Wow what a week for our junior teams playing in the Maitland Competition.

The U10 Grand Final saw both our teams competing. The Cougars were unbeaten and the Wildcats had gone on a winning run in the secodn half of the season to sneak into the semi finals, and then blitz thier opponents to qualify for the Grand Final. In a game that was exciting for the players and the spectators, it was the Cougars who prevailed to claim the title. Both teams deserve huge applause for their achievements and its a massive boost for the club to so many talented kids playing our sport. Excellent job kids, stay tuned for details about Presentation Day.

The U13's secured 4th spot with a 4-2 win over Maitland Joeys. Whoever won this game qualified for the finals, so it was quite a tense affair in the first half but the Cougars stepped it up in the second half and went on to register the win. They will play Norths in thier Semi Final Wednesday night. Good luck!

Well what a week.

On Wednesday both U10 teams qualified for the Maitland Hockey Association U10 Grand Final and will play each other from 5pm this Wednesday at the Maitland Park turf. Good luck kids!!!!

Then on Sunday, the Cougars and Wildcats finished 1st and 2nd respectively in the annual Maitland Junior Carnival, the only teams from the Maitland competition to perform so well in any age groups. At the end of the days proceedings both teams had gone unbeaten, and had the same points, wins, losses, draws and goal difference. Only 1 goal seperated the 2 teams and it shows how closely matched these teams are. Excellent job.

The mens teams had been trying all year to claim to keg, but had fallen short with a draw here and there throughout the season. But on Sunday that all changed with all 3 teams getting victories.

6ths were up first and defeated Colts 1-0. Michael Bailey bagged the winner.

3rds then took on Tigers Black and walked away comfortable 5-0 winners. Jules bagged another hatrrick, and Jamie and Brad getting a goal each in a total domination.

4ths were then under pressure to deliver. 3-3 with 13 minutes to go it looked a bit dicey, but a goal rush saw the Hornets run out 7-3 victors and keep their finals hopes alive. Benny bagged a treble, Stocksy screamed out of the sun like the Red Baron and drilled one beyond a blinded keeper, and Scott, Matt and Stuart bagged a goal each.

1sts went into the weekend sitting in second place, level on points with Crusaders but with a game in hand. Souths were in 3rd spot, just 1 point behind. This was going to be an important game for both clubs as they jostle for positions leading into the semi finals.
The Hornets got off to the perfect start when Jules Williams scored his first goal for the club, a superb strike that ended in the top right of the goal. The Hornets began to dominate and carved out several more chances before halftime but just couldn’t find another goal. The halftime chat from Coach Paul Baxter focused on the team being patient and better distribution of the ball. Second half started brightly, with the Hornets going close on several occasions but coming away unrewarded. Souths then scored an equalizer which was against the run of play. This sparked the hornets into action, with Jules Williams and Grayden Hubbard both scoring within a minute of each other to set up a 2 goal lead. Souths though didn’t give up, and they were awarded a Penalty Corner with about 15 minutes to go in the game. They converted and suddenly it was game on again. A lovely play down the right hand side by Brad Willcocks set Paul Baxter along the baseline, and his pass back to the top of the D found Jules Williams unmarked and he didn’t waste his opportunity to score a hattrick with another lovely strike into the top of the net. At 4-2 and with just seconds remaining, youngster Stuart Churchill played a throughball which was tapped under the goalkeeper by Jules Williams to bag his 4th goal for the club, all in this game.
5-2 the game ended and the Hornets now move 3 points clear of 3rd and are in the box seat for a minor premiership.

2nds needed to win to keep their finals hopes alive, and the signs were good early when Ben Salisbury raced down field and crossed to Chris Southall for an easy tap in. The Hornets should have been up by 5 at the break but some of the teams stars were having a bad day and it seemed no one could do anything right inside the circle. The defence though was rock solid, and Souths were kept to only a few opportunities that were easily dealt with by the fullbacks and goalkeeper Paul hockridge. Finally Scott Rainbow scored the teams second to secure the points and move just 2 points out of the top 4.

3rds went down 6-1 to University Raiders, with Tim Rutter bagging the only goal for the Hornets.

The club wishes Paul Baxter all the best as he heads to Western Australia as coach of the NSW All Schools U16 Boys team.