Premier League Week 1 Preview

Published Thu 19 Mar 2026

Premier League Season Launches for 2026

The Tasmania Premier League Hockey season gets underway on Saturday at the Aurora Energy Tasmanian Hockey Centre.

The Premier League men’s season will begin with a blockbuster grand final rematch, as University takes on North West Graduates.

The pair met in last year’s decider, where University broke a 23-year premiership drought by winning a classic 4–2.

Having broken the drought, University will now need to adapt to being the hunted as they look to defend their crown. They enter the season as premiership favourites, with captain David McCarthy saying the side is looking to build something special over the coming years.

“We are all still really hungry; winning one wasn’t enough for us. We want to go back-to-back. We’ve spoken about wanting to build a bit of a dynasty. We are a pretty young team, and we reckon if we can hold onto everyone and maintain our fitness, I’d like to think that over the next three to five years we will be challenging for every single one.”

NWG will be without the influential Eddie Ockenden in 2026 and will need to look to youth to step up and replace the star as they attempt to go one better.

Rising young talent Ollie Stebbings forecast a slight shift in the Bulldogs’ style as they look to improve.

“We want to play with a bit more control, a more defensive style of hockey. At times last year, we rushed a little too much and turned the ball over, so we want to play with more possession.”

If not the Bulldogs, then it may well be the DiamondBacks who emerge as the prime challengers to University, with many tipping them as the biggest threat for the 2026 title. With Tyler McDonald, Jaxon Sproule, Luke Palmer and Will Dixon augmenting the squad, they appear primed to take a leap in 2026.

Coach Ilene Carr is setting high expectations for the group.

“I’d be very disappointed if we weren’t knocking on the door of the top two. With the quality of the group we’ve got at the club, we shouldn’t be thinking about anything less than playing in that last game of the season.”

They will open their campaign against a Derwent side eyeing a return to finals action, with captain Ewan Vickery suggesting his group is highly motivated heading into the season.

“We had years in a row where we were top four and competing in finals, and missing out two years in a row has lit the fire under everyone, so we are keen to go again.”

The final game of opening day will see Canterbury take on OHA, and Lions coach Josh Poke is hoping that an edge in fitness and extra running power might help offset some key departures over the offseason.

“We’ve got a couple of players in the group who are semi-professional runners, so that has really helped. It’s something we would like to incorporate into our game plan, really pushing the envelope to try to gain an advantage by being able to run a little longer than other teams.”

Their first assignment is a youthful OHA side with its sights set on a return to finals after a couple of tough years, with coach Ollie Smith feeling positive about his young chargers.

“There’s a really good vibe and excitement amongst the group. We’ve had a tough couple of years, but we feel like we belong in the top four, so our first and foremost goal is to make the top four.”

In the Premier League women’s competition, DiamondBacks enter the season as the team to beat as they aim for a historic three-peat, having claimed the 2024 and 2025 crowns. They are expected to again contend strongly for the premiership and remain, in most rivals’ eyes, the side to beat in 2026.

Co-captain Emily Donovan brushed off suggestions that her side is the hunted heading into the season.

“It’s obviously a new season. Teams have recruited, they have new players, and it’s a different environment, so not really, that’s in the past now, and we just look forward to what the future holds.”

Their first opponents will be a Derwent side coming off a difficult 2025 campaign, with a focus on fundamentals, according to 2025 leading goal scorer Jessie Pankiw.

“Obviously getting some wins on the board would be great, but we’ve broken down our targets this year into more game-by-game goals, things like stringing together more passes through the midfield, linking up with our backline out of our 16s, and reducing turnovers and breakdowns.”

North West Grads will be looking to go one better in 2026 after falling agonisingly short in 2025, losing a 1–0 thriller to Diamondbacks after finishing on top of the ladder in the regular season. Coach Stephen McMullen says the defeat will not linger.

“We certainly reflected on it, but it’s not something we’ll be talking about throughout the year. It’s a new season, we’ve got a new group, and it’s a new opportunity.”

The expectation is the Bulldogs will again be there when it matters in September as they aim to recapture the title they won in 2023.

First up for them is a young University side looking to push back into finals contention under new coach Holly Gilbar.

Captain Holly Teale said last season will hold the group in good stead for improvement.

“I think we can definitely take a step forward this year. We had a challenging season, coming off losing a number of players from 2024, but we used it almost as a development year. We’ve built up a number of promising junior players who are extremely fit and highly skilled.”

The side many are tipping as dark horses, and potential big improvers are OHA, who finished fourth last season.

Returning star Sarah McCambridge says finals are firmly in their sights, but the group won’t get ahead of itself.

“I think every year you have to aim to make finals and the grand final, but that’s a long way away. You have to take it one round at a time. It’s easy to get caught up focusing on the end of the season and not putting the right processes in place earlier.”

Their first test will be a rematch of last year’s semi-final thriller, which went to a penalty shootout before Canterbury snuck past them.

That’s a result Canterbury Captain Maddy Curtis hopes can fuel futher improvement in her side.

“I think for any team, finals is always the goal, so we are striving for a top-four spot. We made finals last year, and I think we can definitely achieve that again. Winning a final was a confidence boost that we can take forward.”

Check out the full Pre-Season Interview Series