2018 Men's Australian Hockey League

The 2018 Men's Australian Hockey League was the 26th edition of the men's field hockey tournament. The 2018 edition of the tournament was held between 6 – 28 October, and featured a new format from previous editions.

2018 Men's Australian Hockey League

Tournament details
Host country	Australia
City	Gold Coast (finals venue)
Dates	6 – 28 October
Teams	8
Venue	9 (in 9 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	QLD Blades (10th title)
Runner-up	NSW Waratahs
Third place	Tassie Tigers
Tournament statistics
Matches played	24
Goals scored	208 (8.67 per match)
Top scorer	Blake Govers (11 goals)
Best player	Jake Whetton
← 2017 (previous) (next) 2019 →

The finals phase of the 2018 tournament was held in the Queensland city of the Gold Coast, from the 25 – 28 October.

QLD Blades won the tournament for a record tenth time after defeating NSW Waratahs 5–3 in the gold-medal match. Tassie Tigers claimed the bronze medal after defeating the Canberra Lakers 1–0.

Competition format

Unlike previous editions of the Men's Australian Hockey League, the 2018 edition will include a very different format. Instead of the tournament being held at a single venue, the teams will play at least one home and away match during the pool stage, before converging on a singular venue for the Classification Round.

The teams will be divided into two Pool A and Pool B, both consisting of four teams, with each team playing each other once. The teams will then progress to the Classification round, with each team playing a qualifying match, before progressing to either the fifth to eighth place playoffs, or the first to fourth place playoffs.

Participating teams

• Canberra Lakers
• NSW Waratahs
• NT Stingers
• QLD Blades
• SA Hotshots
• Tassie Tigers
• VIC Vikings
• WA Thundersticks

Venues

Sydney	Melbourne	Perth
Sydney Olympic Park	State Netball and Hockey Centre	Perth Hockey Stadium
Capacity: 8,000	Capacity: 8,000	Capacity: 6,000
Adelaide	Brisbane Gold Coast Adelaide Sydney Canberra Melbourne Perth Darwin Hobart
State Hockey Centre
Capacity: 4,000
Brisbane
Queensland State Hockey Centre
Capacity: 1,000
Canberra	Hobart	Darwin
National Hockey Centre	Tasmanian Hockey Centre	Marrara Hockey Centre
Gold Coast
Finals Venue: Gold Coast Hockey Centre

Results

Preliminary round

Pool A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	WD	LD	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Tassie Tigers	3	3	0	0	0	15	6	+9	15
2	Canberra Lakers	3	2	0	0	1	9	8	+1	10
3	QLD Blades	3	1	0	0	2	9	14	−5	5
4	NSW Waratahs	3	0	0	0	3	9	14	−5	0

Updated to match(es) played on 6 October 2018. Source: hockey.org.au

6 October 2018
16:00 (AEST)

NSW Waratahs 4–6 QLD Blades Brand  21', 21'
B. Govers  40', 47' Report Anderson  16', 55'
Rintala  22', 22', 24'
D. Wotherspoon  25'

Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney
Umpires:
Zeke Newman (AUS)
Ben de Young (AUS)

6 October 2018
19:00 (AEST)

Tassie Tigers 5–1 Canberra Lakers Ockenden  7', 7'
Arthur  10'
McCambridge  42', 42' Report Day  51'

Tasmanian Hockey Centre, Hobart
Umpires:
Ben Hocking (AUS)
Adam Kearns (AUS)

---

14 October 2018
14:30 (AEST)

Tassie Tigers 5–4 NSW Waratahs Read  7'
McCambridge  50', 50'
Dick  60', 60' Report McEwen  2'
Hayes  15', 55', 55'

Tasmanian Hockey Centre, Hobart
Umpires:
Zeke Newman (AUS)
Stephen Rogers (AUS)

14 October 2018
14:30 (AEST)

Canberra Lakers 5–2 QLD Blades Day  2', 3'
Backhus  40', 40'
Kershaw  54' Report Crane  51', 52'

National Hockey Centre, Canberra
Umpires:
Stirling Sharpe (AUS)
David Bridgford (AUS)

---

20 October 2018
15:30 (AEST)

Canberra Lakers 3–1 NSW Waratahs Turner  10', 10'
Shepherd  34' Report Hayes  11'

