2023 CAPITAL LEAGUE ONE LAUNCH & PREVIEW

The 2023 Hockey ACT competitions will hit off this weekend with round 1 of games taking place this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Mens:

The Duncan’s Plumbing Capital League One Men’s Competition will again be tightly contested, with Premiers Central Hockey Club again looking as the team to beat.

Central’s 3-2 defeat of United in the 2022 decider cements them as a serious contender to take back to back titles. They have named a largely unchanged line-up, aside from Canberra Chill captain Ben Craig who has moved overseas.

Newcomers to the Mens Capital League One Competition are Wagga Scorchers, who are somewhat of an unknown for the competition. They have had mixed results in trial matches leading into the season and will bring some fresh faces into the CL1 competition mixed with previous CL1 representatives Niranjan Gupte, Daniel Smith, and Adam Boyd. 

ANU Men have secured former Australian U21 Mens coach, Ben Bishop, who will be looking to make improvements to the team pushing for a top 4 finish in 2023. They have a young team with ACT U21’s rep players Max Robson, Ben Ward, Jacob “JJ” White and Matt Young mixed with some handy pick ups to bolster their squad going in 2023.

Wests have lost some big names including Kookaburra Davis Atkin who has made the move to Perth for national duties. Wests have recruited well and have plenty of depth in the club, but they have big shoes to fill. Look for their established Canberra Chill players Owen Chivers, Garry Backhus and Jay Macdonald and the experience of James Jewell and Adam Baxter to step up and rising stars Darcy Macdonald, who had a break CL1 season in 2022 and Luca Barrass-Borzatti, who is one of the most exciting up and coming goal keepers in Canberra cement themselves into the team.

Albury

ANUMHC

Coach – Ben Bishop
Captain – TBA
Key Ins – Ben Bishop & Matt Young
Key Outs – Dave Major, Chris Massey, Josh Orchard, Harry Papworth (joining in the second half of the season)
Team says: Really excited for a new coach and new crop of talent. We know we have a lot of work we need to do to reach finals, but there’s a great buzz around the club and we can’t wait to get stuck in. 

Central

Coach – James Cummins
Captain – Jamie Hawke
Key Outs – Ben Craig
Rising Star: Dylan Brick
Team says: Defend the flag.

OCHC

Coach – Daniel Conroy
Captain – Oscar Smart
Key Ins – Alex Oswald & Nick Hill
Key Outs – Ben Stewart & Jack Donovan

St Patricks

Coach – Darren “Toge” Williams"
Captain – Josh Chivers
Key Ins – Hayden Shawyer
Key Outs – Zac McGregor
Rising Stars – Jack Evans, Jake McCarthy, Harry Skelly & Sam McGregor
Team says: With St Pats life member and club stalwart Darren (Toge) Williams taking on the coaching role this year and the talented junior group coming of age the future looks positive. St Pats will be targeting the top 4 this year after missing out on the four in previous years.

United

Coach – Aaron Hopkins
Captain – Brendan Hill, Matt Neeson & Jeremy Hopkins
Key Ins – Matt Hurrell & Logan Stewart
Key Outs – Lachlan Arniel, Jason Knight & Craig Dent
Rising Stars – Adam Long, Jesse Absolom & Aiden Smith
Team says: This team has evolved and been building the last few years, making it to the grand final in 2022. Excited to continue to build and take advantage of the growth that has been made to date. With a young team, it’s exciting to see how far this group can go as they mature and develop, well positioned for the next few years.

Wagga

Coach – Patrick O’Donnell
Leadership Group – Adam Mclelland, Niranjan Gupte & Chris Ninness
Key Ins – Lachlan Cope, Niranjan Gupte, Daniel Smith & Adam Boyd
Rising Star – Denzel Bambridge
Team says: Wagga Scorchers is a newly formed team from Wagga Wagga competing in CL1. Our expectation this season is to be competitive and consistent. We are pleased to have players that have previously played in CL1 in 2022 (Niranjan Gupte, Daniel Smith, Adam Boyd). We are also pleased to have Lachlan Cope, a current NSW U21 representative in the Wagga Scorchers.

