After their big Sutho v Sutho battle, our U11B Blue Tongues and Bearded Dragons united under the Sutho flag
Three senior Sutho teams will be playing in Grand Finals this weekend and two will navigate Qualifying Finals aiming to get to the Big One the following weekend.
Here’s the schedule:
South Easy Hockey Association Women’s Grand Final:
3rd grade Blue (Wildcats) take on Pohogs at 11am @ Kyeemagh on Saturday.
Sydney League Grand Finals:
6th grade take on Ryde at 2:20pm @ Olympic P2. Followed by
5th grade taking on St George at 4:05pm @ Olympic P2.
There’s major Sutho history there on P2: that’s where we beat Moorebank to win our first First Grade premiership. The Fabulous Fifths will feature its lineup of no less than five – count ’em – Rowling brothers! The Wonnie is bursting with pride!
Premier League Grand Qualifying Finals:
1st grade play at 4pm against UNSW @ Olympic. And to close out the day,
4th grade play at 5.45pm against Easts @ Cintra.
Men
Women
Sutho 1st grade 1 Cronulla RSL 3
#suthowomens Premier League sadly went down 3-1 to RSL in the Final this weekend. While the game was good, fast hockey, it wasn’t our day in the end.
The team were well prepared, engaged from the moment they arrived at the ground and had each other’s back throughout. Carrying forward the game plan we had worked on all season, with the extra aggression that finals hockey demands, the ladies knew what to do and, despite the nerves, were up for the contest.
The whole game was a good fight by both sides.
Lots of midfield play with both teams’ defence working hard to keep the ball from the circle.
Our #suthowomens team looked magnificent when passing clean, flat, stick to stick passes and were able to move the ball from defence to attack on both sides. We lacked the last pass and often threw the ball too far in front or away from our attack to put real pressure on the opposition goal and, up against a quality RSL side, we weren’t able to deliver.
The disappointment felt at the result is proportionate to the effort, belief and desire this team had to go all the way this season.
Our PL ladies can be very proud for the effort they have put in since early in the year, the way they came together as a team, how they turned up for each other when it mattered and finishing the season in the group of three teams who were far above the rest of the competition.
The club can be very proud of the future for all female players because of the standard set by this team this season.
A privilege and joy to coach – bring on 2019!
Sutho 3rd grade Wildcats
No report
Men
Sutho 1st grade 2 Moorebank 3 Pictures thanks to Craig Turner
At the end of 70 minutes normal game time the equally matched first and second ranked teams in the competition were also equal on the scoreboard at 2-2.
The game was not finished until two lots of extra time and both teams were down to seven players each under a drop-off system. Moorebank got one and went through to the grand final. We line up against University of NSW at 4 o’clock next Saturday afternoon to win the right to resume the battle for back-to-back premierships.
Matt Johnson and Cam Buesnel were our scorers.
Sutho 2nd grade 0 Sydney University 3 ELIMINATION FINAL
No report
Sutho 4th grade 3 Ryde 1 ELIMINATION FINAL
September 1…Spring is here and so are finals.
After managing to scrape into the finals in 6th place, our 4th grade team was to face the very consistent Ryde team we had played only three weeks previously. At that meeting, we came from 2 goals behind to run over the top of them finishing 4-2, so we were quietly confident that, if we played to our potential, we could overcome them again. The only doubt in our mind was the fact that since that game, we had endured two losses – so we needed to be on our game.
With a full team for the second time this season and our best training session under our belt, Moorebank turned on a beautiful spring day for our 12.30 pm game…which had a few of the more “seasoned” players on both sides lamenting the heat of spring. Fortunately – we also had plenty of young legs who were to prove unrelenting throughout the game.
Recognising our pre-game routine over the last few weeks had led to insipid starts, we focused our pre-game talk on this, our midfield marking and work rate and both attacking and defensive short corner executions. In front of a packed crowd on the hill, we got underway.
Improved composure
Immediately our improved composure and work rate was on display and the ball movement from both teams showed it would be an entertaining game.
After 3 mins, we transitioned from defence to attack with some good lateral passing which resulted in an attacking short corner. With our defined options, the battery lined up with Sean in the prime hitting position.
Going slightly rogue, he winked at the left post defender which totally rattled the entire Ryde defenders to the point that when CT injected the ball to Brady at the left of the battery, all the Ryde players ran out focusing entirely on Sean and the battery wondering where the ball had gone. The first time they saw the ball was as it passed in front of the keeper and rattled into the back of the goal….1-0!!!!
