Several more pieces of the finals puzzle fell into place after the penultimate round of the Wimmera hockey regular season was played at Nhill on Saturday.
After thirteen weeks of Yanac and the Dimboola Roos matching each other win for win and goal for goal at the top of the Women’s ladder, the minor premiership finally appears to have been settled, and Nhill confirmed that they will play in the Open finals for the first time since 2019 with a win over the second-placed Warrack Hoops.
The lineups for the Under 16 finals remain a mystery with just one round remaining, as although the four teams to compete have been decided, the finishing order is still up in the air.
Women
The biggest game of the round was the battle for top spot on the Women’s ladder, which saw Dimboola hold off a late charge by Yanac to finally claim the minor premiership.
The hectic first quarter saw the Roos control marginally more of the play and take the lead with two goals, although Yanac scored one against the run of play to keep the margin at a manageable one goal at the first break.
Neither team added to the scoreline in a very even second quarter, but Dimboola took control with two more goals in the third period, establishing a comfortable lead that looked enough by the last break.
A late surge saw Yanac score twice in the last ten minutes to cut the margin to one, and although they maintained the pressure to the final whistle, they ran out of time to equalize, and the Roos took the win.
With this result, Dimboola has risen to the top of the ladder, but after such an intense hit-out in which neither team clearly dominated, a favourite for the premiership has not yet emerged.
Neither of the other two Women’s matches had any influence on the final placings, with the highlight of the fourth-placed Nhill Thunderbirds’ five-goal win over Warracknabeal being the guard of honour at the start of the game to celebrate Helen Cannell’s two hundredth game for the Nhill club.
Kaniva continued their preparations for the finals with a four-goal win over the Horsham Jets.
The only possible change remaining for the Women’s ladder from last round would be if Yanac defeated the Horsham Jets and Dimboola lost to Warracknabeal, then Yanac would claim top spot with a superior goal difference, but with both taking on a team from outside the top four, this is unlikely. Regardless of last round results, the semi-finals will feature the Dimboola Roos against Yanac, and Kaniva against the Nhill Thunderbirds.
Open
The Open competition featured two significant matches that have confirmed the semi-final matchups.
The Nhill Rangers will return to the finals for the first time in seven years after their second win of the season over the Warrack Hoops, who went into the game safe in second place on the ladder regardless of the result.
Single goals in each of the first and second quarters earned the Rangers a comfortable lead by half-time, and while the Hoops matched them for the remainder of the game, they could not get on the scorecard themselves. This result puts the Rangers in third place going into the last round, and even with a loss, they cannot finish any lower than fourth and will play in the first semi-final.
Last year’s vanquished grand finalists, the Horsham Hurricanes, will not have the opportunity to play in that game again this year after falling one goal short against the Kaniva Cobras, which has dashed their chances of a place in the final four. Both teams had their chances, and while the Hurricanes dominated the penalty corner count with ten to the Cobras’ four, it was the Kaniva team who made the most of their opportunities and finished with a two-goal-to-one victory that ensures they will play the Rangers in the first round of finals, while Horsham’s season will come to an end next week.
The Yanac Tigers had the bye and watched all the action, knowing they had already wrapped up the minor premiership and will play the Hoops in the other semi-final.
Under 16
Despite the closeness of the teams in the top four of the Under 16 competition, there were no positional changes after Saturday’s results, although the gap between first place and fourth place narrowed to just four points.
In a preview of a matchup that is almost certain to be repeated at some point during the final series, the Warrack Revengers and Nhill Leopards were neck and neck for the first half of their match, with a three-all scoreline at the middle break, and it was one goal in the third quarter that earned the Revengers the win after they both added one more each in the last. This was not the first high-scoring match these two have played this season, as when they have their best team on the field, they both feature potent attacking combinations that contribute to some very entertaining and skilful hockey.
After this result, the Nhill Leopards retain a tenuous grip on top spot, but the win keeps the third-placed Revengers within reach of a top two finish.
