A lean week in the W column for the Panthers in round 3 but some great stories from around the grounds.

Women’s unit

Premier League

by Brooke Ryan

Waverley 3 defeated by Southern 4

Southern came out firing with a quick circle entrance and lucky shot, resulting in a goal within the first minutes. Much to their dismay the attack was returned with a turnover in our forward line followed by Caley’s first goal of the match. The panthers soon stormed the lead with Caley (or did Ruby take this one?) nailing another straight into the backboard. Our lead was cemented with another scored by Eliza, 3-1 going into the 4th quarter.

Southern managed to even up the scoreboard with some easy field goals. On what felt like their 100th corner attempt, a drag flick straight into the Panthers solid left post resulted in a stroke (photo evidence proves the umpires shocking call), which unfortunately let Southern walk away with a win.

Premier League Reserve

by Tyra Batten

Waverley 0 defeated by Southern 2

Starting off this weeks game a little differently we were missing Colleen but we had the amazing Mel to fill in being our coach with some words of encouragement right before the game. Going against southern was tough, but we held our ground and worked hard to keep them out of the circle. Even while some of the umpiring was… unique… we played a great game of hockey (didn’t let them score off of any shorts).

2-0 loss, it is what it is, but expect some great things to come from the PLR girls.

Pennant A

by Melissa Tiller

Waverley 3 defeated Mentone 1

Another week of scrapping a team together. The old girls were nervous that their may not be a bench. Thankfully the Waverley way prevailed with a full squad and some fresh faces. We also added our new GK Gemma to the mix who had a great first game.

An average warm up = an average start. They scored early so it was time to switch on. The defence was strong as we, I mean they always are. Carly held very well in the middle constantly feeding the ball forward. If only the RH could trap the ball. 🙄 Our young girls again improving each week. Giselle and Sophie running their hearts out all game showing the opposition that they’re here to play.

CORNERS: Tiller was pumped. First time in 3 years she’s made the battery. L1 was wide open. There was even talk she might get the ball. Alas, Kate’s dominance on the straight shot was too strong. Maybe next season tiller HALF TIME: we’re 2-1 up. After a strong first half Kirst benches herself. We can’t push the mature bodies too far. Half time however brought in Bec. One Thompson out another in with plenty to spare. We went into the 2nd half strong. The opposition were tripping over their own feet while the linking up with our midfield and forwards was a vast improvement bringing the final score to 3-1. Another win on the board making the beers taste better after the game.

WINS: Mentone scoring but the umpire declaring it no goal. Shhhhhhh no one saw that ball go over the line 🤫
DISAPPOINTMENTS: no oranges at half time. Unacceptable
INJURY REPORT: Kirst made it through a full half. No further injuries to report.

Pennant B

by Meg Parry

Waverley 1 defeated by Camberwell 2

Waverley Penn B took to the excessively lined pitch with some slight confusion, determination and everything else that comes with a 5pm Sunday game.

We had superb strategic tagging by young debuting players Giselle and Jay, proving to eliminate a dangerous Camberwell player at every move.

GK Charlotte, making an unbelievable save on a penalty stroke. I don’t think she even believed it.

Jay, first game playing seniors and in the final minutes she finished a beautiful team goal scoring from the post.

Despite the score board showing a defeat to Camberwell, we felt like the real winners, playing great hockey, holding our own as a team and improving with each game.

All in all, Coach So said it best, “…I couldn’t flaw it”.

Pennant E

by Bridget

Waverley 1 defeated by TEM 2

The Pennant E girls went in knowing it would be a very warm and tough game against a team that had so far scored 10 goals in 2 games. In the first quarter true to form, Liza in perfect positioning got a great deflection in and scored the first goal of the match. Toorak leveled the score before half time and was able to hit the back of the goals again in the third quarter, taking the lead 2-1.

Despite a fabulous game all round, particularly from goal keeper Charlotte Foord in her first ever seniors game , Toorak were able to keep the Waverly girls from leveling the score. Overall it was a brilliant effort from the Pen E girls this week, who kept the pressure on an ultimately to good Toorak team.