Our midfielders continued their excellent work rate which meant that although Ryde shared the possession stats, they were unable to enter our circle with any real control. Luke C was still called on to make a couple of good saves in general play, but they were from hits from the top of the circle as our defenders worked well to channel and protect the pass.
Our work on defensive short corners was tested only once in the first half with Luke C making a good save and the ball being cleared off his pads. With 5 mins to go in the first half, our composure and movement off the ball whilst in possession allowed Scott W a spare metre just outside to pass the ball into Mark “move your Patata” Bonnici on a short lateral lead inside the attacking circle and before anyone could react, he backsticked a half volley into the back of the net….2-0!!!
Pivot and press
The half time talk gave us the chance to reset and ensure that we continued to work on the basics. Brad and Jay passed on their observations that the strikers were working well together but needed to ensure they pivoted while working their press.
Not surprisingly – Ryde came out and pressed hard in the first 20 mins and started to win the battle to possess the ball. Despite this, the work rate from our strikers and midfield meant that our defenders were able to keep the Ryde strikers under wraps with only a couple of low percentage circle entries.
Their first short corner opportunity came due to an inadvertent foot on our part rather than their good work. Again our defence was good but they got a lucky rebound in and we were 2-1 with 15 minutes to go. You could tell from both supporter groups that the game was entertaining but stressful. With the bench calling for the team to hold the ball, Wiggo stopped everyone in their tracks when he cried out, “More talk Sutho, it’s quieter than a library!”
Fortunately within two minutes of them scoring, our strikers kept the ball pinned down in Ryde’s defensive third and Brady executed a beautiful tackle, beat two defenders and slipped the ball to Wiggo at the top of the circle who pushed it underneath the advancing keeper. 3-1!!!
You could see the deflation in the Ryde team at having worked so hard to get back into the game suddenly being two goals behind again. The last 10 mins flew past and we were able to execute much better control when we had the ball and dominated the game from then on.
This was an excellent team effort with equal contribution from everyone. Ryde were gracious in defeat and the game was played in good spirit meaning the Sutho Man song in the middle of the pitch was enthusiastic but controlled. The post-game talk was also positive but already focusing on next week’s semi final… how to continue our progression.
Well done…but job not completed yet!
Goals: Brady Machen 1, Mark Bonnici 1, Joshua Wiggins 1.
Sutho 5th grade last week went straight to the Grand Final
Sutho 6th grade 2 Briars 1 ELIMINATION FINAL
Well we do like doing things the hard way in 6th Grade.This was the qualifying semi and last time we played Briars we lost 7-1 so it was going to take a lot of improvement to make the Grand Final.
It did appear after 15 minutes when we went down 1-0 it seemed we were going to struggle to win this game but this team is made of sterner stuff.
We defended with great determination and scrambled well then 5 minutes before half time we got our first short corner of the game and Big Jack Mecham slotted it neatly in the near corner.
Then amazingly 2 mins later we had a strong left side attack which was picked up by Sean Ryan and brilliantly put away.
The second half was a very tense and torrid affair with lots of cards handed out and emotions overflowing on occasions but in the end scores stayed the same as half time a narrow but brave 2-1 victory.So we march on to play the undefeated Ryde in the Grand Final next week.
Metro
Sutho U17 4 Ryde 3 Thanks to Rory Staples for the pictures
A very even contest against an energetic and committed Ryde team.
Like all finals, the match intensity was a level above the regular season games, and that extra intensity tested our game.
There was never more than a one goal difference between the two teams – in fact the score was 3-3 with less than a minute of normal time remaining, and we were facing the prospect of sudden death extra time.
We had one final chance with a penalty corner awarded in the final seconds and fortunately that was enough of an opportunity to produce a Sutho win!
Next match: Grand Final in 2 weeks. Should be a cracker of a game!
Sutho U15 2 Briars 1
Sutho took on Briars on Friday night at Olympic Park in the major semi final.
We started the game OK but our marking at times was loose and allowed a lot of easy possession to Briars which gave them early some opportunities in the first half. They ended up scoring a field goal midway through the first half with a couple of players unmarked in the circle.
In the second half we picked up the speed of play and improved some of our marking and we started to get more possession and had some good ball movement.
We were able to win and convert a short corner off a Charlie Johnson hit and we scored again further into the match with a good 1 vs 1 contest in the midfield which lead to us getting the ball ahead into the circle for Harry Williams to convert a goal.
Briars come back at us late in the half and they were awarded a short corner right on full time. Our defence held on strong with good running out by Elliot and Angus to put pressure on their battery and we were able hold on for the win.
