Rovers and Cardinals carry championship form with opening round wins

Hockey action is back in Geraldton with round one seeing the A-grade premiers Rovers and Cardinals carry their form into the 2024 season with big wins.

Friday night saw the A-grade reigning premiers get off to a dominant start in a 5-1 win over the combined Australs/Yacht-Club team.

James Van Niftrik was too much for the opposing side as he bagged a hat-trick in the opening match, with Tyler Allen and Kye McVee adding scores of their own.

While the Casuals began their season with a win as well, as they proved too good for the Saints in the 3-1 contest.

The runner-ups in last year’s grand final came out with the strong win, as Brent Allen, Lachlan Camerer and Kieran Marsden all scored during the contest, while Owen Heitman was the Saints’ lone scorer.

In the women’s A-grade action, Cardinals look primed to run the league again as the reigning champions began their quest for a ninth straight title with a 7-1 win over the Swans.

The side looks to be too good with Sharnee Williamson scoring a hat-trick and Jessica Giudice-Nairn accounting for two goals, with both of Erin Ralph and Mikala Van Niftrik scoring one each. Pippin Holmes scored the Swans goal in the loss.

Following the Cardinals big win, Yacht Club swept up with a 3-0 victory over Murchison, who had no response for Lucy Chester’s two goals and Chloe Jackson’s score.

While the other women’s game saw just one goal come from Bridget Parker in the Saints 1-0 win over the Australs.

In the men’s reserves, the clash between Australs and Saints ended in a 4-4 draw, while Casuals took down Rovers 2-0 and Yacht Club got up over Murchison 3-2.

The action began on Thursday with the women’s reserves, as Yacht Club Gold took down Murchison 4-0 with two coming from Taylor Beros, Australs beat Vets 3-0, Cardinals got up over Yacht Club Blue 1-0 and Saints dominated the Swans 7-1.