AHL Set for Action
The 2018 Australian Hockey League (AHL) commences this weekend with the return of a month-long home-and-away format.
Australian Hockey’s elite domestic competition consists of three rounds played in every capital city before the finals weekend takes place on the Gold Coast from Thursday 25 October to Sunday 28 October.
This year’s AHL includes rule modifications and innovations that will see conversion goals, PumpPlays and the removal of draws, with tied matches decided by penalties.
The 2018 AHL will be the final edition of the competition before a revamped league is launched next year.
The two pools are SA, NT, Victoria and WA (Pool A) and Canberra, NSW, Queensland and Tasmania (Pool B) across both women’s and men’s divisions.
Round One sees the AHL return to Sydney, Hobart, Adelaide and Darwin, with the competition reverting from its previous centralised carnival format.
The opening round starts with Pool B on Saturday with a blockbuster State Of Origin clash with star-studded line-ups for NSW Arrows and Waratahs and Queensland Scorchers and Blades from 2pm (women’s) and 4pm (men’s) at Sydney Olympic Park.
On Saturday evening, Tassie Van Demons and Tigers host Canberra Strikers and Lakers at the Tasmanian Hockey Centre from 5:30pm (women’s) and 7:15pm (men’s).
Pool A commences on Sunday as SA Suns and Hotshots entertain WA Diamonds and Thundersticks at Adelaide’s State Hockey Centre from 2pm (women’s) and 3:45pm (men’s).
The round concludes on Sunday evening when the NT Toshiba Pearls and SRA Stingers welcome the reigning champions, Victoria Vipers and Vikings, from 5pm (women’s) and 6:45pm (men’s) at Marrara Hockey Centre.
SA Suns v WA Diamonds, Sunday 7 October 2pm (ACST), State Hockey Centre, Adelaide
Two-time winners SA Suns will be without young talent Miki Spano, but welcome ex-AHL MVPs Karri McMahon and Jane Claxton and Hockeyroos keeper Ash Wells. Chile international Mariana Lagos is recruited after playing in the WA Premier League with North Coast Raiders.
The Diamonds, who haven’t won the AHL since 2010, won’t have Georgia Wilson throughout the AHL due to a year-long knee injury, but there’s no shortage of young talent including Aleisha Power, Renee Rockliff and Shanea Tonkin.
SA: Jane Claxton (c), Holly Evans, Celeste Foord, Emily Grist, Amy Hunt, Euleena MacLachlan, Karri McMahon (c), Ashleigh Morrison, Alison Penington, Hattie Shand, Lucy Talbot, Leah Welstead, Ashlee Wells (gk), Mariana Lagos
WA: Phillipa Morgan, Candyce Peacock, Jemma Buckley (c), Shanea Tonkin, Penny Squibb, Kathryn Slattery, Rachel Frusher, Roos Broek, Caitlin Pascov, Annie Gibbs, Aleisha Power (gk), Renee Rockliff, Line Malan, Erin Judd (gk), Sienna Archer, Sara Foster, Danielle Bestall, Sage Rogers-Uff
SA Hotshots v WA Thundersticks, Sunday 7 October 3:45pm (ACST), State Hockey Centre, Adelaide
Lachlan Busiko is unavailable for the Hotshots as he’s away in Malaysia with the Burras, but SA are boosted by international pair Sijbrand Bolhuis and Lee Dong-Hyung.
Ten-time AHL champions WA have their own list of absentees due to the Sultan of Johor Cup, including Alec Rasmussen, Liam Flynn, Matthew Fisher, Brayden King and Coby Green, while SA-born Kookaburras forward Tom Wickham is out with a calf injury.
SA: William Abbott, Sijbrand Bolhuis, Simon Brown, Scott Germein, Brodie Gleeson, Fred Gray, Ross Hetem, Lee Dong-Hyung, James Keeves, Luke Larwood, Andy Leat, Daniel Mitchell, Alastair Oliver, Glyn Tamlin, Michael Wells (gk), Cameron White, Kurtis Willson
WA: Jason Gabriel, Tim Geers, Jake Harvie, Frazer Gerrard, Marshall Roberts, Tyler Lovell (gk), Coby Green, Graeme Begbie, Will Byas, Dane Gavranich, Daniel Robertson, Bryn De Bes, Aran Zalewski, Brandon Gibbs, Joshua Bowen, James Richardson (gk), Joseph Kenny
– Hockey Australia | www.hockey.org.au