Hockey
15 July, 2026
Tigers take down Hurricanes, reclaim top spot in Wimmera hockey race
Round nine of the Wimmera hockey season started on Friday evening in clear but cold conditions, and those who played then enjoyed the best of it, as Saturday brought similar low temperatures, a cold wind, and some rain to test the players’ commitment.
On the field, the two leading teams in the Women’s competition continued their dominance with big wins, and the Tigers regained the top spot on the Open ladder.
In a very dynamic competition, every team on the Open ladder finished the round in a different position than they were in on Saturday morning.
The Yanac Tigers returned to the top after a win over the Horsham Hurricanes, drawing level on points with the Warrack Hoops, who had the bye, but the Tigers have the better goal difference.
Despite the three-zero scoreline in favour of Yanac, the Hurricanes were not totally outplayed as they mounted their share of threatening forward forays.
The Tigers had more options once they got the ball into their attacking circle.
Their goals came late in the first quarter from field play, in the second from a converted penalty stroke, and in the last from a scrambly passage of play in the goal circle.
The loss saw the Hurricanes drop one place on the ladder, but they remain in the top four.
In another game that looked to be very evenly matched on the pitch, but the scorecard told a different story, it was once again the team that capitalised on the opportunities they created that came out on top.
The Kanva Cobras took the lead early with a successful penalty corner, but by halftime the Rangers had drawn level with a field goal.
Even by three-quarter time, the Cobras had only just taken the lead back by a goal, and the game could still have gone either way.
The last quarter saw some more intense hockey with both teams still in with a chance of victory, but it was the Cobras who eased the pressure with another field goal, and a fourth score in the last minute made the final margin look more comfortable than it really was.
This result boosted the Cobras back into the top four, elevating them from fifth to third, pushing the Hurricanes and Ranges down one rung each.
The top two teams are twelve points ahead of the rest, and while they have not yet locked in a place in the finals, it would take a significant shift in form for them to drop out of contention.
The remaining three teams are only separated by two points on the ladder, suggesting that it will be an enthralling battle between them over the remaining six rounds to see who claims the other two places in the play-offs or even break into the top two.
Women
As with the Open competition, the gap is increasing between the top two and the rest of the field in the Women’s division after the Dimboola Roos and Yanac both recorded comfortable wins over Warrack and the Horsham Jets, respectively.
On Friday evening, the Roos overcame Warracknabeal, despite their opponents putting in one of their best performances of the season, restricting Dimboola to just one goal in the first quarter.
After this, the polished Roos’ attacking combination found its rhythm to score two goals per quarter for the rest of the game, but to Warracknabeal’s credit, they didn’t let the Roos take full control.
Yanac scored a solid double-figure victory over the Horsham Jets, improving their goal difference relative to the Roos.
This could be significant if they both keep winning and the top of the ladder is decided when they next meet in the penultimate round.
The goal scoring was led by Susan Hedt and Alexis Farmers, who scored three goals each, and Lacy Cramer and Caitlyn Alexander scored two each.
The middle two teams on the ladder, Kaniva and Nhill Thunderbirds, played out a one-all draw, which hasn’t brought them any closer to the leading two teams but was enough to draw a bit further ahead of those below them.
This game started in overcast, windy conditions and was the first to experience the chilling rain that would persist for much of Saturday afternoon and evening, adding an extra challenge for the players.
Despite going into the game as the lower-ranked team, the Thunderbirds dominated the penalty corner count, earning twelve to Kaniva’s six.
But could not convert this to an advantage on the scorecard, and a very competitive game of hockey ended in a one-all draw, with both goals scored in the second quarter.
This combination of results has created three pairs of teams on the ladder.
The leaders are well ahead of the rest, and like the top teams in the Open division, are likely to remain there until the end of the regular season.
The next two are drawing ahead of the lower two, and while they could still drop out of the top four, current form suggests that this is unlikely.
Of the other two, the Jets are only a win and a half behind the fourth-placed Thunderbirds but will have to find some more consistent form quickly if they are to make up this deficit, and while Warrack is unlikely to challenge for a place in the finals, their improving form suggests that they could influence the order of the teams above them.
Under 16
After nine rounds, only one win separates the top four teams on the Under 16 ladder, and the fifth-placed Kangaroos have the form and are close enough to still be in the mix for the finals.
The Yanac Warriors moved to the top with a win over the Horsham Bombers, who remain in sixth place, and the Warrack Revengers are on the same points as the Warriors but in second place with a lower goal difference after defeating the Dimboola Kangaroos on Friday evening.
The Kaniva Raiders scored a narrow victory over the Nhill Leopards by four goals to three to firm their grip on a place in the top four, and after their loss, the task for the Kangaroos is becoming more difficult, but not impossible, for them to challenge for a spot in the finals, as they are now a win and a half outside the top four.
Read More: Dimboola