Perth Thundersticks Name Round 6 Sides: Ritchie to Debut, Pickering Back as Unbeaten Women Chase Six in a Row
Perth are flying, and they’re not standing still.
The Thundersticks have named their sides for Saturday’s Pride Round double-header against Adelaide Fire at Perth Hockey Stadium, and there’s plenty in there. A debutant, a returning goalscorer, and two teams chasing win streaks that are starting to look ominous for everyone else.
The women are the story of the season so far. Five wins from five, three goals conceded all year, and a Finals spot already locked in after last week’s 1-0 grind past Brisbane Blaze. Now they add to it. Defender Jaeda Ritchie makes her Hockey One debut on Saturday, a reward for a big year that included captaining Western Australia at the under-21 nationals. The 21-year-old came through Reds Hockey Club in the TeamStar Premier League and joined the Thundersticks program this year.
She’s not the only one coming in. Lexie Pickering is back too, and that’s a bigger deal than it sounds. Pickering was a late withdrawal before the Round 4 trip to the Cobras, and injury kept her out of much of the TeamStar season with UWA. She was Hockey One’s leading women’s goalscorer in 2024 and played her part in Perth’s back-to-back championship campaigns. If she’s anywhere near that form, Adelaide have a problem.
Ritchie and Pickering replace Jesse Reid and Sophie Nation in the women’s side.
The men want four in a row
The Thundersticks men are chasing a fourth straight win, and they’ve made one change. Sam Ashton comes back in after missing last week’s 9-2 demolition of Brisbane Blaze. The 24-year-old midfielder has been in and out of the side all season, called on whenever Perth have needed him, and he strengthens the on-ball stocks for the final home game of the regular season. Jonah Pilatti makes way.
Perth have never lost to Adelaide in Hockey One. Not once since the league started in 2019. And the Fire arrive in Perth still looking for their first win of the season after the Cobras put ten past them in Bendigo last weekend. On paper, this is a mismatch. But Perth know better than to say that out loud, with a top-four finish still to secure.
The women’s game has a bit more spice to it. Adelaide might be winless, but they beat Perth when these two met last season, and they’ll have two familiar faces in their ranks. Georgina Dowd and Madison Naish both used to wear Thundersticks colours. That always adds something to a game, even when the ladder says it shouldn’t be close.
The details
Saturday 14 November, Perth Hockey Stadium. The men go first at 3:30pm AWST, 12:30pm PKT, with the women at 5:15pm AWST, 2:15pm PKT. It’s Pride Round across the whole league this weekend, and both games stream live on 7plus in Australia and through the Hockey One Global Pass overseas.
For our money, the women extending their perfect run looks the safest bet of the round. Five wins, three goals against, a debutant with something to prove and a proven goalscorer back in the mix. Adelaide will need the game of their season to stop that. The men should win too, but the Fire have nothing to lose now, and winless teams with nothing to lose are exactly the kind that ruin a good Saturday.
