44 and counting: Govers takes the Hockey One record as Pride do the double over Brisbane

Ten minutes. That’s all it took.

Blake Govers stepped up for a penalty corner in Newcastle on Friday night and did the thing everybody in the building was waiting for. Goal number 44. The Hockey One men’s scoring record is his now, on his own, no sharing.

He’d started the night level with Joel Rintala on 43. One flick later, the tie was done.

Pride men 5-3 Blaze men

Govers opened it at 10 minutes, from the corner, of course. Brisbane hit back through Matthew Hawthorne’s penalty corner at 15, and for a bit this looked like a scrap.

Then Samuel Mudford took over.

Mudford scored at 19 minutes and converted his one-on-one for the extra goal. He did the exact same thing at 37 minutes, field goal and conversion, and suddenly a tight game was gone. Mackenzie Warne pulled one back for the Blaze at 35 and Thomas Wycherley added a corner at 37, but 5-3 was where it stayed.

Brisbane are now winless after two rounds. Pride, beaten on opening weekend by the new Melbourne Cobras, look a lot more like themselves.

Pride women 3-0 Blaze women

The women’s game was cleaner. Amalia Patterson scored at 22 minutes and converted to double it, Abby Wilson added a penalty corner at 50, and Brisbane never really got a grip on it.

Three-nil, first win of the season for the Pride women, and a rough start to the year for the Blaze. Two rounds in, they’re still chasing their first points in both competitions.

The record will keep moving

Here’s the thing about Govers. He’s not done, he’s not slowing down, and the Pride have a long season ahead of them. Rintala held this mark with real company for a while. Now there’s daylight, and every round adds a bit more.

Round 2 doesn’t stop here, either. Super Saturday runs in Melbourne today, with HC Melbourne facing Perth Thundersticks and the Cobras taking on Canberra Chill, before Adelaide Fire host the Tassie Tigers on Sunday to close the round.

Friday night belonged to Newcastle, though. And to number 44.

Full-time: NSW Pride men 5–3 Brisbane Blaze men; NSW Pride women 3–0 Brisbane Blaze women. Newcastle International Hockey Centre, Friday 16 October 2026.