GVHA brings home medals from senior country championships

By Zac Standish

Jun 20, 2022

Happy days: The Goulburn Valley Hockey Association Masters team claimed silver at the Hockey Victoria Senior Country Championships.

Goulburn Valley Hockey Association enjoyed a successful weekend at the recent Hockey Victoria Senior Country Championships, with its two teams managing to find a spot on the podium.

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Sending a Masters and A-grade senior side to the three-day carnival at Footscray Hockey Centre in Melbourne, both Goulburn Valley teams came into the championships unsure of what to expect.

But much to the delight of the local hockey fraternity, both teams made the trip back up the Hume Hwy with medals, with the Masters taking home silver and A-grade claiming bronze.

Masters team manager Andrew Younger said it was a fantastic opportunity to compete at the championships.

“The team did a fantastic job all weekend long,” Younger said.

“With a lot of us meeting for the first time, the way we came together and played as a team from the outset was great and something everyone can be very proud of.

“As we got further through the tournament we continued to improve and everybody seemed to enjoy themselves throughout the weekend.”

Sporting a 3-3 record through the group stage matches, the GVHA side managed to qualify for the grand final on goal difference where it met a rampant Ballarat Red.

Unfortunately for the GV the miracle run would fall short, with a clinical Ballarat inflicting a 7-1 defeat on it in the grand final.

Despite the disappointing finish there were still a plethora of positives from the weekend, with the play of Iain Greig a particular highlight as he took home the tournament’s leading goal-scorer award with nine majors.

The senior A-grade side enjoyed similar success in the group stage, winning three games and losing two to qualify for the knockout finals series.

Unfortunately for GV it wasn’t able to join the Masters on the grand final stage, falling to Hockey Central Victoria 5-1 in the preliminary final.

It could take some solace out of a 2-1 victory in the bronze medal match over Sunraysia, however, which ensured it wouldn’t be making the trip home empty handed.

Ben Meates was the star of the weekend for GVHA netting five goals, while Kale Kennedy and Ryan MacKenzie bagged three apiece.

In other GVHA news, former players Merryn Coffey (SYC) and Kari Gulson (Echuca) and Jayden Gulson (Echuca) have been selected in the Hockey Victoria Country teams for 2022.