INGLEBURN BULLDOGS HOCKEY CLUB

Grand Final Wrap-Up for 2011.

A mixed bag of weather over the Grand Final weekend saw us again achieve 3 premierships in the 2011 season as well as all 4 Macarthur Club Championships. My thanks go to those coaches who helped me with the match reports.

Friday night saw our Under 17 team play Harrington Park. There had been a number of close results between the 2 teams during the regular season. Harrington Park leapt out of the blocks and soon established a 2-0 lead. A goal to Jacob Andaloro after half time put us back in the picture. A struggle developed between the 2 teams for the title. Unfortunately for us, Harrington Park scored a late goal to clinch the premiership and our Under 17 hoodoo continues. Nathen Daniel was named as the Best and Fairest Player from the Under 17 competition.

Saturday, 24th September was a long day with 9 Grand Finals being contested from 8.30am. Saturday morning saw our Under 11 team trying to repeat the success of 2010. This time we were playing Easts. It is often a difficult task to win a Grand Final when you are the favourites. The team were undefeated Minor Premiers coming into this match with an impressive 168 goals for and only 6 against! Nerves abounded. Half time saw the scores locked at 0-0. However, the determined Bulldogs lifted their game in the 2nd half and established a 1-0 lead soon after the break. Further positive play and teamwork resulted in a second goal, which put the match beyond Easts. Jarred Papworth scored both goals. Congratulations to Jo and her team for their success!

Our Under 13 Juniors were also Minor Premiers coming into this match. Harrington Park were our opponents. They had beaten us once in round 15. It would be a close match. Harrington Park scored early to establish a 1-0 lead. Try as we did, the equalizing goal eluded us for a long time until Todd Hamilton scored nearing the end of regular time. Sudden death was upon us. Unfortunately, Harrington Park scored almost straight away to clinch the title. The team can be very proud of their efforts all season. They are a credit to our club and themselves for the way they play the game.

Grand Final fever for our Under 13 Girls' team set in early on the day with many arriving to support the U/11's and the 13 Juniors in their own quest for a Premiership victory. The girls enthusiasm was infectious as they spray painted their hair and coloured their faces with the team colours. The girls were up against a very strong Harrington Park side that had finished as Minor Premiers. We went into the match with the knowledge that we had given them a couple of close contests throughout the regular season. The girls got off to a great start finding themselves on the attack, but unfortunately could not convert their territorial advantage. Try as we could, we were unable to stop Harrington Park from becoming the 2011 premiers. Despite the result, the girls should be proud of their effort both today and throughout the season because in reality they have had an extremely productive year. They have thrilled their families, their supporters and myself with their skill level, some incredible individual and team goals, while demonstrating above everything else a tremendous amount of team spirit and sportsmanship.

We had 4 Senior Teams contesting a Grand Final during the afternoon. Ladies C Grade came into the Grand Final with a resounding 3-1 win over Easts to set up a re-match with Collegians. Both our C Grade teams had the bare 11 players, which we knew may give us some problems in the finals. Little did we know just how much! We had the bare minimum players allowed to contest the match at the start of the game. We reached 9 shortly into the match. Try as we could, the weight of numbers against us and the lack of interchange started to tell. Collies went 1-0 up early in the first half. As fatigue started to set in Collies scored their 2nd goal midway through the 2nd half to seal the match. The Ladies can be proud of their achievement in reaching the Grand Final and look forward to 2012 with a view to reversing the result! 0 from 1.

3rd Grade Old Dogs were chasing a 2nd premiership. City were at full strength. We were missing 2 of our regulars. City got away to a good start with 2 goals before Dougie clawed one back. A successful penalty corner from City took us to half time 1-3 and still in with a shot. Molly scored straight after the break to bring the score back to 2-3 and we sensed a chance. Their penalty corners were always a worry to us and they proved to be the difference between us. When they put in 3 corners in quick succession against us, we knew the small mug was ours this year. Dougie scored near the finish to make the score 3-6. We may have to go back to being the Gold Dogs next year.....0 from 2.

