Plate Final Winners!

 

With a second D2 Women’s team this season this relatively stable team from the last few seasons had a bit of a shakeup with a couple of players moving into Black and some new young schoolgirls joining the team. This meant the team had to learn how each other played and like a new team in every sport there were ups and downs. ​

 

Unfortunately, due to illness, injury and international trips we struggled to put a consistent team out on the turf.  Over the 19 games we had 35 different players play for us and one week we had more fill-ins than actual regular players. The constant after game discussion was about the great hockey we had played and that the result didn’t reflect the game. 

 

​Having said that we did manage to win a few more games towards the second half of the season and by the end of the championship we had pulled ourselves up to 7th.  This meant a semi-final against ECB who we had not beaten in the two games previous but despite playing one of the best games so far we still couldn’t find the goal and were denied by the woodwork resulting in a 0-0 draw and taking the game to a shootout. Gabby our GK was on fire and luckily, we had practiced shootouts at training which gave us a 3-2 shootout win. The goal of playing on finals day was achieved and was just reward for the teams never give up attitude throughout the season.

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Finals Day dawned bright and early…8:30am team talk for one of the first games of the day and the plan was simple, just play the great hockey that we have played all season, but this time let’s score some goals! And the plan worked Plate Final victory was ours beating Mahurangi 2-1.

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There are some names to watch out for in the years to come in this team with lots of young players Summer, Neave, Eden, Mischa, Freida, Bee, Charlotte and Grace all having great seasons guided by the experience of Nat, Kerry-Lee, Ri, Trudi and Gabby…this is just the start for the players in this amazing D2 Women's team. Next year they will be fighting hard for that top 4 spot and we can't wait.

 

Karen Croft

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2022 Season Round Up

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2022 Hockey Season completed, and we finished in the top 4. Played 16 games this season winning 9, drawing 4 and losing 3. Scored 30 goals and had 14 scored against and finished the season with 48 points.

 

This team is full of family combinations with three mother-daughter duos, Karen and Zoe Croft, Vanita and Rasmika Sukha and Rianne and Daina Brazier. This made for some interesting “Muuum!” moments and the occasionally full naming call on the field…Whether on or off the field this team in not short of a good laugh and quality team spirit.

 

We started the season having a new goalie every week so massive thanks to all our keepers Gabby,

Emily, Daina, Stacey and Carey. Gabby was recovering from injury at the start of the season and

when she joined us, she was an outstanding part of team saving us on many occasions, so we thank

you very much. Another massive thank you to Emily who helped us out a lot and was exceptional.

 

Our rock-solid backline are always a force to be reckoned with, our midfield have some amazing

distribution talent and our striker line are hungry as can be. We faced a few injuries this year meaning

some players played out of position and some players found a new home on field. This team is filled

with knowledge, experience and speed. Can’t wait to see what next year brings and see the

development of our ABC upcoming players learning from the exceptional experience we have the

privilege of having in this great club.

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2021 Season Round Up

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This team has gone from strength to strength throughout the season. Like every sport there were ups and downs. We played games of two halves starting slow and finishing as if they were given rocket fuel at half time talks. The team spirit the Division 2 women’s team have off the field is amazing. We unfortunately got pipped at the post to nab top of the table but without a doubt this team is a force to be reckoned with. 

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From Stacey in pads at the back to freight train Ange leading from the front, this team has had a strong winning mentality throughout the season. Setbacks were never going to stop us, times of internal conflict turned to team builders and taking responsibility as a team made us harder and if there was ever a team to deserve a chance at smashing finals day it would be this one.

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In a team that has majority Masters players, they pulled off 9 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses. Ending the season with 22 goals (only 2 behind the last game decider winner NSU) and only 9 goals against them. 

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Newcomers to the team this year included a dynamic mother/ daughter duo, Trudi and Briar Petrie. Adding youth to the mix from D3 last year is our famous gazelle, Matilda Sales and Laura Arthur. Also coming from D3 bringing their experience, finesse and calm demeanours Jen Hambleton and Natalie Bullet. New to join the ABC club this year was Sandra Yeats, that did not stop her from slotting into this team like she had been here for years! 

