Hockey
11 August, 2026
Yanac star on special day
It was a big day at Yanac on Saturday with a full round of matches and the host club’s ‘Back to Yanac Hockey Club’ function in the evening that was attended by more than 150 current and former club members, opponents and several well-known Wimmera hockey identities.
The fields were in excellent condition considering the state they were left in after a very wet day of hockey back in the middle of June, and the forecast rain held off until after the last game, which all contributed to some excellent hockey, but despite the finals looming in three weeks, few of the results gave much insight into what to expect later in the season.
Open
The Yanac Tigers have moved back into outright favouritism for the Open title after a comfortable five-goal victory over their closest rival, the Warrack Hoops.
The margin when these two meet is rarely more than a goal or two, but on this occasion there wasn’t much at stake, as they have been locked in to meet in the semi-finals for several weeks now, but a win over a finals opponent is always a positive.
Despite the margin, it was a closer game on the field than it appeared on the scorecard, as it took nearly two solid quarters for the Tigers to break the deadlock with a successful penalty corner just minutes before half-time.
The Hoops, missing several key players, began to tire as the second half progressed, and the Tigers took full advantage, scoring twice more in the next quarter and adding another two through a penalty corner and a penalty stroke in the last.
The Hoops must now regroup before they meet the Tigers again in the semi-finals, but with the return of those missing players and a place in the grand final on the line, they are sure to put up a more competitive performance.
The battle to fill the remaining two semi-final places remains the same as it was before the round, as all three teams vying for these places earned two points each; the Horsham Hurricanes and Nhill Rangers from a scoreless draw and the Kaniva Cobras for the bye.
With much more on the line in the game between the Hurricanes and Rangers, it was a solid hit-out for both teams, and while the Rangers dominated the penalty corner count, with eleven to four, the Horsham defence was equal to everything thrown at them.
The final whistle heralded the end of a very entertaining game between two very evenly matched opponents, and we are no closer to knowing who will progress to the finals.
With these three teams remaining in the same position relative to each other after this round, the only change is that Horsham has one less game remaining to reclaim a place in the top four, and while third-placed Nhill is in the best position of the three, they are still vulnerable to missing the finals altogether.
Women
The results in the Women’s matches reveal that Yanac has moved marginally ahead of the Dimboola Roos in the race for the minor premiership, after they enjoyed a big win over Warracknabeal and the Roos had to work hard for their narrow win over Kaniva.
However, not much can be read into this as their opponents were of a significantly different standard. Yanac’s winning margin was 13 goals, contrasting with the Roos’ two, which has seen their goal difference advantage move from minus one before the game to plus ten, but as they remain on the same points, their meeting next week should decide which will top the ladder at the end of round fifteen.
In a good sign for an entertaining finals series, the third-placed Kaniva kept pace with the Roos for a majority of their match, with the period of play between the Roos’ first goal from midway through the first quarter to the second in the last two minutes of the game being one of the most evenly matched sequences of play in this division this season.
The Nhill Thunderbirds removed any doubt that they will play finals after defeating the Horsham Jets, but it did take until the middle of the third quarter before Nhill got onto the scorecard with a goal off a penalty corner, followed by another off a penalty corner played out after the end of the quarter.
Throughout the last quarter the ball regularly swung from end to end, and when the Jets converted a penalty corner of their own late in the game, the intensity increased.
While they tried valiantly to equalise, time ran out before they could add to their score and they finished one goal behind.
Under 16
The logjam at the top of the Under 16 ladder remains, with three teams still within reach of finishing on top, although the Nhill Leopards are currently in the prime position after defeating the Horsham Bombers by eight goals to one.
In the other games, the Kaniva Raiders moved into second after overcoming the Dimboola Kangaroos by five goals, and the Yanac Warriors are still in with a chance of a top two finish after outlasting the higher-ranked Warrack Revengers to win by five goals to two.