Special shout out to Giulia, Meg and Kristen who doubled up for us before going on to play Pen B later in the afternoon.

Metro

by Carly Paterson

Waverley 2 defeated Camberwell 0

On Saturday arvo the legendary Met B ladies finally snatched our first win against Camberwell!

With mother-daughter duo Jodie and Tilly controlling the middle and Laura and Nikita making some great runs up forward, it was only a matter of time before we hit the back of the goals. After a first quarter of unlucky misses, the dream team finally capitalised with a perfect ball from Nikita and a back post deflection from Carly.

We took control in the second half with many more scoring opportunities. Grace and Zara kept the pressure on and Nikita was able to get on the board with a pearler of a goal!

A big shoutout to Emma, Ailsa and of course Jill in defence for keeping a clean sheet.

Mens unit

Premier League

Waverley 0 defeated by Southern 3

No report submitted

Premier League Reserves

by Sam Rogerson

Waverley 1 defeated by Southern 2

The main focus this week was to start the game well with high energy and talk to set our standard early. The match was an arm wrestle right from the first whistle as both teams came to play.

Big Jay in the net made plenty of first half saves which kept us in the match, with the score line 0-1 at the main break. Reinvigorated energy bought with it a goal to even up the game, and more attack had opportunities to get us in front. R Maddock had a great return to the pitch, but unfortunately we couldn’t get the win to celebrate Sheddy’s 35th birthday.

Pennant A

by Jackson Reed

Waverley 1 drew with Greensborough 1

Sunny day, guns were out and judging from burra’s older average age it was clear the game was going to depend on fitness on what was, a very hot day for hockey. The whistle was blown and the sweat fest began. We started well early at the home of hockey, shooting passes around maintaining a good amount of possession with a short corner to us within the first 30s.

Not long into the second half a huge wind up off a keeper ricochet from Aaron Swindles with a km radius of space in the D got us our first goal. Burra then managed to score not long after us as if they were waiting for an invitation. The 3rd and fourth quarters were a hard run under the sun with a few opportunities and shorts here and there but nothing converted. Bit of push and shove with the old timers but as always hockey is a gentlemen’s game.

The match ended with a fast break and the one and only Antony Green sending a rogue tomahawk just a mere couple of metres over the crossbar.

Overall good improvement from the lads, the chemistry is building, progress is progress.

Pennant E

by Sam McPhillips

Waverley 2 defeated by Mentone 3

Mens PE travelled out to Mentone on the fine Saturday afternoon with high hopes of getting three on the trot.

Despite some big outs….the teams keeper deciding 2-0 wasn’t a good start to the season and needing to change clubs; and losing rising star Harrison GERLING to a potentially career ending limb injury, the PE boys knew they had their backs to the wall. Ever faithful Riley ZUCCALA lent the team a hand by taking his place between the posts, keeping out the shots from Mentone’s PL forward line and dealing with an ever belligerent sweeping full back Sam Mc.

Playing on a ground flatter then Nick GLOSSOPs abs, the panthers took a little while to adjust to the pace of the ball. Mentone were quick off the mark taking a 0-1 lead off a ridiculous toma, however Rich STEERS blew the cob webs out of his greying hair and turned the clock back several decades to slot one bottom left for a quick equaliser.

The panthers started to find their feet and settle. Despite a big breakfast Lashan ‘Pie’ HARAN got handed one of many questionable cards to come for the game which started to fire up the panthers.

Mentone upped the anti slotting a second goal, but not even 30 seconds later Jason. LYON returned fire. However it appears LYON forgot which code he was playing and was under the impression that both he and the ball had to fully make it over the goal line for the goal to count. Panthers players had to collect LYON and the ball from the back of the net before play could resume.