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Returning to D2, Carey Wessels and Ange Chivers round off the newcomers to this rock star D2 team.

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Leading this team from the front (or rather from the back) our own Gandalf aka Mamma Bear aka Captian, Ri Brazier. Flanking her are our solid defense players Vanita Sukha, Ngaio Merrick, and joining back from the States for a few games another formidable mother/daughter duo Ri’s daughter, Daina Brazier. Sitting in the middle until an ankle injury was the solid powerhouse Rina Transom. Supporting her in the inner lane and managing all us was the amazing Chris Morrison. 

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This team is known for their family connections and close knit friendships. Having 2 mother/daughter combinations, another mother whose daughter plays in P2, 3 players that have their partners that play for D2 Men Black and another 2 who’s partner plays for P3 Ladies and NSU D1 Ladies, one can easily see why this team gels so well on and off the turf and what makes them so unique.

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Completing this ABC D2 Ladies team is the coaching team of Alice Cheeseman (unfortunately she missed the photo above as she was playing for Prem 3 at the time) and Oliver Peterson (both coaching this team for the first time and first time working together), they are the icing on our cake with the cherry on top! At times we really tested their patience and may have given them a few early grey hairs but we wouldn't have it any other way. 

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To finish up this is just the start for this amazing D2 Women's team. Next year we will come back bigger and better, stronger and hungrier and we can't wait.

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2020 Season Round Up

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This team progressed really well and had a successful season introducing new players to the club to fill spots vacated by players who had moved up a grade.  After pool play we finished second behind Warkwroth in a tight battle with Takapuna, Northcote and Mahurangi – teams that finished ahead of us last year when we were sixth.

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The team is full of dedicated trainers. We recruited well with some strong new players and the old guard stepped up again, improving week by week.

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Pool play

21 Jun Warkworth 1-3 Lisa Doughty (POTD: Stacey Baker)

27 Jun Northcote 1-1 Lisa Doughty (POTD: Rosie Bryce)

4 Jul Mahurangi 1-0 Rosie Bryce (POTD: Shannon Scown)

11 Jul HDF White 3-1 Crystal Monaghan (2), Anneke Bornman (POTD: Vanita Sukha)

18 Jul Takapuna 2-0 Marion Robinson (2) (POTD: Angie Holmes)

25 Jul NSU 1-1 Shannon Scown (POTD: Rachel Drane)

1 Aug HDF Maroon 4-1 Rosie Bryce (2), Marion Robinson (2) (POTD: Shannon Scown)

8 Aug Warkworth 0-4 (POTD: Daina Brazier)

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Finals hockey

26 Sep Takapuna 1-3 Marion Robinson (POTD: Emilia Bacapaunero)

3 Oct HDF White 2-1 Shannon Scown, Emilia Bacapaunero (POTD: Entire team)

10 Oct Warkworth 0-4 (POTD: Entire team)

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Newly promoted Warkworth were our opponents in the first game – this was the first of three tough battles that we had with them over the course of the season.  They are a very strong team who have won all their games since their formation and we ran them closer than any other team.

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After that we went on an unbeaten run of six games (until we played Warkworth again!) and were beating teams that got the better of us last year, and really should have beaten Northcote and NSU as well.

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COVID interrupted our season and regrettably meant that we lost several of our stand-out performers from pool play – Crystal Monaghan moved to Warkworth, Daina Brazier returned to study in the States.  Compounding this we were missing Rachel Drane and Ngaio Merrick which weakened our midfield and defence respectively.   We went down 3-1 to Takapuna in the first finals game in difficult circumstances, the woodwork saved Takapuna on a couple of occasions, but the result was probably fair overall and we had had the rub of the green when we played them in pool play.  