National Hockey Centre, Canberra
Umpires:
Stirling Sharpe (AUS)
David Bridgford (AUS)

20 October 2018
20:00 (AEST)

QLD Blades 1–5 Tassie Tigers Douglas  13' Report Arthur  30'
Smith  53'
McCambridge  60', 60', 60'

Queensland State Hockey Centre, Brisbane
Umpires:
Aaron Gotting (AUS)
Ben de Young (AUS)

Pool B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	WD	LD	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	WA Thundersticks	3	3	0	0	0	19	8	+11	15
2	VIC Vikings	3	2	0	0	1	27	8	+19	10
3	SA Hotshots	3	1	0	0	2	8	18	−10	5
4	NT Stingers	3	0	0	0	3	7	27	−20	0

Source: hockey.org.au

7 October 2018
15:30 (ACST)

SA Hotshots 3–5 WA Thundersticks Hetem  3', 3', 41' Report Gavranich  42', 42', 59', 59', 59'

State Hockey Centre, Adelaide
Umpires:
Tim Pullman (AUS)
Nathan Jennings (AUS)

7 October 2018
18:30 (ACST)

NT Stingers 4–12 VIC Vikings Hullick  2'
Lockley  31', 31'
Wallin  44' Report Scanlon  4', 9', 30+'
Knee  8', 10', 10'
Pollard  10', 10'
Kleinschmidt  33', 33', 54'
Hendry  37'

Marrara Hockey Centre, Darwin
Umpires:
Stephen Versteegh (AUS)
Stephen Rogers (AUS)

---

13 October 2018
14:00 (AEST)

VIC Vikings 2–4 WA Thundersticks Hendry  10'
Ford  28' Report Gabriel  14', 14'
Geers  41', 42'

State Netball Hockey Centre, Melbourne
Umpires:
Timothy Sheahan (AUS)
Ben Hocking (AUS)

13 October 2018
18:30 (ACST)

SA Hotshots 5–0 NT Stingers Oliver  4', 4'
Gleeson  12', 37', 37' Report

State Hockey Centre, Adelaide
Umpires:
Tim Pullman (AUS)
Nathan Jennings (AUS)

---

20 October 2018
18:00 (AWST)

WA Thundersticks 10–3 NT Stingers Green  14'
Rasmussen  15', 15'
Gavranich  24', 24'
Robertson  43', 43'
Gabriel  48', 59', 59' Report Hullick  30'
Argent  32'
McDonald  55'

Perth Hockey Stadium, Perth
Umpires:
Stephen Versteegh (AUS)
Matthew Claxton (AUS)

---

21 October 2018
15:30 (AEST)

VIC Vikings 13–0 SA Hotshots Randhawa  15', 22'
Hendry  17', 17'
Ford  24', 34', 54', 59', 59'
Cross  29', 29'
Webster  31', 31' Report

State Netball Hockey Centre, Melbourne
Umpires:
James Unkles (AUS)
Timothy Sheahan (AUS)

Classification round

	Quarterfinals				Semi-finals				Final
	25 October 2018
	Tassie Tigers	11
					27 October 2018
	NT Stingers	0
					Tassie Tigers	3
	25 October 2018
					QLD Blades	9
	VIC Vikings	5
									28 October 2018
	QLD Blades	6
									QLD Blades	5
	25 October 2018
									NSW Waratahs	3
	Canberra Lakers	7
					27 October 2018
	SA Hotshots	0
					Canberra Lakers	1
	25 October 2018
					NSW Waratahs	10			Third-place match
	WA Thundersticks	2
									28 October 2018
	NSW Waratahs	10
									Tassie Tigers	1
									Canberra Lakers	0

Quarterfinals

25 October 2018
13:00 (AEST)

Canberra Lakers 7–0 SA Hotshots N. Gupte  6'
Turner  23', 23', 57', 57', 57'
B. Staines  55' Report

Gold Coast Hockey Centre, Gold Coast
Umpires:
James Unkles (AUS)
Adam Kearns (AUS)

---

25 October 2018
14:45 (AEST)

Tassie Tigers 11–0 NT Stingers Ockenden  9', 9', 31', 31'
Beltz  37', 37'
Edwards  43', 43'
Dick  53'
Read  57', 57' Report

