Hockey
12 August, 2025
Last few finals spots still up for grabs
Most results in round 13 of the Wimmera hockey season on Saturday went as expected based on recent form, but there are several intriguing sub-plots still to be played out over the last two rounds of the regular season before the finals.
The Kaniva Cobras are making a late attempt to knock the Warrack Hoops out of the top two on the open ladder, the Horsham Jets still have a mathematical chance of making the women’s finals but will need a big last two matches (and several other favourable results) to do it, and three teams are still in contention to claim the last two places in the under 16 finals.
Open
The clash between the Yanac Tigers and Warrack Hoops, the top two teams in the open competition, delivered the standard of hockey they have produced across many encounters.
Despite coming off a below-par performance last week against the Hurricanes, it was a more composed Hoops who took on the competition-leading Tigers on Saturday.
They matched everything thrown at them throughout a scoreless first half, before Jaidyn Honeyman shot the ball past the Warrack defenders four minutes into the third quarter to break the deadlock in the Tigers’ favour.
Even with the Tigers earning a further seven penalty corners after this, the Hoops successfully defended them all, but the margin was increased to two when Shaun Alexander found the goal within the last minute of the game.
The Kaniva Cobras and Nhill Rangers were not to be overshadowed, putting on their own display of entertaining hockey, with Kaniva having to work harder than the four-one scoreline would suggest to earn the points.
A hectic first quarter yielded three goals – two to Kaniva and one to Nhill – setting the tempo for the rest of the game, followed by a scoreless second period of play that only increased the tension and set the scene for a fascinating second half.
Although Kaniva began to take control of the play, they could not shake off the determined Rangers, but slowly built up their lead with one more goal in each of the last two quarters and successfully defended all of Nhill’s attempts to score.
Josh Bedford was the leading goal scorer for the match, with two for the Cobras.
With two rounds remaining, the Tigers have already claimed the minor premiership, the Horsham Hurricanes remain in fourth place after having the bye, and the Rangers are set to finish the season in fifth place.
The main story to play out over the next two weekends is whether the third-placed Cobras, who are now just two points behind the Hoops, can leapfrog them and claim the second chance in the finals, and with these two to meet next Saturday, a big game is anticipated with plenty at stake.
Women
The Nhill Thunderbirds are showing some good form in the women’s division, with a hard-fought draw against Kaniva taking them to the cusp of confirming a place in the finals.
Kaniva’s Lisa Stimson scored first with a converted penalty corner late in the first quarter to which the Thunderbirds replied through a Nancy Rowe field goal early in the second to have scores tied at half-time.
A field goal to Jules Braisby midway through the third quarter saw Kaniva regain the lead but the scores were level again at the last break courtesy of a late Nhill field goal by Kendra Clark.
This set the scene for an intense last quarter where both teams created opportunities but neither could add to their score.
The top two teams continued their charge towards the finals with comfortable victories over the lower two teams.
With the Horsham Jets struggling to stay in the race for the finals, they faced the daunting task of taking on the in-form Dimboola Roos in a game that did not end well for them.
Three goals to Jennie Hauselberger, two to Vicki Elliott and one to Brooke McMaster made up the Roos’ final winning score of six goals.
Yanac continued their undefeated dominance with a solid result against Warrack, with Caitlyn Alexander and Lexi Famers scoring four goals each as the major contributors to their final tally of fourteen goals.
The top three on the women’s ladder are already locked in, with Yanac, Dimboola Roos and Kaniva to remain in that order regardless of results over the last two rounds.
The Thunderbirds are in fourth place and in the box seat to stay there, with recent good form and a six-point advantage (with a maximum of eight still available) over the fifth-placed Horsham Jets.
They can confirm a spot in the finals with a win over the Jets next weekend, but a Horsham victory in that game would keep their very slim chances alive into the last round.
Under 16
The two leading under 16 teams, the Nhill Leopards and Yanac Warriors, had narrow wins over current fellow top four teams, which keeps them tied on the same points, with just goal difference separating them, while the battle to be in third and fourth spots at the end of round 15 continues to be a three-way contest that could stay alive until the last round.
The Nhill Leopards had to work hard to overcome the plucky Kaniva Raiders in a game in which they scored the winning goal only midway through the last quarter.
After they both scored a goal jest before quarter-time, the game looked to be destined to be a one-all draw after the next two and a half quarters of close even play did not yield any further scores, but the ladder leaders edged ahead by one goal with ten minutes of the game remaining, with the Raiders unable to reply before the final whistle.
The Yanac Warriors got the points against the Warrack Revengers but they also didn’t have everything their own way.
They narrowly led the penalty corner count and, for much of the game, were matched by the Revengers across the field, but they eventually came out ahead by two goals.
The game with the most influence on the race for the finals saw the fifth-placed Dimboola Kangaroos defeating the Horsham Bombers by two goals, keeping them within range of the top four.
The Revengers are currently in third place, two points ahead of the Raiders and Kangaroos who are equal on 18 points each, with the Raiders in fourth place with an advantage of just one goal.
With two rounds remaining, any combination of these three teams could still fill the last two places in the finals.
RESULTS
Open: Kaniva Cobras 4 (goals J Bedford 2, K Glasgow, L Schultz; Best L Mills, J Clark, J Bedford) defeated Nhill Rangers 1 (goal S Carew; Best J Knoll, J Reichelt, C Schultz); Yanac Tigers 2 (goals J Honeyman, S Alexander; Best B Alexander, S Alexander, T Alexander) defeated Warrack Hoops 0 (best H Wagenknecht, T Jorgensen, B Williamson); bye Horsham Hurricanes
Women: Kaniva Women 2 (goals J Braisby, L Stimson; Best J Wallis, L Stimson, H Braisby) drew with Nhill Thunderbirds 2 (goals K Clark, N Rowe; best C Shurdington, K Clark, B Clark); Yanac Women 14 (goals C Alexander 4, A Farmers 4, E Wheaton 2, E Alexander, S Hedt, M Mackley, I Hedt; best E Alexander, S Hedt, M Mackley) defeated Warrack Women 0 (best E Williamson, MelBentley, Madisson Bentley); Dimboola Roos 6 (goals J Hauselberger 3, V Elliott 2, B McMaster; best B McMaster, A Baker, A Rintoule) defeated Horsham Jets 0 (best C Lawson, B Batchelor, A Heal)
Under 16: Nhill Leopards 2 (goals D Bee, B Clark; Best O Bone, T Bee, D Bee, B Cannell) defeated Kaniva Raiders 1 (goal R Williams; Best L Williams, J White, C Champness, R Williams); Yanac Warriors 2 (goals S Pedie, A Pedie; best S Pedie, A Pedie, L Cramer) defeated Warrack; Revengers 0 (best N Eilola, S Williamson, E Williamson); Dimboola Kangaroos 2 (goals R Hadzig, W Hadzig; best R Hadzig, R Williams, C Elliott, W Hadzig) defeated Horsham Bombers 0 (best J Mills, R Hobbs, H Di Pietro, C Austin)
Development program: Kaniva Rampagers 2 (goals K Bedford, R Williams) v Nhill Bandits 3 (goals N Krelle 2, Z Chequer); Warrack Avengers 1 (goal M Marra) v Yanac Lowan Stars 5 (goals P Dart 2, C Alexander, R Dickinson, S Hedt); Dimboola Kookaburras 2 (goals L Hauselberger 2) v Horsham Black Hawks 2 (goals A Lacey, H Mills)