2nd Gradetook steps to reverse the trend in great style. Our opponents were Skylarks Rams. 2 wins each during the regular season meant that we would have to play well to win. The weather was beginning to turn from heat to cold. Once again, we got off to a great start via a goal to Dale early in the match. Ben Andaloro gave us a dream half time 2-0 lead when he converted a stroke just before half time. Our aim then was to keep Skylarks scoreless, not to give them a sniff of a comeback and trust ourselves. Another goal to Ben (making 7 for the finals series) via a tomahawk took us to 3-0 and put the seal on the match and our first premiership in 2nd Grade since 2001. Congratulations to this team - a mixture of youth and experience brought together by coach Luke Bolwell - that made themselves and their club proud! A special thanks to Mick Roberts who has been a integral member, mentor and coach of 2nd Grade for the past 5 years. 1 from 3. Footnote: Matt Botfield completed an unusual hat trick with 2nd Grade's victory - he became the first person in our club's history to play in 3 consecutive premiership winning teams in each of the 3 grades within our club (2009 - 1st Grade, 2010 - 3rd Grade & 2011 - 2nd Grade).

The scene was now set for 1st Grade to try and complete a hat-trick of premierships in the Macarthur competition. Collies were our opponents. We were keen to reverse the result of the Joint Competition Final. By now the weather had turned completely. Rain was imminent. Josh took us to a 1-0 lead within a minute of the match starting and our confidence grew. We held this lead until half time. We had further chances to score, but to no avail. Rain - both heavy and light was a feature of the 2nd half - it also made Matty leap the far fence just after half time to answer the call of nature. As he didn't tell anyone, this caused frantic calls from the field that we were one player down - a quick check of the dug-out found no-one missing and we then saw him returning! A "dubious" yellow card to Josh sparked a goal from Collies to bring the score back to 1-1. On his return, Josh again scored within a minute of taking the field to take us to 2-1. A defensive lapse saw Collies draw level 2-2 and the match was on in earnest. Benny put our noses in front again midway through an enthralling 2nd half. The pit stop was just what the doctor ordered as Matty put the game beyond the reach of Collies with our 4th goal and the hat-trick was completed. It has been my privilege to be involved with this team - full of talent and friendship developed over many years. I hope this can contiunue for years to come!

Tim Roberts capped off his night by being named the Best & Fairest Player in 1st Grade for the 2011 season! The Presentations were held for 2nd & 1st Grade in the tin shed amid driving rain, making it a late night for all! 2 from 4 - add the Men's & Ladies Club Championships - not a bad day's work! Footnote: 8 players from this year's squad of 15 have been part of each of the 3 premierships - Leigh Brabender, Dave Carter, Andy Carter, Tim Murphy, Joel Murphy, Ben Poulton, Josh Poulton, and Tim Roberts.

Grand Final Contenders... 

We wish all of our teams the best of luck in their Grand Finals this weekend at the Macarthur Hockey Complex. Please come along and support your club's teams in their quest for one of those elusive premierships!

Our congratulations go to our 8 teams - Under 11 Juniors, Under 13 Juniors, Under 13 Girls, Under 17 Boys, C Grade Ladies, 3rd Grade Old Dogs, 2nd Grade Men & 1st Grade Men - who have qualified for their respective Grand Finals.

Friday, 23rd September.

Under 17 Juniors - Ingleburn Bulldogs vs Harrington Park at 9.00pm on the water field.

Saturday, 24th September.

Under 11 Juniors - Ingleburn Bulldogs vs Easts at 8.30am on the water field.
Under 13 Juniors - Ingleburn Bulldogs vs Harrington Park at 9.30am on the water field.
Under 13 Girls - Ingleburn Bulldogs vs Harrington Park at 10.30am on the water field.

Ladies C Grade - Ingleburn Bulldogs Green vs Collegians at 12.00pm on the water field.
3rd Grade Men - Ingleburn Old Dogs vs Campbelltown City at 1.30pm on the water field.
2nd Grade Men - Ingleburn Bulldogs vs Macarthur Skylarks Rams at 4.30pm on the water field.
1st Grade Men - Ingleburn Bulldogs vs Collegians at 7.30pm on the water field.

Update - 6 October 2011

Sally-Ann was part of NSW history by taking out the U15 Girls state title in 2011 undefeated. Sally-Ann had a fantastic week playing for NSW.  During the tournament, Sally-Ann was one of a few girls who were offered a sponsorship with OBO and TK.  She has also been nominated to participate in a National Talent Identification Development Program  (GK Camp) on the 14th, 15th and 16th of October at the AIS in Canberra.

Also, NSW were presented with the "Play the Whistle Award”.

Congratulations to Sally-Ann Legge on her selection in the NSW Under 15 Girls team to play in the Australian U15 Girls Championships in Sydney 24th September-1st October 2011.