Wests

Coach – Andrew Stead
Captain – Owen Chivers
Key Ins – Michael Woodgate, Luca Barrass-Borzatti, James Morton, Kieran Hammond
Key Outs – Davis Atkin, Neo Gupte, Shaun Smith, Angus Allen, Brendan Laidley, Lachlan Johnstone
Rising Star – Darcy Macdonald & Luca Barrass-Borzatti
Team says: With retirements and players moving to Perth to join the Kookaburras program, Wests will be entering season 2023 with a new-look team. With the retirement of Lachlan Johnstone, the club is excited to have welcome exciting up and coming goalkeeper,  Luca Barrass-Borzatti. After a breakout CL1 season, keep an eye out for Darcy Macdonald who’s looking to cement himself as one of the best defensive midfielders in the competition.

Duncan's Plumbing Capital League 1 Round 1 Fixtures:

Saturday 25/03/23 @ 12:30pm - Central vs United (Carter Field)

Saturday 25/03/23 @ 2:00pm - Wagga vs Old Canberrans (Wagga Wagga Hockey Field)

Sunday 26/03/23 @ 11:00am - Wagga vs Old Canberrans (Wagga Wagga Hockey Field)

Deferred due to U21 National Championships

St Pat vs ANU

Wests vs Albury

Women:

There has been a lot of movement in the off-season and you would be forgiven for not keeping up with the numerous team changes that have happened before the 2023 opener. A lot of teams are relatively unknown due to the player changes.

St Pats are again the team to beat, they defeated Goulburn 6-5 in the Grand Final last year and have named a relatively unchanged line up, so they are hot favourites to make it a three-peat in the 2023 season. The team boasts three Canberra Chill players, Stef Kindon, Naomi and Mikayla Evans and has secured Ashleigh Sievers a former QLD and current ACT U21’s player. The team has also secured the 2022 co-coach of the Canberra Chill Paul Sureda so will have strong leadership off the field.

After missing the finals in 2022, look for Tuggeranong to make a strong impact on the 2023 season. They are bolstered with 2022 McKay medalist and former Hockeyroo Mikaela Patterson, Australian Indoor player Sassie Economos and the Australia U18 Indoor Development goalkeeper Jess Speechley. New coach Brent Clark has a youthful but mature team, look for them to play an exciting brand of attacking hockey and to be big improvers in the 2023 season.

UCHC has kept a consistent squad from the team who narrowly missed out on the grand final last year. They have picked up young gun Lizzie Salter from WA, who will be a key in after she recovers from a broken jaw in a U21 trial game. The team also welcome back club stalwart Meredith Bone after welcoming her second child earlier this year. Look for the team to stamp their brand of exciting hockey on the competition this year.

Central are bolstered by ACT U21 player Madi Dooley who will bring leadership to the young team, they also welcome the Brisbane Blaze’s goalkeeper, Sarah Steinhardt. Look for them to improve as a team in 2023 as their young squad continues to mature.

Albury

ANUWHC

Coach – Wal Gaynor
Captain – Tamika Potter
Key Outs – S. Loosing
Rising Star – Plenty of players have opportunities to stand out this season.
Team says: This year is a rebuild for ANU, but with a strong foundation, we’re aiming for a strong start. There are new players that will learn a lot from our existing senior players, particularly 2023 Australian Open Women’s Country representative, Tamika Potter.

Central

Coach – Shane Crossman & Jason Hill
Captain – TBA
Key Ins – Madeline Dooley (ACT u21 and Australian junior indoor player), Sarah Steinhardt (2022 Brisbane Blaze squad, 2022 Queensland Open State Champions, 2021 Queensland u21s, 2020 Australian Country u21s), Grace King.
Key Outs – Kaelan Reid & Teagan Payne
Rising Star – Isla Syrek
Team says: Central CL1 Women are in the second year of a planned rebuild. The team has been strengthened by two high quality representative players in Central junior, Madi Dooley, and Brisbane Blaze goalkeeper Sarah Steinhardt, among others. The team will have greater depth than last season which will help drive performance both in games and at training.

