After two years of COVID affected hockey, there was much anticipation and excitement from all our returning and new players in 2022.
The men’s First Grade competition returns with the same structure as 2021, a four-team competition.
Royals Clocktower have started well with a tightly contested draw against City Bears Village Green in the first round, followed up with a comfortable 5-1 win over Barbs Hagars in round 2. Jetty Jets also started well with a 3-0 win over Barbs in the first round. The second-round game of Jets versus Bears was deferred due to state representative duties.
City Bears Village Green have regrouped to enter a team in the women’s First Grade competition in 2022. This brings the competition back to a 5-team competition. Most of the teams have played without state representatives, who are currently competing in various locations around the country.
Coffs Crusaders & Sailors Roches have both started strongly with a win in the first round but were unable to be split in their head-to-head match on Saturday, finishing 0-0.
Barbs Helgas and McAuley White both have plenty of new faces in their teams this season and played an enjoyable evenly matched game on Friday night, with Barbs capitalising on a couple of lapses in the McAuley defence, finishing with 2 goals. McAuley created some good chances in the second half of the match, but were unable find the net, with Barbs taking the win 2-0.
The reformed Bears had a tough first round against Coffs Crusaders, going down 2-0, but will no doubt prove a tough opposition as they start to gel again as a team.
While the ongoing field closures have had an impact, all grades in juniors, men’s and women’s have managed to get in at least one game.
Our new Saturday Junior League has been impacted due to weather and volunteer availability, but we look forward to seeing lots of keen youngsters having a hit when it starts on April 30. All competitions will have the Easter weekend off, with Seniors returning on the weekend April 22-24, and juniors back the following week. There are still plenty of teams with space for new or returning players, through all levels of competition, juniors and seniors. Contact GHA or check the posts on GHA Facebook to find out more.
Angie Day