Well done to our team for tough-fought win: we now play in the Grand Final in a week’s time against either Briars or Ryde.
Juniors
U17 Blue Tongues 4 vs UNSW 3
The U17 Blue Tongues rocked up on a lovely Friday evening for our game out at Daceyville. With winter nearly over, you could almost hear the spring birds singing amongst the leaves … not!
Let’s just say that with 2 minutes to go before the game, the entire team was huddled under the not-so-effective UNSW dugouts, attempting to stay out of the gale force winds and horizontal rain.
Eventually the rain let up, and the Blue Tongues could take the field … well, all nine of them that had managed to make it before the storm hit. As the start whistle blew, a streak appeared down the sideline, and Josh, our knight in “wet” armour came to our rescue, and we managed to start the game with a whole 10 players! Our luck was beginning to turn.
With the rain subsiding, the first half turned into a gruelling match, with both teams making progress up the field before losing the ball and having to start again.
Eventually Sutho got up, managing to score two goals in the half, including, finally a deflection from Max, after having been “in-the-works” all season. Despite the coaches scheduling multiple training sessions on deflections, Max has always seemed to miss only those sessions.
However, two days before the game, he finally made it to a training session with deflections, and oh boy did it pay off. The half ended with Sutho up 2-1 (I think … my notebook ended up rather drenched, so the details are a little “smudged” to say the least).
With a fiery half time talk from the coaches attempting to warm up the players (let’s say it was for that reason anyway, and not out of frustration), the players took the field ready for the second half. With no subs, it was evident that everyone was getting rather tired on the field, making the game even more demanding than it had to be.
Despite this, we managed to score two more goals, and only conceded one, leaving the final score at 4-3. A massive effort was given by everyone on the field, especially by Lachie G for his diving goal line save to keep us in the game during the second half. Congratulations to the Blue Tongue players for an outstanding effort to get the win, in truly trying conditions.
Points: 3 Lachie “Too much Groundwater on the field” Groundwater (Credit to Brock from the Geckos for that one), 2 Sarah “Sez the Rock Johnson” Chapman and 1 Jack “I’m finally on the points board” Mecham.
Sutho U15A Geckos 6 St George Knights 0
With the Geckos sitting 3rd, we had the chance to jump ahead of Saints into 2nd with a win. It was also our last game before finals, with a bye next week in the last round.
As we sat in the Visitors change room pre-match, an unfamiliar sound got louder and louder – Rain! As we ran to the dugouts it got heavier and with a squally wind was blowing sideways into the dugouts. This restricted our warm up, but Saints didn’t even make it on the field prior to the game.
Just before the start, it was confirmed coach Brad had to umpire, so he quickly scribbled the interchanges down for Kylie. At least he got to test the waterproofing of his new Sutho spray jacket.
The Geckos started strongly, and after a few minutes toing and froing, our first major fast break saw Adrian cross to Luke on the left post for an expert tap in after the deflection off the defender. A few minutes later and again going forward on the fast break and Adrian expertly converted for an early 2-0 lead.
Midway through the first half, Oli made a tackle and came up holding a separate piece of his stick in each hand. Saints put pressure on with Oli off getting a new stick, but Sutho’s defence thwarted them, as they did repeatedly through the night.
Soon after, Sutho were counter-attacking again and Oliver smashed a rebound off the keeper up into the net, for a 3-0 lead. Adrian scored again, and Sutho took a 4-0 to halftime.
Brad was very happy with the effort. The tackling and passing in the midfield was awesome and the cover defence and scrambling in the circle was very good, with James solid in goals.
Our attack was going well, with our finishing on song. Only our turnovers from the back were a concern, and Brad reminded the team we came back from 3-0 down against them last time for 3-3 draw, so keep focused and running until the end.
Early in the 2nd half, with the rain now gone, Sutho earned a corner, and Tahlia expertly slotted the rebound off the keeper into the backboard. Late in the half, Macca playing at centre striker, was causing Saints havoc with his speed, and on one such foray beat three players through the middle to deftly slide the ball past the advancing keeper.
6-0. Most pleasing was the clean sheet. All our players had great games in such a result. Our forwards converted their chances, and the way we attacked was most encouraging. However, it was our pressure off the ball that made the difference, with Luke and Raina great out wide. Adrian had another excellent game that has seen him dominant in the last few weeks, and deserving of the 3 points.
Our midfield dominated against a very fast and skilful opposition. Zac Coles had a very strong game at left AM, with his speed and work rate off the pills constantly causing Saints turnovers. Tahlia and Shontae were extremely strong in the defensive middle, while Macca and Oli gave us so much work rate in the middle, both earning their teammates B&F votes.
