Premier League Grand Final Recap: University and OHA Claim 2026 Premierships

Published Sat 19 Sep 2026

The 2026 Premier League season concluded with University defeating North West Graduates 5–1 to secure back-to-back Men’s premierships, while OHA overcame DiamondBacks 2–1 in the Women’s decider, in a massive day of Finals action at the Aurora Energy Tasmanian Hockey Centre.

University Seals Back-to-Back Triumph

University claimed the 2026 Men’s Premier League crown with a commanding 5–1 victory over North West Graduates, successfully defending their title and securing back-to-back premierships.

Player-coach Ben Read got the Stueys off to the perfect start, converting an early penalty corner with a powerful drag flick. However, Ollie Stebbings responded in kind almost immediately to restore parity within a minute.

The competition’s leading marksman, Oscar Sproule, then struck twice in quick succession, firing University to a 3–1 lead as the goals flowed during an action-packed opening quarter.

If not for Harley Wilkie, the Stuey's lead could have been larger, with the Bulldog's net minder producing some sharp saves to keep his side in the match.

His first was a diving effort at the near post after some brilliance from league best and fairest winner Keenan Johnson. The second was a thumping finish, after silkily bringing down a long aerial ball into the back post from Ruben Hoey.

Hoey's return for the final proved influential as he provided the Bulldogs defence with no shortage of problems with a lively first-half display.

The scoring dried up from there, with neither side finding the net during the second or third quarters. University looked comfortable for the most part, controlling the game in the second quarter, but the Bulldogs would grow into the contest and threatened to cut the lead as the match wore on.

After University had dominated the first half, the Bulldogs earned a raft of penalty-corner opportunities, including five consecutive attempts to close out the third term, but just could not find a way through a determined University defence, who continued to charge the efforts down.

University finally landed the knockout blow with two minutes remaining when Ashby Bingham fired home to seal the premiership, firing home at the second time of asking with a clinical reverse stick effort. He then added his second in the final seconds, putting the finishing touch on an emphatic 5–1 victory as Oscar Sproule left him with a tap in.

Read was awarded the Best on Ground Medal after opening the scoring and leading a University defence that stood firm against the Bulldogs’ furious second-half push.

Ships Sail to Premiership Glory

OHA claimed the 2026 Women’s Premier League premiership with a 2–1 victory over DiamondBacks, denying the Snakes a third consecutive title and completing a brilliant finals campaign after finishing the regular season in third place.

Veteran Sofie McLeod proved the match-winner, scoring both of her side’s goals in the victory.

The Ships dominated much of the first half but initially struggled to convert that control into a lead, with Jess Stevens producing a series of important saves in the DiamondBacks goal.

Between her and some crucial defensive interventions from Stella Pritchard, they managed to keep the game locked at 0-0 despite the Ships creating a raft of high danger scoring chances,

The Snakes then threatened to land a counter-punch at the other end, but Bobbie Hamlett produced a crucial one-on-one save to deny Ella Berresford.

McLeod finally broke the deadlock in the dying seconds of the first half, cleverly deflecting Zayna Jackson’s ball into the circle with the final touch of the opening half.

The third quarter saw OHA continuing to look the more likely side to score, as the DiamondBacks struggled to break through the Ships' stifling press. But they were wasteful from penalty corner chances, and the game remained 1-0 heading into the final quarter, which the Snakes began with a man-advantage following a green card to Jackson

But despite the numerical disadvantage, OHA doubled their advantage in the opening minute of the final quarter, as McLeod swept home her second from close range after getting on the end of Sarah McCambridge’s driven cross that somehow found a way through a pair of DiamondBacks defenders.

That goal proved to be the insurance OHA needed, with Madi Clark converting a penalty corner to halve the deficit with four minutes remaining and give her side a glimmer of hope.

The Ships steadied though, and professionally saw out the closing stages, securing a 2–1 victory and the 2026 Women’s Premier League premiership.

Zayna Jackson capped off a stellar finals campaign by being awarded the Best on Ground Medal for her industrious midfield performance, as the Ships completed a brilliant finals campaign that saw them surge from a third-place finish and win 3 consecutive finals en-route to the Premiership.