Hockey One Saturday: Blaze Put Ten Past the Fire, Thundersticks Stun the Pride in Sydney
Ten goals. That’s not a typo.
Brisbane Blaze’s men finally got their season going in style on Saturday, hammering Adelaide Fire 10-1 at the Queensland State Hockey Centre. After two rounds without a win, the Blaze didn’t just win, they ran riot, and the Fire’s season went from bad to worse. Adelaide have now lost all three games and shipped 28 goals. That’s a problem no coach can dress up.
The Fire actually scored first. Freddy Waters put them ahead after four minutes, and for a brief moment it looked like a contest. It wasn’t. Thomas Wycherley levelled from a penalty corner on 11 minutes, then Noah Fahy struck twice in the 19th minute, a field goal and the converted one-on-one that Hockey One awards for it. Jayden Atkinson and Cody Hale added two more before the half-hour mark, and by then the only question was the margin.
Hayden Pease got two penalty corners in the second half, Shane Kenny added another, and Matthew Hawthorne finished it off with a field goal and conversion in the 57th minute. Seven different Blaze scorers. That’s the kind of depth that wins finals, and it’s a warning to the rest of the league that Brisbane’s slow start might be over.
Thundersticks do it the hard way in Sydney
Over in Sydney, Perth Thundersticks beat NSW Pride 3-1, and this one was a proper road win. Daykin Stanger gave Perth the lead after 11 minutes and converted the one-on-one a minute later, then Brodee Foster made it 3-0 on 28 minutes. Blake Govers, the league’s record scorer, pulled one back from a penalty corner in the same minute, but the Pride never got closer.
For Perth, that’s a first win of the season and it drags them right back into the finals race at 3 points. For the Pride, it’s a second defeat in three, and they stay on 6 points behind Canberra Chill (9) and Tassie Tigers (6). HC Melbourne, still to play their derby on Sunday, sit third on 6 points from two games.
What it means
Canberra Chill stay top after Friday’s 4-3 win in Hobart. The Blaze climb off the bottom of the pile in spirit if not in points, level with Perth on 3, while Adelaide stay rooted to the foot with nothing to show for three games. And Sunday brings the one everyone circled weeks ago: the first Melbourne derby, Cobras v HC Melbourne at the State Netball and Hockey Centre, women at 3:30 pm and men at 5:15 pm AEDT.
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