WA Advance in Men’s and Women’s AHL Campaigns

Published On: 7 October 2014

Kathryn Slattery pictured playing for the Jillaroos - scored a hattrick for WA in the 2014 AHL to help the Diamonds' to a 7-0 win over Tasmania

A 7-0 thrashing of Tasmania has seen the WA Diamonds secure a semi finals place in the 2014 AHL competition in Brisbane.

A hattrick to WAIS athlete Kathryn Slattery set the scene for a comprehensive WA win, that sees the Diamonds move to the top of the Pool B ladder and earn passage through to the semi final cross overs.

Slattery struck her first goal in the sixth minute before netting a second, two minutes later. The Tasmanians fought hard for the next half hour, before a goal to Jemma Buckley broke their resistance.

WAIS athlete Caitlin Pascov converted a field goal in the 41st minute to end any hopes of a comeback before further goals to Jess Esslemont (44th) and WAIS athlete Penny Squibb (48th) stretched WA’s advantage to six goals. Slattery completed her hattrick in the 59th minute to round out a 7-0 win for the WA outfit.

The win took the Diamonds to six points having bounced back from an opening 2-0 defeat to NSW, with a 4-1 win over South Australia. At the time of publish, it was still uncertain who WA would face in the crossover.

In the men’s AHL in Adelaide, the WA Thundersticks have also qualified for the semi finals of the 2014 edition, despite a 1-0 defeat to Victoria in their final Pool B match.

WA opened their campaign with a 3-1 win over the Northern Territory, with goals to WAIS scholarship holders Aran Zalewski, Chris Bausor and Craig Boyne. Jeremy Hayward netted a late consolation for NT.

The Thundersticks sealed their top two aspirations courtesy of a thrilling 3-2 win over NSW in an end to end contest that saw the Waratahs twice peg back WA leads, before a decisive Ben Ashford goal in the 51stminute eventually earned the win.

Craig Boyne gave the Thundersticks the lead, before Jack Hayes cancelled it out. Chris Bausor converted a penalty corner in the 12thminute only to see Blake Govers equalise in the 19th minute of a frenetic opening to a classic AHL clash.

Despite both teams having opportunities to take the win, it was Ashford’s field goal in the fourth quarter that proved enough to end NSW’s title aspirations and ensure WA’s progression to the next round.

WA was denied a perfect record and top spot in Pool B after a tight 1-0 loss to Victoria, with a second quarter field goal to Josh Pollard enough to claim bragging rights for the Vikings.

The Thundersticks will play Tasmania in the crossovers after the Apple Isle outfit upset tournament favourites Queensland in the pool rounds to claim top spot.