Newtown rules the finals
Coach full of praise for sport
NEWTOWN made a clean sweep of Geelong junior hockey finals at Stead Park on Saturday, taking all three titles on offer.
The King Lloyd Reservebased outfit started the day with a 3-2 under-12s win over Bellarine Lightning, then followed up with a 3-1 under-14 win over Golden Plains and finished by capturing the under-17 Barnes Shield with a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Torquay.
“It’s an accomplishment to make the finals and then to make the final round,’’ Newtown head coach Deb Barnett said.
“The season ends up being fairly long because you play teams over and over and over, but the finals have got a different feel to it.
“There’s parents and grandparents and extra fans, and just watching the captains have to talk (after the games), they did such a good job, all of them.
“It’s got that carnival feel to it which makes it special.’’
While one side stole the pennant limelight, the strength of local hockey was on display in the variety in opponents in the three finals, a fact not lost on Barnett, a former Canadian Olympian who moved to Geelong in 2013.
She has been impressed with the growth of the game locally where growing clubs like Torquay, Bellarine and Golden Plains have developed rapidly on the back of solid junior programs along with strong schools teams at Kardinia International and Geelong colleges.
“Success at junior level counts for everything,’’ Barnett said. “Your (club) presidents . . . they start out little and grow big, so it’s the same kind of thing.
“The future of your club depends on the strength of your juniors and it’s growing everywhere.’’
Barnett has been impressed with the development of facilities such as adding a second pitch at Stead Park, pointing to the Field of Dreams movie catchphrase “if you built they will come” as a reason for the game’s strength in Geelong. Kiah Bentley-Clough, Harry Bradbury, Brandon Budd.
Samual Larkins 2.
Kiah Bentley-Clough, Harry Bradbury, Brandon Budd, Imogen Clarke, Olivia Clarke, Teijai Craig, Adele Franke, Basyle Jalil, Luca Lorenzen, Mai Lorenzen, Patrick Macpherson, Sam Skuza, Lachlan Wood.