Sima ‘glitter’ LEUNG, Hugh ‘vintage’ RUTLEDGE, Dave ‘medic’WIGHTON and Matt ‘solid’ TRENNERY held fast in the back half repelling further attacks from the Mentone forward line however late in the 4th quarter Mentone managed a 3rd goal to take them 3-2 in the dying minutes. The panthers frustration with several questionable calls showed with Rudolf ‘wonderwall’ LAMIEJN being dished a cheese on top of his earlier green card after a non controversial tangle with a Mentone player, Sam Mc was promptly also given a yellow when called over by the umpire to discuss the matters at hand.

Time ran out for the panthers leaving Mentone 3 wins from 3 games so far. Despite the loss, a good batch of fines were collected with several late arrivals and 4 cards for the game.

The pennant boys promptly made their way to Southern to former PE prodigy Harrison ‘Baker’ SMITH making it in the 2s.

Pennant G

by Craig Batten

Waverley 1 defeated by Melton 4

On an unseasonally warm May afternoon 15 brave soles departed the comfort of the eastern suburbs and make the trek down to Melton. Most of us were fearing the worst in the traffic as we had a starting 11 in Melton and hour and 10 mins before the game. Bets were being made as to when Andy Lee would arrive, some of the unnamed players gave him 10 mins before game time but alas to all of our shock he arrived at 11:30.

We started the game on the front foot, moving the ball around and attacking at any opportunity however we were unable to capitalise and turn our possession into goals. A quick Melton turnover and well placed shot left us 1-0 at half-time. Our young bucks up front ran themselves into the ground working well together to find the equaliser. So got clobbered on the ankle and we feared he was done for the day but after a bit of a lie down and some ice he soldiered on for the rest of the game.

Unfortunately we started the 2nd half rather flat and another turnover put Melton 2-0 early in the 3rd quarter. Some dubious “local” umpiring decisions didn’t help us either, poor Tom S was held back by a Melton stick across the chest but that seems to be ok out West. An unfortunate deflection of our defenders stick in defending a short corner gave Melton a 3-0 lead seconds before the end of the 3rd quarter.

With tiring legs and a few injuries we fought bravely in the final quarter, Melton scored their 4th but we still kept on going. The game opened up in the final minutes and after some god teamwork up front Tom S slotted a great goal, this now means Tom S is the leading scorer for Pen G. For the 2nd week in a row Mickey “the Magician” Melon made some awesome saves and made Melton really work to get past him.

Thanks again to Elliot for coming to the game and running the bench plus giving some cold hard truths about our tackling and basics.

Fun Fact Week 2 – Using the same HHF as a start and finish point the estimated travel time (excluding the inevitable Melbourne road works) for the season is 9 ½ hrs.

Metro

by Steve Willer

Waverley 1 defeated by Knox 4

Another round and another junior made their senior debut for the Panthers. Congratulations Kai Fellowes who joins a string of other juniors who make up the core of the Metro team.

We played an experienced Knox. As usual the young guns led the show. While they are still learning they are showing improvement week to week. Their continued enthusiasm to play senior hockey at Waverley is great to see. While we haven’t scored a win they have never given up.

This round we saw half backs Silas and Kai controlling the ball well against larger, more experienced opponents. Ben and Ryan were first to more contests than previous rounds. Ryan’s runs down the wing taking on opponents and delivering quality crosses has improved week to week. Equally Evan used his speed exceptionally well, timing his runs and finding space to receive the ball. Aidan was fantastic at centre forward and troubled the opposition on a number of breaks. We are sure his goal spree is not far away.

As we continue to play together within our structure the team will improve. This round we were much better at converting 25 yard entries into D penetration and had many shots on goal. This was a focus at training last week and was translated to a big improvement from last round. The Knox keeper had to make good saves to keep the ball from the back of the net.

Unfortunately the Knox goals came from lapses and to their credit they took their chances.

The positives for the Metro team are many with juniors demonstrating their skills and abilities. They continue to take on responsibility around the ground and are growing in confidence. Given the hard work it was good to get a consolation goal that a number of players had a hand in generating out of play from the back line. Our focus is to keep giving the juniors opportunity, providing an environment where we encourage execution of their skills and supporting each other.

