Saturday September 9 will see a huge line up of junior hockey grand finals to be played at the Grafton Hockey Complex.
After 2 years of no finals due to COVID restrictions, there will be some very excited and nervous players taking to the turf on Saturday.
Div 2 girls open the day at 10am with Minor Premiers McAuley Magic taking on Royals Shenanigans. McAuley Magic have been the dominant team throughout the season, but Royals are coming off the back of a strong performance in the final, so expect to see them put up a good fight in this grand final.
Image: GHA
Div 1 girls, Minor Premiers, Sailors Thunder will face a determined McAuley Mixtures. These teams have played each other 13 times this season, so should know each other’s games inside out. The odds favour Sailors but McAuley have the potential to pull off an upset in their game at 11.20am.
Sailors Mariners and Royals Raiders will meet in Under 11 boys at 12.40. These teams played the major semi-final, with Royals just scraping through with a 3-2 win, so expect another very tight game that could go either way.
Under 13 boys will hit off at 2pm, with another Sailors v Royals game. Royals Rangers won the major semifinal to secure their spot in the grand final. Sailors Skippers had to play off against clubmates Sailors Voyagers in the final to secure their grand final spot. Head-to-head in the round games have been pretty close, with a draw the last time they met. There are lots of talented players on both sides, but it will be the team that can maintain a good passing game that will take the win.
The headliner match for the day will be the Under 16 Premier League (mixed) with Royals Jets taking on City Bears at 3.20. These teams have played 3 times in the round games, with a win each, so this will be a hard-fought match and spectators can be guaranteed some high quality fast paced hockey.
Good luck to all the players and officials participating on Saturday and thank you to all the volunteers behind the scenes who make our junior hockey competition run so smoothly. Make sure you head down to the hockey on Saturday and enjoy the day.
Angie Day