Tasmania Wraps Up Under 18 Championships with Fourth and Eighth Place Finishes

Published Mon 13 Jul 2026

The Hockey Australia Under 18 Championships came to an end on Saturday, with the Tasmanian Men narrowly missing out on a medal, finishing fourth after a 5-2 loss to Victoria in the Bronze Medal match.

The contest was still in the balance heading into the final quarter, with Tasmania trailing 3-2 thanks to a brace from Joey Bush. However, Victoria finished strongly with two late goals to secure the bronze medal. Despite the disappointment, a fourth-place finish represents an impressive achievement for the Tasmanian side.

Tasmania's campaign began in emphatic fashion, recording commanding victories over the Northern Territory (7-0) and South Australia (5-0). They then produced one of the matches of the tournament, fighting back from 5-3 down against Victoria to earn a thrilling 5-5 draw, with Angus McMullen scoring a dramatic late equaliser. The result secured top spot in their pool and guaranteed a place in the quarter-finals.

With first place already secured, the repechage match against Queensland Maroon carried little significance beyond preparation for the knockout stages, with Tasmania going down 5-0.

The quarter-final saw the Tasmanians bounce back in impressive fashion, defeating New South Wales Blues 4-2 to advance to the semi-finals. Their tournament came to an end at the hands of New South Wales State, who claimed a 5-0 victory before Tasmania concluded its campaign against Victoria in the bronze medal match.

The Tasmanian Women finished eighth after falling 7-1 to Western Australia Gold in the 7th/8th playoff.

The result did not fully reflect a campaign in which the Tasmanians were highly competitive and came within touching distance of contesting the fifth-place playoff.

Drawn in a difficult pool alongside eventual champions Queensland Gold and runners-up Victoria, Tasmania opened with a 5-0 defeat to Queensland before producing a hard-fought 1-1 draw with South Australia. They then pushed Victoria all the way in a narrow 1-0 defeat.

Those results left Tasmania and South Australia with identical records, requiring a rare tie-breaking penalty shootout to determine third place in the pool and which team would advance to the repechage for a chance to reach the quarter-finals. Tasmania held its nerve to claim a 2-0 victory, with goalkeeper Maya Almenara producing a remarkable performance by saving all three South Australian attempts, while Amber Sargent and Frances Boyles converted their shootouts.

Tasmania then booked its place in the quarter-finals with a 1-1 draw against Western Australia Black. Essie Pelham scored a late equaliser, her second final-quarter equaliser of the tournament, with the draw enough to see Tasmania progress as the higher-seeded side.

Victoria again proved too strong in the quarter-finals, recording a 6-1 victory despite Frances Boyles converting a penalty corner for Tasmania.

The Tasmanians then faced South Australia once more in the 5th-8th classification playoff. After another 1-1 draw in regulation thanks to a Harriet Sproule strike, South Australia reversed the earlier result by winning the penalty shootout 2-1, sending Tasmania into the 7th/8th playoff against Western Australia Gold.

Tasmania was also well represented among the tournament officials. Vincent Harman was appointed to umpire the Men's Gold Medal match in recognition of his outstanding performances throughout the championship, whilst Anette Saunders (Assistant Technical Director), Deb Dalton (Technical Official) and Minka Wooley (Umpire Manager) all represented Tasmania with distinction in officiating roles throughout the championships.