Goulburn Districts

Coach – Naomi Jones
Captain – Chloe Montgomery
Team says: In 2023, Goulburn CL1 women's team will see the return of the core squad from a successful 2022. The team is looking to improve on results from last year and go one better! The Geckies have been working hard on fitness and game play. Bring on 2023!!!

North Canberra Eagles

Coach – Glenn Turner

Captain – Bec Lee
Key Ins – Lucy Neely & Liesl Toime
Rising Star – Laura Monterosso
Team says: We are really excited for the season and have a very talented squad who are willing to put in the effort required for good things to happen. Our group is growing in confidence and skill each season and we hope to be matching it with the best this year. See you on the field.

Old Canberrans

Coach – Tristan Kearns
Captain – Isabelle Lovel
Rising Star – Claire Holden
Team says: Keep an eye on Lucy Balfour and Isabelle Lovel, who are working hard among others who have been given an opportunity to prove themselves, and they're eager. One thing's for sure - this team is going to give it a fair crack, and that's all we can ask for. Let's hope they play with energy and bring home the victory!

St Patricks

Coach – Paul Sureda
Captain – Nicola Williams & Mikayla Evans
Key Ins – Ashleigh Sievers
Key Outs – Riley Smith
Rising Star – Emma Taylor
Team says: Seeking to make finals and be genuine contenders in the final series.  The team includes 2022 Chill players Steff Kindon, Naomi Evans and Mikayla Evans along with new player Ashleigh Sievers (former QLD U21 player and current ACT U21 player). There is a number of quality up and coming players, looking forward to seeing how the next batch of players perform and create more healthy selection competition.

Tuggeranong Vikings

Coach – Brent Clark
Captain – Sophie Gaughan
Key Ins – Mikki Patterson, Eddie Carr & Jess Speechley
Rising Stars – Imogen Dorsett, Ellen Vahey, Keira Polmanteer & Phillipa Lendrum
Team says: The addition of 2022 McKay medallist, Chill player, and ex HockeyRoo, Mikki Patterson, the ever-reliable Eddie Carr, Australian Indoor player, Sassie Economos and U18 Australia Indoor Development Keeper, Jess Speechley all goes well for the club. This quartet strengthens a Vikings squad that has Chill players Sophie Gaughan and Sarah White as well as a number of under 21s players and the 2021 competition leading goal scorer, Ash Deacon. Vikings are looking at playing an exciting brand of attacking hockey this season.

UCHC

Coach – Andrew Bewick
Captain – Olivia Martin
Key Ins – Lizzy Salter
Key Outs – Bella Apps
Rising Star – Lauren Yee
Team says: UCHC is an emerging group of athletes who have been improving each season over the past few years. They narrowly missed the Grand Final last season going down 1-0 to eventual premiers St Patrick’s.  They are looking to stamp their brand of exciting hockey on the competition this year.

United

Coach – Cameron Smith
Captains – Sophie Backhus & Alyssa Smith
Key Ins – Emily Robson, Eliza Kemp, Chloe Kemp, Annie Knight & Sophie Backhus
Key Outs – Tshiamo Litheko, Riley Nisbet, Monique Hilborn
Rising Star – Alyssa Smith
Team says: The club has attracted Canberra Chill defender Emily Robson to the team, Sophie Backhus returns and will bring much needed experience and leadership to our midfield full of emerging Chill Squad players. 2023 is an exciting year and has already shown promise in pre-season training and games. United will be looking to continue its growth this season, playing well structured hockey, and showing that while we are young, our strong family culture at United drives us to want to play for each other. We are hungry for success and hope to trouble a number of teams on the way to September hockey.

Capital League 1 Round 1 Fixtures:

Friday 24/03/23 @ 6:20pm - Old Canberrans vs Tuggeranong Vikings (Carter Field)

Saturday 25/03/23 @ 12:30pm - Gouldburn Districts vs Albury (Gouldburn Hockey Fields)

Saturday 25/03/23 @ 1:45pm - North Canberra Eagles vs UCHC (Powell Field)

Saturday 25/03/23 @ 2:00pm - Central vs United (Carter Field)

Saturday 25/03/23 @ 6:30pm - ANUWHC vs St Patricks (Carter Field)