Sharks secure top spot

Second-half blitz has side primed for finals

GEELONG has produced its best season in state hockey by claiming the minor premiership in the women’s Vic League 1 competition.

The Sharks warmed up for the finals with a 7-0 away win over West Vic in Ballarat on Saturday, sealing the match with a seven-minute, four-goal blitz early in the second half. Geelong finished the season a game clear of Mornington Peninsula with 14 wins, one draw and just one loss from 16 matches.

It now meets Mornington in the second semi-final at the State Hockey Centre next Sunday.

The winner earns a passage straight to the grand final while the loser will face a preliminary final showdown with the winner of the first semifinal between Powerhouse/St Kilda and Brunswick.

Geelong made a slow start on Saturday and led just 1-0 at halftime before turning things around after the break. “We were playing OK but we were that 10 or 15 per cent off, just missing passes or didn’t quite have the timing and things weren’t quite working for us,’’ coach Shane Walters said of the first half.

“We then structured up a little bit different in the front half of the ground and then the game really opened up for us and then (we scored) four goals in seven minutes at the start of the second half.’’

It was a fairly consistent performance across the field, with Eliza Flanagan, Emma Hatton and Ellen Chaplin among the better players.

The Geelong men finished their season in sixth place, dropping the final game 5-0, which saw West Vic snatch fourth place on the ladder.

Coach Dan Taylor said his team produced a reasonable effort against a quality side, directing plenty of praise on goalkeeper Ben Champion who saved multiple West Vic scoring chances.

Ben Basharuddin was Geelong’s best.