The back 4 of Sean, Keeghan, Elliot and James were very solid. No goals against the team with the highest goals for was a good night’s work.
Next game in a fortnight is the semi against the same team for spot in the grand final, loser is done for 2018. This will be a much tougher game, so the mindset is hard work for the next two weeks!
Points: 3 Adrian, 2 Macca, 1 Oliver. Goals: 2 Adrian, 1 each to Luke, Macca, Oliver and Tahlia.
Sutho 15B Blue Tongues 1 Moorebank 4
The Blue Tongues had a great game against Moorebank on Saturday. The last game against Moorebank was lost 3 – 2 so the Blue Tongues were looking to get a win in over Moorebank leading up to finals season.
The first half of the game was spent equally up both ends of the field, but the Blue Tongues were able to get the first goal of the match and went into half time leading 1 – nil.
A strong Moorebank team went out on the field in the second half and they were able to get a few goals in to take the lead away.
Well done to the team. Great teamwork. Well done also to Ryan in goals!
Best and Fairest: 3 points Dominic, 2 Kaylah, 1 Holly.
Sutho Under 13A 3 Geckos Sharks 0
With semis only a couple of weeks away, this was an important game for the Geckos because at this stage it’s likely we will play the Sharks in our semi-final.
It soon became obvious though that the Sharks had stepped up their game since the last meeting of the teams – although that could also have been due to some new faces fielded by the Sharks – particularly an experienced goal keeper that saved many goal attempts with some very athletic saves.
Both teams controlled the ball well in the first half, with the Geckos having more circle penetrations, but unable to score a goal despite excellent lead up work. The new-improved Sharks team were playing defence very well and, despite our opportunities, the score was 0-0 at half-time.
The Geckos started the second half like they finished the first – creating opportunities, but unable to score due to some great work by the Sharks defence and goalkeeper.
Matty and Fletcher had created multiple chances, but we just could not find the back of the goal. And mid-way through the second half it seemed the Geckos ran out of attacking-puff, with the Sharks dominating for a 5 minute period with a number of attempts to penetrate the Geckos circle.
However the Geckos defence held firm, with some great tackling by Lily, Byron and Tom Bryden.
With time running a little tight, the Geckos soon sparked into action with three quick goals to put the result beyond doubt.
Matty led the charge with another barnstorming weaving run through the pack to have his shot blocked by the keeper – but he had presence of mind to pounce on the rebound and slot it in for our first goal.
Our second goal was an exhibition in short passing, with Sohan, Lachlan and Fletcher combining for some quick passes within the Sharks circle to eliminate the defence and goal keeper – a joy to see!
And our third goal followed some good lead-up work by the mids to get the ball to Tom de Soza who did a great draw and pass around the keeper to a perfectly positioned Lachlan to put the ball into the back of the goal (but to then be rammed into the goal himself by a diving goalkeeper – thankfully no injuries resulted).
It had been a good tough game against a defensive Sharks, but some good learnings for an expected semi-final clash. A special mention also to Noah who had to play in all three lines during the game – great to have these all-round skills available to fill the voids as needed. So a 3-0 win against the Sharks to secure the Minor Premiership – well done Geckos!
Best & Fairest: Sohan 2 pts; Bree 2 pts; Matty 2 pts. Scorers: Matty, Fletcher, Lachlan.
Sutho Under 13B Blue Tongues 3 UNSW 1
Today’s game was our best yet. We played the TOP team and came out in front with a 3 to 1 victory.
We think this puts us at the TOP of the ladder with only one round to go until the finals.
The whole team played really well with lots of passing out wide and some great shots for goal. Our defence was solid and dependable.
Best and fairest: 3 pts Myles Hanrahan, 2 Max Lewis, 1 Liv Coxsedge. Scorers: Finn Wille, Lachlan Duhne and Chris Goodman 1 goal each.
U13B Sutho Thorny Devils 4 Moorebank Blue 3. Thanks to Matt Morris for the pictures he contributed
‘Fourth Beats Third’ in this lead up match to the already secured finals spot with an excellent effort by the Thorny Devils today. We dominated the first half with the kind of play-making that we have worked on all season.
Our passing game has matured to the point where its effectiveness is evident, especially in attacking moves in the opponents D.
This kind of quick handoff play rattled the Moorebank defence today, placing us in a very strong 3-0 position half way through the game.
