Underdogs up for battle
sean.teuma@thechronicle.com.au
HOCKEY: Two teams are out to end the status quo as Toowoomba Hockey’s COVID Cup reaches a conclusion tonight.
Red Lion has clinched the past two men’s A1 titles, ending a run of five-successive premierships from Newtown.
Now the Tigers have their sights set on clawing back the ascendancy in their favour, with coach David Jago banking on the club’s youth.
“We’re looking forward to the game. It’s a good way to finish off the year,” Jago said.
“We’ll enjoy the contest. We’re still going with the same plan of giving our younger players some experience in first grade.
“They’ve done that fairly successfully and now they’ll get the opportunity to play in a final.”
Red Lion has been victorious in both encounters en route to an unbeaten regular season, and while Jago acknowledges they will enter the game as favourites, he said he has faith his side has what it takes to cause an upset.
“They’re the form team of the competition and they deserved to finish the regular season undefeated,” he said.
“Stranger things have happened though. We’ve been the recipient of that over the years. All it takes is the bounce of the ball or the rub of the green.
“We’ve got the tools to give them a scrap and be competitive.
“We’ll look to force some pressure around their defence and try to set up some good opportunities, and hopefully come away with positive outcomes.”
No matter the result, Jago said he is pleased they have been able to get a full season away.
“Holistically, it’s good to be back playing hockey,” he said.
“It looked for a while like we might have been struggling to get a season going.
“But to have been playing for the last 10 weeks, the boys have thoroughly, both playing and the social aspect of being around mates and getting outside.”
PAST HIGH HUNTS RANGEVILLE’S WIN STREAK
Rangeville has been top dog in the women’s ranks for the past three seasons, completing their hat-trick of A1 titles last year.
However Past High has been nipping at their heels, and with the right blend of youth and experience, are ready to strike at the right time.
Attacking prowess has been a major part of the side’s success in 2020, and coach Bernie Fox said he hopes that can continue when it matters the most.
“The fact we’ve got strikers scoring goals is a big bonus,” Fox said.
“We’ve scored the most goals, and we’ll be looking to continue that.”
Fox is all too aware of the dangers presented by Rangeville, and knows they will be out to fire after Past High claimed their last encounter in round nine.
“It’s a different team we’ll be playing,” he said.
“They will welcome back two of their better players in Tatum Stewart and Katie Wollstein, and they’ll be fired up.
“There are some concerns with some of our team travelling to Townsville for Darling Downs (school hockey). They might be a bit flat, but we should have a full team.
“It would be a pretty special win. Everyone has worked hard and I think we can take confidence from that last win and hopefully go on with that.”