 

The next week was against HDF White, traditionally a top four team in this grade and on a very hot day the team was further weakened with the loss of Rina Transom, Rosie Bryce and Olivia Cundy and only Ngaio back but we managed a 2-1 win with all the goals coming in the second half with HDF scoring with the last play of the game.   That game was particularly satisfying as we had only 11 players and we were able to put away a capable team.

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Our final game was against Warkworth and we were close to full strength.   We played well but Warkworth played better.  We were able to hold its head up high after that game and the season as a whole.

 

A foundation of a strong team is good goalkeepers. Stacey Baker and Angie Holmes were our main goalkeepers this year.   Both played very well and when Stacey was injured, she frequently came to support as did Angie when Stacey returned to the team.  Maureen Watson stepped in for a game when both were unavailable.

 

The core of our defense was captain Rianne Brazier and Vanita Sukha.  Both are experienced and capable players who formed an effective partnership and the distribution from the back was very good.   Ri times her tackles very effectively and gets into the right position.   Vanita has very good vision and clears with precision.  They combined well and if one player was beaten the other was there to mop up the pieces.

 

At outside half, we retained Christine Morrison, Daina Brazier (until August) and Ngaio Merrick – all three had seasons to be proud of: we really missed Daina’s athleticism and ability to support the attack.   Ngaio had a strong season patrolling the right touchline and covering heaps of metres (on and off the pitch) and her decision-making in the attacking third is much improved – she is immensely brave and it took a broken ankle to get her off the pitch.   Chris was solid and brave (she didn’t need concrete pills) and made some telling tackles and intercepts and had the versatility to cover the centre of defence when required.

 

We had a strong quartet in midfield with newcomers and physios Rachel Drane and Crystal Monaghan adding some pace in the centre of field linking back and forward very well. Rina Transom had a very strong season with great hand-eye co-ordination and good distribution.   Ruby Brown played more assertively this year and made some telling contributions.  

Shannon Scown was effective in a deep lying centre forward role and provided some grit and aggression – her goal against HDF was a masterpiece: a first-time strike from the top of the circle.   Anneke Bornman’s season was interrupted by injury, but she had some clever touches and linked very well.  Newcomer Rosie Bryce had real pace and was able to drive to the baseline to create goals and score a few as well.

 

With the loss of Daina and Chrystal mid-season we were lucky enough to find two replacements, Emilia Bacapaunero and Olivia Cundy who covered midfield mainly.  Emilia was a very strong runner and tackler and Olivia has good ball control and skills in a more advanced area.  Nat Bullent joined us for the last two games and is a classy player.

We were lucky to be able to call upon some Division 3 players this season including Marion Robinson, Lisa Doughty, Laura Arthur, Mathilda Sales, Seij Prema and Cat Horgan, who all acquitted themselves well and there will be stiff competition for spots next year.

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Finally a big thank you to Chris Morrison, our dedicated Manager.   She has contributed hugely on and off the field to make this a very enjoyable team to be part of.

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Tobin Blathwayt - Coach

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2019 Season Round Up

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The women’s team was competitive in every game it played with lots of technical wins”: in the first round of pool play, we got at least a bonus point in every game and became the masters of the 0-0 draw!   The team progressed very well over the course of the season and played some very good, passing hockey with everybody contributing well to what was ultimately a successful season on-and-off the field.

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Despite losing two of our strongest players, we left some of our best performances until the end of the season and put everything on the line in Finals hockey.  Coming off the back of a 7-0 win we played a quarter-final in a torrential downpour against Takapuna who had finished third in pool play (we were sixth): nevertheless, we were the stronger team in the game but it was one of those matches where the chances didn’t go our way and against the run of play Takapuna took a 2-0 lead in the second half (fatigue may have played a part as we're short of subs), we then pulled our goalie off for the last few minutes and conceded one more goal. 

