Beyond the Grand Final Rematch: Pride, Perth and the Race for Hockey One’s Top Four

Friday night in Melbourne gets the billing, and fair enough. But Hockey One Round 5 is four ties, not one, and the other three will do plenty to decide who reaches the medal round at the Gold Coast finals on 5-6 December. Only the top four get there. Right now HC Melbourne sit on 12 points, the Tigers, Chill and Pride on nine each, Perth on six, Brisbane on three, and the Cobras and Fire still on zero. Every point from here matters.

Saturday in Sydney is the sharpest of the three. NSW Pride host Canberra Chill at Sydney Olympic Park, women at 1 p.m. AEDT and men at 2:45 p.m. (7 a.m. and 8:45 a.m. PKT). Both sides sit on nine points, so the winner goes clear in the top-four race and the loser gets dragged back toward the pack. Pride arrive off a perfect Round 4 weekend, women winning 7-0 and men 1-0 against Adelaide Fire, with Blake Govers scoring in all four games so far. Chill arrive off the opposite kind of weekend, thumped 10-2 by HC Melbourne’s men and beaten 2-0 in the women’s game. Pride have the form. Chill have the grievance. That’s usually a decent game.

Then it’s over to Perth, where the Thundersticks host Brisbane Blaze at Perth Hockey Stadium, women at 2:30 p.m. AWST and men at 4:15 p.m. (11:30 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. PKT). The Thundersticks women are the story here: unbeaten, four wins, three goals conceded all season, and fresh from a 4-0 win over the Cobras built on two goals each from Malan and Byrnes. The Blaze women are no soft touch either, having beaten the Tigers 3-3 on the night and 2-0 in the shootout in Round 4. In the men’s game, Perth’s 6-3 win over the Cobras has them fifth on six points, while Brisbane sit sixth on three despite scoring 17 goals in four games, including a 10-1 demolition of Adelaide. Brisbane can score. They just have to stop conceding.

Sunday closes the round in Bendigo, where the Melbourne Cobras host Adelaide Fire, women at 1 p.m. AEDT and men at 2:45 p.m. (7 a.m. and 8:45 a.m. PKT). Both sides are still looking for their first win. The Cobras are seventh on zero points from four games. The Fire are eighth, also winless, with just three goals scored and 29 conceded. Somebody’s season gets its first spark on Sunday. Somebody else’s stays stuck.