Premier League Round 14 Review

The headline fixture of Round 14 was a top of the ladder battle between OHA and North West Graduates, which proved every bit as tight as anticipated, as the pair played out an arm wrestle of a 1-1 draw. In a game that saw scoring chances at a premium, Zayna Jackson lasered in an opening penalty corner, but that was cancelled out in the final quarter by Ashleigh Arthur deflecting home a Bulldogs penalty corner effort. The result leaves NWG on top of the ladder and continues the trend of the two sides playing out close, low-scoring games.

The Derwent Women had plenty of reason to celebrate, as they earned their first Premier League point since Round 18 of the 2023 season. University appeared to have done enough to take the three points when Catherine Webster handed them the lead midway through the third term, but Derwent won a penalty corner in the final minute of the match, which Sophe Nichols steered home and secured the breakthrough result, cueing joyous celebrations from the Strikers players. 

In the other game of the round, an understrength DiamondBacks side took advantage of the draw between NWG and OHA to close the gap to the top two, as they accounted for Canterbury 4-0 thanks to 2 goals from Madi Clark, with Philida Bridley and Sophie Kruimink joining her own the scoresheet .

In the Men’s Competition, the Oscar Sproule show rolled on for University, as the competition’s leading marksman helped himself to another four goals as his side hammered Derwent 7-0. Sproule scored the first three goals of the game to take his season tally to 31 goals in 12 games, with two goals to Tyson Johnson and one to Ben Read rounding out the scoring in a dominant display from the defending premiers.

The most entertaining match of the day came in the OHA and North West Graduates clash, as they played out a wild, see-sawing encounter. NWG were cruising with a 4-1 lead midway through the third quarter before OHA came storming back to draw level at 5-5 at the halfway point of the last with Joseph Murphy and Lucas Sward scoring twice. The Bulldogs would eventually steady and pull away to an 8-5 victory, thanks largely to an incredible display of drag flicking from Oli Stebbings, who scored five times in a starring show. 

The other game of the round was a tight contest between DiamondBacks and Canterbury, which remained firmly in the balance for the duration of the contest. Joshua Walker scored the lone goal of the game to break the stalemate in the third quarter, finishing off a sharp passing move, and it proved enough despite a late push from the Lions, as the Snakes held on to win 1-0 and maintain second place on the ladder.

Premier League Round 14

Women

OHA 1-1 NWG

University 1-1 Derwent

DiamondBacks 4-0 Canterbury

Men

NWG 8-5 OHA

University 7-0 Derwent

DiamondBacks 1-0 Canterbury