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This took us into the Plate where we were played against the two HDF teams (it was a little hard to tell which was which): in the semi-final, we took a 1-0 lead from a dominant first-half display with great interplay between Kaitlyn Horan and Kassidy Allott; HDF came back strongly in the second half to equalise and a further goal was scored by each side to take the game to shoot outs – Maureen Watson held her nerve to save all four shots at her, whilst Kassidy and Carey Nortje-Wessels coolly slotted home to take us to the pool final, where we were up against our nemesis, HDF Maroon who had beaten us twice in pool play.

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We saved our best performance until last against a strong HDF team. We were 1-0 up at the half time and carried that momentum into the second half to take a 3-0 lead.   HDF never gave up and the last 15 minutes seemed to take an eternity, but we prevailed and ultimately celebrated a well-deserved victory.

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​Goalkeeper Gabby Tomoana was unfortunate to suffer a season-ending injury early in the season and was replaced with Maureen Watson and Stacey Baker.  Quite different in style, both were very effective.   Maureen used her physical presence well to cut down angles and cover the goal, none more so than when she kept a clean sheet in the semi-final shootout against HDF when she stood tall against all comers.  Stacey is one of the most agile keepers I have seen with very quick reflexes and is a very fine shot-stopper.

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Our defence was strongly led by captain Rianne Brazier.  Ri, at deep full-back, showed excellent judgment and timing in interceptions and tackles and her distribution was very effective.  She was complemented by Caitlin Coppin who has excellent positional sense and as high full-back linked the front and back very effectively and is a very cultured player. There are few players braver than Ngaio Merrick who used her license to roam down the right flank very effectively, penetrating the opposition 22 often and the circle on occasion whilst never neglecting her defensive duties.  Karen Croft was a steadying influence at the back making some clutch tackles, guiding the team and leading by word and example: her contribution to the team on and off the field is immense. Daina Brazier was a stand-out at left half with strong tackles and an ability to transfer from defence to attack, as well as having key roles in PCD and PCA.   Our defence was rock-solid, and the team keenly felt the loss of Karen (broken foot) and Daina (University in America) for the last month of the season.  However, this provided others with the opportunity to step in to the breach: Chris Morrison, who is an intelligent player who always gets into the right positions and makes good decisions, had the versatility to play anywhere across the back four and did so very effectively, slotting into unfamiliar positions without any fuss: a real team player.

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In midfield, Karen Taylor was a very effective distributor, rarely making a mistake and spreading the ball to the flanks, opening up space for others: she controlled the game well from centre half.  Rina Transom rarely had a poor game: provided some steel in the midfield and showed a high level of skill, and she has a lovely pass.  Shannon Scown ran hard and bravely: she has strong dribbling skills and tenacity which allowed her to often beat the first man.  Nakita Stewart always gave 100% and provided excellent support and encouragement to her team-mates: she is another who can be proud of her improvement this season.  Carey Nortje-Wessels was an inspiration to the team with her relentlessly positive attitude and was a stand-out, particularly in finals hockey where she was outstanding in the semi-final and final.

 

Upfront Traci Rollitt and Lisa Doughty led the line.  Traci is a very hard worker on the field and has some strong hockey skills and a good eye for the goal: she puts heart and soul into every game.   Lisa made great strides during the season and plays an intelligent game and is almost always in the right space, and it has been really nice to see how she has progressed in confidence and impact.   Ruby Brown played predominantly upfront but had the adaptability to play as outside half and inner as well, where her passing ability came to the fore: she also made some clutch tackles at key points.   We were lucky enough to be able to call on Kaitlyn Horan and Kassidy Allott from time to time.  Kaitlyn is one of the fastest players I have coached, and I can remember one sprint of 70 metres to gather the ball in the opposite corner which was amazing.  Kassidy is hugely enthusiastic, has good stick skills and an instinct for goal scoring.  The two of them played very well, particularly in the plate semi-final and final where their speed was devastating, and they combined to create and score a number of goals.

 

Finally, a big thank you to Poppy Porter, Liv Crum and Ryan Gray who ran some coaching sessions. It is great to have players of their calibre to come and coach our team, and it is one of the things that makes ABC unique is the one-club culture that is has fostered.

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