Grassports Junior Country Championships Wrap-up

The 2022 Grassports Junior Country Championships have been run and won.

Forty-four regional teams converged on Melbourne over the weekend of the 14th and 15th May to compete across the six divisions. The standard of Hockey displayed across the weekend was wonderful and it all culminated in some incredibly close finals.

Under 13 Boys

After 5 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss each in the pool matches Glenelg and Hockey Ballarat were drawn to take on each other in the Gold Medal Match of the Under 13 Boys. Having scored 25 and 26 goals respectively it seemed likely to be a high scoring affair. Both teams displayed great desperation and defended really well. Hockey Ballarat were able to break the deadlock and that goal proved the decisive one, as they reversed the result of the pool match between these two teams and took home the gold medal.

Congratulations to North Central as well, who finished in 3rd position overall.

Under 13 Girls

After progressing through the pool matches undefeated, Glenelg secured a spot in the Gold Medal Match. While North Central (2nd) and Hockey Geelong (3rd) battled to secure a spot in the final against Glenelg. That match was incredibly close with neither team giving an inch, but Hockey Geelong were able to score the only goal for the match and lock in a position in the Final.

Glenelg were looking to go back-to-back and their experience of having played in the final last year was evident. Both teams played some excellent hockey and what was a really exciting final, but Glenelg clinched victory 2-0 and took home a second consecutive gold medal in the Under 13 Girls.

Congratulations to North Central who defeated Sunraysia 3-0 in the 3rd Place Play-off.

Under 15 Boys

In the Under 15 Boys, we saw two incredibly close semi-finals. North Central (White) drew with Goulburn Valley 1-1, but as they were the higher ranked team they progressed and then West Gippsland prevailed 1-0 over Hockey Ballarat.

Those results pointed to the Gold Medal Match being a close affair and it could not have been any closer. At the conclusion of regular time, the teams could not be split and therefore we headed to a shoot-out. Both teams did a fantastic job in the shootout but ultimately it was North Central (White) who claimed victory and took home the Gold Medal.

Congratulations to Hockey Ballarat who defeated Goulburn Valley 2-1 in the 3rd Place Play-off.

Under 15 Girls

In the semi-finals of the Under 15 girls we saw Hockey Ballarat and Hockey Geelong do battle, as well as North Central and Sunraysia. Hockey Geelong and North Central showed their goal scoring ability and were able to progress with 4-0 and 3-0 wins respectively.

When they met early in the tournament, North Central claimed a very close 1-0 victory. So unsurprisingly the Gold Medal Match was a very hard-fought match, with both teams being very resolute in defence. Like their previous encounter, North Central were able to score and take home the Gold Medal with a 1-0 victory. This completed the Under 15 double for North Central, a wonderful achievement.

Congratulations to Hockey Ballarat who defeated Sunraysia 2-1 in the 3rd Place Play-off.

Under 18 Boys

After wins in the respective semi-finals, Hockey Central Vic and Hockey Geelong faced off in the Gold Medal Match. Both were undefeated leading into the Gold Medal Match, so it was set up to be a great match.

Hockey Central Vic were aiming to go back-to-back and started the match ferociously, showing no sign of nerves. They took the early lead with a couple of great goals and carried on that form throughout the match. Hockey Geelong fought hard and did manage to get one back, but Tyler Green sealed the win late in the second half with a wonderful goal (his fourth for the match) and Hockey Central Vic were the winners 4-1! 

Congratulations also to Hockey Ballarat who won the third place play off 2-0 over Glenelg.

Under 18 Girls

We saw some truly dramatic scenes in the Under 18 Girls, with the result of the last pool match set to decide who would meet West Gippsland in the Gold Medal Match. Quite unbelievably, following that last pool match Goulburn Valley and Hockey Ballarat were tied for second place with exactly the same number of points, wins, goal difference, goals for, goal against and they even drew their match against each other 1-1. This meant, a shoot-out had to take place to split them.

True to form, they were even following the first round of five shootouts each. Hockey Ballarat were able prevail in sudden death to take on West Gippsland in the Gold Medal match.

In the Pool Matches, West Gippsland had not conceded a goal and were in some wonderful form. That continued into the final and despite a really valiant effort from Hockey Ballarat, West Gippsland prevailed 3-0 to take home the Gold Medal.

Congratulations to not only to the teams that made it into the Gold Medal matches, but all of the teams that competed in the Event. The level of play and sportsmanship were wonderful across the whole weekend.

Results

To recap all the results from the weekend please click here. 

Event Officials

A huge thank you to all the officials involved in the Event, from the Umpires, volunteers on the Tech Bench through to the Tournament Directors and Umpires Managers for their tireless work across the course of the weekend.  Special mention to the wonderful Tournament Directors and Umpire Managers below:

Finally, thank you to the following:

• The Greensborough and Footscray Hockey clubs and all their volunteers for hosting the Event, we really appreciate your efforts and you did a wonderful job in welcoming the regional associations to your venues.
• Melbourne Sports Centres Parkville (State Hockey Centre) for hosting as well, it was great to see the venue buzzing on the weekend and it was the first outdoor hockey event we have held there since the redevelopment.
• Phoenix First Aid for covering all three venues across the weekend.  
• Andrew Wiseman for his photography at the State Hockey Centre on Sunday (keep an eye on our socials for some photos this week).
• Man Lift Hire and Cluch for making it possible to live stream some of the Events. Head to livehockey.com.au to watch the replays.
• Grassports Australia, our wonderful sponsor for supporting the Event. Head to https://www.grassports.com.au/ for all your synthetic grass and hardcourt sports surface needs.
• Last but not least, thank you to all the JCC Coordinators, coaches, team managers and parents from each association. We really appreciate all the work you put in to make it possible for the teams to attend the Event!