General News
13 September, 2022
Kaniva wins historic first premiership
The Yanac Tigers and Warrack Hoops have faced off fifteen times in grand finals since they first met in 1983.
Submitted by Simon King
After joining the Wimmera Hockey Association in 1994, the Kaniva women’s hockey team spent the next two decades struggling to make an impression on the competition as they shared the ladder with some very strong teams.
After going winless for five seasons from 2009, a drought-breaking win in the first round of the 2015 season sparked celebrations akin to winning a premiership, but it also heralded the start of the journey which has delivered the club their first senior Wimmera Hockey Association premiership.
While the Raiders, their Under 16 team, has won six titles from ten grand final appearances, and their Open team has qualified for the last game of the season just once, which they lost to the dominant Yanac Tigers in 2017, but this was the first occasion that the women qualified for a grand final.
Their opponents, the Jets, were the first Horsham team to play a grand final in a decade, but they lined up with several veterans who have previously enjoyed premiership glory.
The first quarter of the match was very even, with the Jets controlling more of the play, but they couldn’t penetrate their opponent’s defence, and when Kaniva moved into attack, they also looked dangerous.
Horsham couldn’t take advantage of a penalty stroke before halftime, and by the long break, neither team had scored.
Kaniva took control of the game in the third quarter with a field goal four minutes after play resumed, and they extended it to two for the quarter with another field goal five minutes later. But, despite Kaniva holding the advantage on the scoreboard, the Jets still looked threatening.
A third goal mid-way through the last quarter put the task beyond the Jets, who still fought out the game and had not been disgraced at the final whistle.
The victory was rewarding for the Kaniva players and coaches, having dominated the last two seasons only to be denied a maiden grand final when the 2021 season was cut short, and they lost only one of thirteen games on their way to the grand final this season.
It was also very satisfying for those who experienced the lean times and can now enjoy their unique place in the club’s history.
- Open -
The Yanac Tigers and Warrack Hoops have faced off fifteen times in grand finals since they first met in 1983, and although the Tigers have won ten of these, regardless of the scores, their encounters are always worth watching, and this year’s final was no exception.
The match started at a fast pace and didn’t slow down, with both teams attacking and defending strongly, and it took until the shadows of halftime for the Tigers to take the lead.
Despite a second Tigers’ goal halfway through the third quarter, they could not afford to relax as the Hoops never gave up and maintained the pressure right to the end, even scoring with two minutes of play remaining, but time ran out before they could push the game into a shoot-out.
This win gave the Tigers their nineteenth title in a competition that has been contested thirty-three times, and while the Hoops did not add to their premiership tally, they confirmed their reputation as a very competitive team.
- Under 16 -
The Horsham Bombers’ task of inflicting the Yanac Warriors’ first defeat for 2022 was always going to be a big ask, particularly with the added pressure of the grand final, but they gave it a good crack.
Restricting the Warriors to just one goal before halftime was a considerable effort, but as the young Bombers’ players tired, the Warriors attackers found their way past the defenders on six more occasions, with the Horsham team scoring just once from a penalty stroke.
Despite what appears to have been a significant margin, the Horsham players fought out the match right to the end, and considering the Warriors’ dominance throughout the season, the Bombers can still be proud of this effort.