike from a short corner.

The second half proved to be an arm wrestle with both sides unable to convert their opportunities until Connolly, the tournament’s leading goal scorer, again managed to make the most of a penalty corner to slot the winning goal.

UPGS came back hard and had a chance to force the game into extra time with a penalty corner of their own with 20 seconds to go, but several outstanding saves from goal keeper Brett Bingham denied their strikers and sealed the win.

Ryan Dix’s speed and toughness up forward, combined with Jesse Regan’s silky skills and composure placed them as the best players in the final, while midfielder Ben McGowan and striker Josh Bowen were the most consistent over the whole tournament.

Coach Kyle Kelly described the result as awesome and said he couldn’t have asked for anything more from his players.

“Their professionalism on and off the field was absolutely unrivalled and they stamped their authority on the competition from the first game,” he said.

“There wasn’t a single member of the team who didn’t perform well while we were down there and there were one or two players who exceeded expectations beyond what we could have imagined.”

Both of the GHA’s division 2 sides also performed admirably, especially the Conan Croft-coached outfit who lost the grand final in heart-breaking fashion.

With the side 2-0 up with just five minutes to go a GHA double appeared inevitable, but three quick goals from UPGS – including one with just 20 seconds to go – condemned the side to a devastating loss.

Midfielder Cameron Dudfield was named division 2 MVP, while Kane Trenaman and Warrick Sullivan were other standouts throughout the tournament.

Finally, the other division 2 side, made up of the league’s best young talent, displayed maturity beyond their years to make the semifinal before going down to the GHA’s other team.