By TANIA PHILLIPS
Pic Image: 1335cf: Kingscliff’s Chris Fahey and Bobcats Mark Irby.
Pic 106106play: Kingscliff’s Marcus Holt and Bobcats Dean Standfield.
Pic 106-107-Dean: Bobcats Dean Standfield and Kingscliff’s Henry Prichard.
Pic 106105-stingers : We are the champions. Kingscliff Stingers D1M team. Pictures Toni Kelly-Fleeton
IT took them 36 years but the Kingscliff Stingers Division One men’s hockey team have finally added another premiership to their trophy cabinet.
Ironically their coach Richard Philips was playing for the opposition – the Waratah Bobcats – when they won their last premiership back in 1976.
And on Saturday at Murwillumbah’s Barrie Smith Hockey Field, history repeated itself with the Stingers defeating minor premiers Waratah Bobcats five-four in the newly revamped men’s first division competition now known as the Harcourt hockey league.
Waratahs, hailing from the Burringbar-Mooball region, are the superstars of the local hockey competition, featuring in every men’s first division final since that game back in 1976.
On that day, a young Richard Philips was playing his first A grade game and he felt the bitter sting of defeat.
But on Saturday Philips, who said he had never forgotten that loss, was in the winner’s circle coaching Kingscliff for the trophy against his old club. “This game turned out to be one of the best ever,” Richard enthused.
“It had it all – speed, skill, drama, emotion, extra time and after 37 years finally Kingscliff had their dream win five-four in extra time,” Philip said.
“Kingscliff’s Jordan Wilson scored four goals. To score a single goal in a grand final is special, but to score four is unbelievable.
“It was Kingscliff who scored first in the first 10 minutes with a Jordan Wilson tomahawk shot and then Waratah captain Tim Willis called their power play (in which Kingscliff had to remove two players and play with nine players to Waratahs 11 for seven minutes).
“Kingscliff had the same power play in the second half.
“But it proved successful for Waratahs in the first half. They scored two goals through their young striker Jayden Dixon to hit the lead two-one. The game moved seemingly faster and faster and then with two minutes left in the first half, Kingscliff’s Joe Prichard scored the equaliser to give them a boost and go to the break two-all.”
Philips said his side knew they had their power-play up their sleeve and took it after another goal to Jordan Wilson.
With Waratahs then reduced to nine players, it looked like Kingscliff would pull further ahead, but some great goal-keeping by experienced Waratah’s keeper Mitchell Paron kept the Coast boys from scoring and in fact it was Waratah’s who broke through to score with 30 seconds left in the power-play period from a Josh Alcorn short corner.
Under the Harcourt Hockey rules, if the team with nine players scores during the power play their scoring shot counts as double and so suddenly the Bobcats were ahead four-three and looking dangerous.
“Kingscliff to their credit did not panic and with three minutes on the clock it was Jordan Wilson who got their equaliser and sent the game into sudden death drop of hockey,” Richard Philip said.
“Now with both teams having nine players for seven minutes and all knowing that whoever scored would take the title, it made for some real nail biting stuff.
“Jordan Wilson had a couple of clean shots that went wide and with three minutes remaining Waratahs had an open net with the ball passing across the circle. However they failed to get a stick on the ball and the game was still locked at four-all at the end of the first lot of extra time.
“The second lot of extra time was called and now both teams were down to seven players. But early on a failed over-head ball by Waratah’s found a Kingscliff player who sent the ball straight into the circle for Jordan Wilson to hammer high in the net.”
Philips said the Kingy team and supporters went wild a win.
“After 37 years, and in such a high class game, their dreams had come true.”
All the spoils went to the winning side with Kingscliff’s Marcus Holt taking player of the final while Kingscliff goal keeper Sam Laskowski was player of the year.
In Division Two, minor premiers Murwillumbah defeated Casuarina three-nil, grand final player of match Chris Stewart from Murwillumbah and player of the year was Mullumbimby’s Adam Gadowski.
Division Three men’s grand final was won by Waratahs one-nil over minor premiers Murwillumbah.Grand final player of match was Josh Nowlan of Waratahs while player of the year was James Arthur from Mullumbimby.
Grand final results for boys and men: Under 11 boys Warapots three-nil defeated Casuarina; under 13 boys Casuarina two-nil over Warapots; under 16 boys Kingscliff one-nil defeated Casuarina.
