Juniors off to state championships
All grades of Wimmera Hockey Association competition have a bye this weekend as the cream of underage players travel to Melbourne to participate in Victorian Junior Country Championships.
Wimmera competition will resume the following weekend when round four will be shared between Kaniva and Yanac venues.
Kaniva will host Warracknabeal in all four divisions, while the Dimboola, Horsham, Nhill and Yanac teams will play the remaining games at Yanac.
In round three, Nhill Rangers continued to impress as their undefeated start in open division extended into round three, with a scoreless draw against last year’s grand finalists, Warrack Hoops.
The Nhill open-division team is reaping the rewards for its perseverance during the past few seasons when it struggled from week to week to even field a side.
The team has now recorded one win and two drawn games in the first three rounds, putting it in the unfamiliar position of outright second on the ladder and preparing for a top-ofthe-ladder clash with Yanac Tigers next round.
Leading players for Nhill at the weekend included Mont Miller and
Sam Bone, and for the Hoops it was Cameron Bardell at fullback and Kevin Mills on the forward line.
Yanac Tigers maintained their undefeated run when they overcame a spirited Dimboola Burras 2-0.
Goals to best-on-ground Nathan Alexander and his brother Shaun Alexander made up the Tigers’ two-goal score line, while Tim Jorgensen provided his usual pace on the forward line and Daniel Danish impressed in defence for the Burras.
Horsham Hurricanes had their first win for the season when they scored three goals to defeat Kaniva Cobras who could only find the net once.
Regular top performer Paul Mackereth was among the Hurricanes’ leading players as well as scoring one of their goals, with Will Gulline and Tom Roberts scoring the other two.
Women
The game that attracted the most interest in round three of the women’s competition was the first meeting of 2018 grand finalists Yanac Women and Dimboola Roos this season, with Yanac Women again finishing ahead.
The ball spent much of the game in Yanac’s half of the field and despite some solid defence by the Roos it was only a matter of time before the reigning premiers found the goals.
Nhill Thunderbirds kept the pressure on the top two teams with a three-goal win over Warrack Women. Kaniva Women fill the last place in the top four, after they outlasted Horsham Jets to win by three goals to one. Results – Open: Yanac Tigers 2 (goals, N. Alexander, S. Alexander; best, N. Alexander, J. Cramer, T. Alexander) d Dimboola Burras 0 (T. Jorgensen, D. Danish, B. Tischler); Nhill Rangers 0 (M. Miller, S. Bone, B. Miller) drew with Warrack Hoops 0 (C. Bardell, K. Mills, S. Schultz); Horsham Hurricanes 3 (P. Mackereth, W. Gulline, T. Roberts; S. Trigg, P. Mackereth, D. Pumpa) d Kaniva Cobras 1 (J. Hendy; L. Mills, D. Cole, A. Wallis). Women: Nhill Thunderbirds 3 (E. Murden 2, S. Allen; E. Murden, E. Farquharson, C. Kessler) d Warrack Women 0 (K. Krahe, D. Rigby); Kaniva Women 3 (L. Stimson 2, H. Beattie; O. Williams, N. Hutchins, J. Wallis) d Horsham Jets 1 (L. Schilling; L. Schilling, R. Creek, M. Middleton); Yanac Women 3 (S. Alexander, H. Honeyman, N. Harding; E. Alexander, S. Hedt, C. Beattie) d Dimboola Roos 0 (B. Mcmaster, N. Kuhnell, C. Hadzig). Under-16: Yanac Warriors 9 (Ca. Zanker 2, M. Farmers 2, J. Croot 2, Ch. Zanker 2, A. Zanker; M. Farmers, Ca. Zanker, A. Farmers) d Dimboola Kangaroos 0 (T. Krelle, M. Reichelt, T. Bamford); Nhill Leopards 6 (I. Deckert 2, C. Koop 2, T. Mcbride 2, L. Mcbride; L. Mcbride, I. Deckert, K. Clark, T. Mcbride) d Warrack Revengers 1 (B. Williamson; B. Williamson, T. Engelbrecht, A. Mills, N. Eilola); Kaniva Raiders 3 (M. Goodwin 2, I. Williams; M. Goodwin, I. Williams, E. Dixon) d Horsham Bombers 2 (J. Crookford, A. Koch; L. Simmons, S. Foot, T. Batchelor).