Perth Finally Come Home: Thundersticks Host the Cobras, Govers Chases Four From Four, and Tassie Meet the Blaze Again

Perth have waited three weeks for this one. Three rounds on the road, three weeks of packing bags, and now the Thundersticks finally play at home, against the league’s newest club, with the only unbeaten women’s record in the competition on the line.

The women’s game comes first on Sunday at Perth Hockey Stadium, 2:00pm local time, 11:00am PKT. Perth sit top after edging NSW Pride 3-2 in Sydney. Courtney Schonell scored and converted in that one to take her tally to five for the season, the most in the women’s competition. The Cobras are third, and they come in smarting from their first defeat, 2-1 to HC Melbourne in the derby, even though Lahni Woodger gave them the lead. First against third, first meeting between the two clubs, and Perth’s perfect start against a side with nothing to lose. That is a proper homecoming test.

The men follow at 3:45pm local time, 12:45pm PKT, and the mood is different. Perth are sixth after finally getting going with a 3-1 win over the Pride in Sydney, Daykin Stanger scoring and converting inside the first 12 minutes. The Cobras men are seventh, still chasing a first win, but they will not arrive short of belief. Abu Mahmood scored a hat-trick against HC Melbourne and the Cobras led 5-4 with six minutes left before the champions scored six in the last ten minutes to win 8-5. If Perth switch off for ten minutes the way HC Melbourne’s neighbours did, this one bites.

Tassie and Blaze just cannot be separated

Saturday in Hobart has its own history. Tassie Tigers host Brisbane Blaze at 1:00pm local time for the women, 7:00am PKT, and 2:45pm local, 8:45am PKT, for the men. The last two times these men’s sides met, neither could be separated in 60 minutes. Both games in 2025 were drawn and both went the Tigers’ way in a shootout, including a 6-6 semi-final. Anyone picking a winner here is guessing.

The Blaze arrive in form after a 10-1 win over Adelaide Fire, seven different scorers and a first Hockey One goal for Cody Hale. The Tigers need a response after Hayden Beltz’s two penalty corners were not enough to stop Canberra Chill in Hobart, a 4-3 defeat. The women’s game looks just as open. Tassie lost 4-2 to Canberra despite two penalty corners from captain Penny Squibb, while the Blaze women head to Hobart after their first win of the season, 3-0 over the Fire, with Rosie Malone, Jamie-Lee Surha and Sara Strauss all scoring. The Tigers women are sixth, the Blaze seventh. The men are third against fifth. Both games matter, and both could easily go to a shootout again.

Govers goes for four from four

Then there is Adelaide on Saturday night, and Blake Govers. The Pride visit the Fire at the State Hockey Centre, women at 5:30pm local time, 12:00pm PKT, men at 7:15pm local, 1:45pm PKT. Govers has scored in every game this season, three penalty corners for three goals, and his 45th Hockey One goal extended his own record even as Perth handed the Pride men their first loss. Another in Adelaide makes it four from four, and Adelaide’s men are still searching for a first win, even though Freddy Waters gave them an early lead in Brisbane last week. The Pride men will want to bounce back after Daykin Stanger’s double helped Perth to a 3-1 win in Sydney.

The women’s game has last season hanging over it. The Pride beat Adelaide 3-2 for bronze last season, and they arrive after a narrow 3-2 loss to Perth, with Abby Wilson and Kendelle Tait scoring. Adelaide’s women are still chasing a first win after a 3-0 loss in Brisbane. The Pride women are fifth, the Fire eighth. The men are fourth against eighth. Adelaide at home, desperate for a first win in both games, against a Pride side with the competition’s form scorer. That is worth staying up for.

Canberra’s unbeaten meeting with HC Melbourne on Friday night is covered in its own preview. Every match is streamed live and free on 7plus in Australia and internationally through the Hockey One Global Pass.

Related links:
https://sportscursor.com/hockey-one-round-4-preview-canberra-hc-melbourne-perth-cobras-30-october-2026/
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https://sportscursor.com/hockey-one-round-3-wrap-four-clean-sweeps-derby-blaze-27-october-2026/
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