After a win over the Horsham Bombers, the Kaniva Raiders have drawn level on points with the Leopards, but remain in second place with a lower goal difference, which has set up a last-round battle for top spot between Kaniva and Nhill next week, while a win by the Yanac Warriors over the Dimboola Kangaroos has kept them in with a chance of a top two finish if everything falls into place for them next week.
Unfortunately, the Kangaroos and Bombers cannot reach the top four, but they could still influence the order the teams above them enter the finals.
Wimmera Hockey Association - Round Fourteen Results
Open
Nhill Rangers 2 (Goals - J Reichelt, R Reichelt; Best - J Reichelt, L Mills, J Knoll) defeated Warrack Hoops 0 (Best - S Schultz, R Bennett, H Knoop)
Kaniva Cobras 2 (Goals - L Krelle, C White; Best - L Krelle, A Wallis, C White) defeated Horsham Hurricanes 1 (Goal - P Mackereth; Best - C Hassall, J Hawke, P Mackereth)
Bye - Yanac Tigers
| | Pts | GD
| | Yanac Tigers | 44 | 27
| | Warrack Hoops | 34 | 1
| | Nhill Rangers | 24 | -9
| | Kaniva Cobras | 22 | -5
| | Horsham Hurricanes | 16 | -14
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Women
Nhill Thunderbirds 5 (Goals - K Clark 2, N Gill, N Rowe, R Clark; Best - C Shurdington, N Gill, K Clark) defeated Warracknabeal 0 (Best - E Williamson, E Bull, H Bentley)
Kaniva 4 (Goals - S Williams, I Dickinson, H Pearse, N Hutchins; Best - I Dickinson, L Stimson, H Beattie) defeated Horsham Jets 0 (Best - C Lawson, L Schilling, H Di Pietro)
Dimboola Roos 4 (Goals - B McMaster, E Baldock, A Askin-Klinge, C Elliott; Best - C Hadzig, C Elliott, R Hadzig, A Rintoule) defeated Yanac 3 (Goals - E Alexander, C Alexander, A Farmers; Best - E Alexander, A Farmers, A Zanker, H Zanker)
| | Pts | GD
| | Dimboola Roos | 50 | 59
| | Yanac Women | 46 | 67
| | Kaniva Women | 34 | 17
| | Nhill Thunderbirds | 26 | -5
| | Horsham Jets | 10 | -42
| | Warrack Women | 2 | -96
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Under 16
Warrack Revengers 5 (Goals - H Knoop 3, S Williamson 2; Best - H Knoop, S Williamson, N Eilola) defeated Nhill Leopards 4 (Goals - D Bee 2, B Cannell, B Clark; Best - B Clark, B Cannell, D Bee)
Kaniva Raiders 4 (Goals - D Stimson 2, R Williams, E Beattie; Best - R Doyle, D Stimson, R Williams) defeated Horsham Bombers 0 (Best - J Luy, K Besselaar, H Di Pietro)
Yanac Warriors 4 (Goals - H Zanker 3, Z Rethus; Best - H Zanker, A Zanker, N Pedie) defeated Dimboola Kangaroos 0 (Best - R Hadzig, C Elliott, R Williams)
| | Pts | GD
| | Nhill Leopards | 38 | 42
| | Kaniva Raiders | 38 | 11
| | Warrack Revengers | 36 | 11
| | Yanac Warriors | 34 | 13
| | Dimboola Kangaroos | 14 | -25
| | Horsham Bombers | 8 | -52
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Development Program
Nhill Bandits 9 (Goals - H Albrecht 2, M Chequer 2, M Marra 2, N Krelle 2, L Sutherland) v. Warrack Avengers 2 (Goals - S McFarlane, C Lawson)
Kaniva Rampagers 2 (Goals - A Curtis, E Beattie) v. Horsham Black Hawks 0
Yanac Lowan Stars 6 (Goals - M Dart 2, A Cramer 2, A Reichenbach, S Hedt) v. Dimboola Kookaburras 0
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