Yanac backs up triple hat-trick
Yanac completed a dominant season in Wimmera Hockey Association, winning all three grand finals on offer at the weekend.
The club extended its outstanding premiership run, securing six titles in two seasons, after action at Warracknabeal’s Anzac Park on Saturday.
Record books will show that after becoming the first club to win Open, Women’s and Under-16 premierships in the same season last year, Yanac followed it with a repeat in 2019.
The reality is that its teams had to endure three tough finals to write a new chapter in the competition’s history.
Two games went into extra time and another was decided in a penalty-stroke shootout.
For the 10th time in 14 seasons, Yanac Tigers and Warrack Hoops clashed to decide an Open premiership.
For more than 70 minutes neither team could gain the advantage on the scoreboard, with the Hoops marginally ahead in possession and control of the ball but unable to breach the strong Tigers defence.
Yanac also failed to elude Hoops defenders at the other end of the field.
In extra time, the Hoops still looked promising and put the ball into the net only to have the umpire judge the shot too high from the first hit at goal from a penalty corner.
Minutes later the Tigers found their
penalty-corner form and broke the deadlock, which they extended to two goals before the break in extra time.
In an attempt to peg back the deficit the Hoops subbed off their goal keeper and chose to continue with 11 field players to bolster their attack.
When they earned another penalty corner with seconds remaining, the Hoops conceded they had run out of time and the Tigers began celebrating their 17th premiership.
For the second consecutive season, Tigers’ captain Todd Alexander received a life member best on ground medal, while Jamie Harding and Jasper Croot were Yanac’s best players.
For the Hoops, best players were Cameron Bardell, key forward Royce Bennett and Ethan Schilling.
Women
Dimboola Roos and Yanac went into the women’s grand final evenly matched.
Dimboola took an early lead with a goal to the competition’s leading goal scorer Adina King, and preserved the advantage into a half-time break.
Another goal to King early in the second half doubled the advantage.
As the game drew to a close, late goals to Mikayla Farmers and Carmel Beattie of Yanac levelled the scores and took the game into extra time.
The tempo of the contest increased but neither team could score. A penalty-stroke shootout was required to decide a winner.
The first striker for each team failed to score, and in the second round a successful strike by Mikayla Farmers was unmatched by the Roos and Yanac took the lead.
Both Shanaye Alexander of Yanac and Dimboola’s Elizabeth Klinge found their mark in the third round of strokes which kept Yanac ahead, but Dimboola was still in the game.
Both fourth-round strokes were unsuccessful, and when Yanac’s fifth striker Natalie Harding scored, they took an unbeatable lead.
Dimboola’s Jennifer Klinge was best player and received the Jane Gregson memorial medal.
Erin Alexander at centre half back for Yanac, and her opposite number Elizabeth Klinge, did not disappoint and were among their team’s best.