This is a great achievement and comes as a result of many years of hard work. It follows great performances in the recent NSW Under 15 Girls State Championships in Armidale and the High-Performance camp in Newcastle. This year Sally-Ann is goalie for the Ingleburn A Grade Ladies and Under 18 Girls teams as well as playing on the field for the Under 15 Girls team. She also plays in the Sydney Metro competition.

You can read about the selection on the Hockey NSW Website

Preliminary Finals Results.

The Under 15 Girls kicked off the Preliminary Finals against Harrington Park Purple. We had finished the regular season on equal points, so a close match was expected. It was really great to see Ashlie Rawnsley take the field after her being carried from the field with an injured ankle in the Semi Final. The girls fought bravely but at the end of the night it was Harrington Park Purple who advanced to the Grand Final next week with a 2-0 scoreline.

Our Under 15 Juniors were next. Macarthur Skylarks Gryphons were their opponents. A draw and a narrow win to each side in the 3 previous clashes, both teams knew this was always going to be a tight game! It did not disappoint anyone! It was a great game of open attacking hockey with the both sides displaying plenty of attacking flair that was matched with equally determined defence. Jordan Manders scored early on for us, but Skylarks managed to establish a 2 goal lead (3-1) midway through the second half. We narrowed the difference to a single goal when Isaac McDonald scored with minutes to go. Unfortunately, time ran out and Macarthur Skylarks Gryphons advanced to the Grand Final with 3-2 being the final score.

The Under 17 Boys did not play as they had already established their place in the Grand Final by finishing Minor Premiers in the 4 team competition.

The sun was shining all weekend so heat and fatigue would come into play in all games.

The Under 11 Junior and Under 13 Junior teams had earned a week off with victories last week, so it was only the Under 13 Girls who were in action on Saturday morning. Our opponents were Wests Stingrays, a team that had not troubled us all season. Running true to form, the girls advanced to the Grand Final next weekend courtesy of goals to Zali Dunn (2), Maddison Chapman and Josie Begg. You can have a look at the photo gallery after you read the coaches review of the game here.

Our club will be represented in all 3 Junior Grand Finals next Saturday morning.

It was Ingleburn Bulldogs Green in Ladies C Grade who got the seniors underway in the afternoon. The game unfolded according coach Smitty's plan - score early and let the heat take its toll on the opposition. Brittney Chapman was listening and in the first 5 minutes of the match, sent us to a 1-0 lead. Jo Gardiner paid attention at half time and extended the lead to 2-0 - again in the first 5 minutes of the 2nd half! Anne-Marie Domb killed off any doubts with a goal to move to 3-0. Playing with only 11 players, our girls put in 150% effort to maintain our lead. Our goalkeeper, Di Poulton typified this commitment when she saved a shot at goal and the impact of the shot made her fall back into the goals! Easts scored late, but the difference was too great. Have a look at the photo gallery.The ladies had booked their re-match against Collegians with their 3-1 victory.

Ingleburn Knights had the next opportunity to reach the Grand Final in the B Grade Preliminary Final. After finishing the regular season undefeated, the loss last weekend had come as a bit of a shock to the Ladies. When Lynette slammed home a goal in the opening minutes we looked to be back on track (see the photo gallery). However, City were in good form. Unfortunately, another goal from Lynette and one from Georgia were not enough. When the final whistle blew, a 3-4 loss ended our season.

The Old Dogs were ready for a big effort against Collegians in 3rd Grade. We did realise how big and how deep we would have to dig, but not to what extent we would have to go to. The temperature was hovering around 30 degrees. I blew up at one point and Molly did at another point. Hallucinations of where he was affected Shane at one point in the match when he tried to have a "bromance" with a Collies player....Wazza had a "clash of the titans" with Ashley (see the photo in the photo gallery)...Collies scored early. Midge really thought he was somewhere else too when no Collies player came near him in the circle during a penalty corner - he had so much time to line up his shot and bang it into the net it sent a statement to all of us that we were back in the game! Goals to Molly and Dougie sent us to half time up 3-1. Our task was simple. Keep the ball. Slow the game down. Make them work for field position. Shane constantly sent the ball flying back to the other end during his time at fullback. This tactic certainly turned the match our way. Collies were forced to cart the ball back to us out of defence. As the match progressed, their passes turned to long hits which became targets for interceptions by us and counter attacks. No goals in the 2nd half meant we booked another show-down against City next week - well done boys!