Looking forward to next round on mothers day.

Midweek hockey

Open Age A

by Shannon Davey

Waverley 4 defeated Latrobe Uni 2

The Panthers returned home this week to face Latrobe ‘carpark beers’ Uni with the aim of keeping their undefeated status in season 2021. Barca, making his first appearance, added some youth as the 11th player for the game after only having 10 in the win against Werribee the week prior.

Wes, also returning after a week’s ‘rest’ ensured he was warm and ready to go spending most of the pregame in the car with the seat warmers on and hands firmly on the heated steering wheel. It proved a genius move as he peppered the Latrobe keeper repeatedly in the first half with an array of shots. But, after a nice midfield overlap, it was Corey who broke the deadlock finishing off a nice move with a shot from close range. 1-0.

The lead did not last long however as Joffa, still celebrating his save off the first shot by doing his best concrete feet impersonation, got completely nutmegged on the follow up shot bringing the score to 1-1. The Panthers went back to work though with T-Wisch air dragging his way, seemingly suffering from selective hearing at the same time, through the Latrobe defence for an okay solo goal making it 2-1. In a seesawing first half Latrobe Uni hit back after a defensive mix-up, 2-2 at half time. Joffa nutmegged twice within the half.

The second half got underway much like the first with The Panthers dominating possession and feeding Wes up forward who in turn continued to find the Latrobe keeper with ease. On his 19th shot though he finally found the back of the net for his first goal of the night. 3-2. As the half continued, Macca did his best to help the Latrobe guys by offering some free elbow massages, the umpire was not a fan of this free service though showing Macca a yellow card. The Panthers held tight with plenty of experience playing with 10 men.

After returning to full strength, they closed out the game with Wes adding a second goal and Waverley’s 4th to bring the final score to 4-2 and keeping our undefeated status in check for another week.

Open Age C

by Dave Whighton

Waverley 1 defeated by Collegians 3

It was a wet Monday evening when the Gents from Waverley trekked down to Monash to play Collegians X, who played in more bandanas than a Guns ‘n’ Roses tribute band. Bolstered by the young guns of pennant G who had only just got back from their weekend game in Melton, the numbers looked strong in the absence of mainstays Rich, Sima and Marc.

The first half had several momentum swings, Collegians struck first with a field goal before the Waverley boys put together a good purple patch, snagged a corner and Crispy convert strongly with a direct shot. Collegians struck again shortly after before another strong effort had Waverley pin the ball in the forward half in the closing minutes but unfortunately couldn’t find the goals. Crispy, ever the competitor, did however find the hand of a Collegian defender, who promptly took his stick and ball and went home in a huff.

At half time we were 1-2 down. After a bag of snakes from Sean and some words from Rich and Gav, we went out with the intent to pull the game back. But the skill of the Collegians was on display early and even a couple of clutch saves from Baz in goals couldn’t hold them off forever and they went up 3 to 1. Andy Lee and Bailey joined Crispy in the mid-field to lead wave after wave of forward pushes, but the Collegians had parked the bus and proceeded to belt the ball back down the other end of the field every chance they got.

They slowly whittled the clock away, ensuring the score line didn’t change, with some forward structure plays likely to be the focus of the Boys in blue next week.

Masters 45d

by Mark Adams

Waverley 3 defeated MCC 0

A fantastic team effort on Monday night at home saw the Men’s Masters team secure a solid win against an experienced MCC side. We welcomed the return of Alan Ballard and Brian Maddock, each making a positive contribution to the win. Despite remaining goalless at half time, two goals from Cam Backman and one from Rajeev Weerasiri were the result of repeated pressure in the opposition’s half. We also needed a strong defence, as we faced frequent attacks. Johnny M , Keith T and David W provided that dependable barrier.

We continue to grow as a team both on and off the field. Next Monday we face our rivals Camberwell …