This deficit was not enough to dampen the Moorebank enthusiasm, as they came back stronger than ever in the second half, knocking in 3 goals to our 1 in the remainder of the game, leaving us with a narrower than expected winning margin at 4-3.
Nathaniel continues to grow in confidence and determination on the field with some solid tackles in defence, bolstered by some very dynamic saves from Mylo in the goalkeeping role today, saving several certain goals, and showing that he has the ‘right-stuff’ for this demanding job.
Jana has come to be known as our insurance policy in defence, being ever present to deny attacks from the opposition, and convert them into game changing events.
Amelia has become very hard to beat in 50/50 challenges, and came away with the ball more often than not to keep Sutho in attack.
Ethan is showing poise and composure in the front seat, working well with the forwards, and making unselfish passes that are putting points on the board for Sutho.
Josh played another good game, getting in tighter in defensive plays, and running into space well. The mid field also benefited from the strong influence of Bailey, with his strong trap and delivery of the ball to players in space to maximise our forward press.
Although it was a win, it shows that there is no space for complacency in these last games, and certainly not in the finals.
Hunger and effort will inevitably be the defining ingredients for victory as the season matches come to a close, leaving the top of the ladder to battle it out in the finals.
Go Sutho!!
Best and fairest: 3 pts Kai Morris, 2 pts Mylo Collins, 1 pt Jack Treharne. Scorers: Jack Treharne 2, Ethan Locke 1, Nicholas Cullen 1.
Sutho Under 11A Geckos 6 v Glebe
U11A – Geckos 6, Defeated Glebe Back 0
With a full team ready and raring to play our last round game (due to a bye next week), we started off with a bang after a “switched on” warm up.
It looks like Glebe Back will be joining us for our semi-finals game in a couple of weeks, so we had a great opportunity to try and gauge their measure.
We’ve been working on a few set plays during training and they seemed to work on game day. Player’s Player was a terribly hard vote this week as everyone could have earned the points with magnificent efforts all over the field.
The 6-0 was a true reflection on the type of game standard that we’re playing at the moment, and with only a couple of training sessions to go, let’s not take our foot of the pedal.
As a proud coach, I’m stoked to announce that over the whole season, we have scored 54 goals, and had only 7 scored against us.
A goal difference of 47 is a result achievement that any team would be elated with. I daresay that we can now lock in the Minor Premiership with 34 point, and our nearest rivals are 21 points (pending next weeks’ results).
Not wanting to jinx our imminent finals, I thought it was important to acknowledge the team’s efforts.
Go Geckos!
Players Player: Josh 3, Milan 2 and Amy 1. Goals: Josh 3, Amy 1, Archie 2.
Sutho U11B Bearded Dragons 4 Sutho Blue Tongues 0
It was time! Round 14 had been pencilled into everyone’s diaries for many weeks. The battle against the might of the Sutho Blue Tongues, and the last opportunity for canteen duty. Tensions were high!
The Bearded Dragons got the tussle they expected in the first half. Up and down the field, both teams were locked in a battle that had Sutho supporters on the hill agitated, sausage sandwiches in hand.
It took a brilliant short corner, straight from the playbook, for Thomas and Lachlan to break the deadlock. Emily then pounced on a loose ball, and instinctively followed her first strike to score on the rebound. 2-0 at half time. The coaches were proud of the skills on display.
The second half was just as evenly matched, although Dominic was keenly starting to assert himself in the middle. Jack soon took advantage to put another ball past the bollards. Dominic continued to demonstrate his fitness, and was rewarded for his persistence with a great goal.
The Blue Tongues continued to throw everything at the Bearded Dragons, but some great traps and sideline passes at the back edge from Bethany kept them at bay.
In true Sutho spirit, the teams gathered after the game in the clubhouse for a combined photo, and some refined sugary treats.
What a joy it is to watch our Under 11Bs enjoying their hockey, developing their skills, and creating friendships. Be sure to catch some of the finals action in the coming weeks.
Best and fairest: 2pts each Dominic Lenzo, Riley de Soza, Jack Margetson. Scorers: Thomas, Emily, Jack, Dominic
Sutho U11B Blue Tongues 0 Sutho U11 Bearded Dragons 4
After a tough game in the previous round,the Blue Tongues came into this weekend in fourth place and looking to improve on last week’s game.
Unfortunately we were beaten by the Sutho Bearded Dragons who played very well. Though we lost the game it was a huge improvement on last week.
There was great energy from all our players, even at the end of the game at 4-0 we kept pushing for a goal. Huge effort from everyone.
Best and fairest: 3 points Georgia, 2 points Jude, 1 point Ava.