Gold Coast Hockey Centre, Gold Coast
Umpires:
Timothy Sheahan (AUS)
Nathan Jennings (AUS)

---

25 October 2018
16:30 (AEST)

WA Thundersticks 2–10 NSW Waratahs Gerrard  18'
Green  57' Report K. Govers  7'
T. Craig  29'
Brand  33', 33'
Hayes  35'
Lovett  36'
Ogilvie  50'
B. Govers  59', 59', 59'

Gold Coast Hockey Centre, Gold Coast
Umpires:
Stephen Rogers (AUS)
Ben Hocking (AUS)

---

25 October 2018
18:15 (AEST)

VIC Vikings 5–6 QLD Blades Simmonds  48', 60', 60+'
Ephraums  49', 49' Report Boyde  16', 16'
B. Wotherspoon  25'
Whetton  27', 27', 27'

Gold Coast Hockey Centre, Gold Coast
Umpires:
Tim Pullman (AUS)
Zeke Newman (AUS)

Fifth to eighth place classification

	Crossover				Fifth-place match
	27 October 2018
	NT Stingers	0
					28 October 2018
	VIC Vikings	11
					VIC Vikings	8
	27 October 2018
					SA Hotshots	1
	SA Hotshots	4
	WA Thundersticks	3
					Seventh-place match
					28 October 2018
					NT Stingers	2
					WA Thundersticks	3

Crossover

October 2018
08:45 (AEST)

NT Stingers 0–11 VIC Vikings Report Philpott  4', 4'
Kleinschmidt  29', 29'
Arunasalam  44', 44'
Pollard  47'
Ephraums  55', 58', 58', 58'

Gold Coast Hockey Centre, Gold Coast
Umpires:
Nathan Jennings (AUS)
Stephen Rogers (AUS)

---

October 2018
10:30 (AEST)

SA Hotshots 4–3 WA Thundersticks Hetem  27', 27'
Larwood  54', 54' Report Robertson  41'
Gabriel  41', 41'

Gold Coast Hockey Centre, Gold Coast
Umpires:
Timothy Sheahan (AUS)
James Unkles (AUS)

Seventh and eighth place

October 2018
10:30 (AEST)

NT Stingers 2–3 WA Thundersticks Wallin  29', 29' Report Gavranich  5', 5'
Harvie  11'

Gold Coast Hockey Centre, Gold Coast
Umpires:
James Unkles (AUS)
Timothy Sheahan (AUS)

Fifth and sixth place

October 2018
10:30 (AEST)

VIC Vikings 8–1 SA Hotshots Webster  6'
Scanlon  21'
Ephraums  26', 26'
Pollard  38', 38'
Kleinschmidt  48', 48' Report Larwood  14'

Gold Coast Hockey Centre, Gold Coast
Umpires:
Adam Kearns (AUS)
Zeke Newman (AUS)

First to fourth place classification

Semi-finals

27 October 2018
15:30 (AEST)

Tassie Tigers 3–9 QLD Blades McCambridge  55', 55'
Welch  57' Report Weyer  2', 2', 48'
Rintala  18', 45', 45'
Taylor  19', 19', 52'

Gold Coast Hockey Centre, Gold Coast
Umpires:
Zeke Newman (AUS)
Ben Hocking (AUS)

---

27 October 2018
17:00 (AEST)

Canberra Lakers 1–10 NSW Waratahs Hawke  39' Report B. Govers  3', 3', 8', 52', 52'
Brand  25', 25'
Hayes  35'
Lovett  57', 57'

Gold Coast Hockey Centre, Gold Coast
Umpires:
Adam Kearns (AUS)
Tim Pullman (AUS)

Third and fourth place

28 October 2018
14:00 (AEST)

Tassie Tigers 1–0 Canberra Lakers Arthur  29' Report

Gold Coast Hockey Centre, Gold Coast
Umpires:
Nathan Jennings (AUS)
Stephen Rogers (AUS)

Final

28 October 2018
17:00 (AEST)

QLD Blades 5–3 NSW Waratahs D. Wotherspoon  19', 19', 47'
Beale  22', 22' Report B. Govers  21'
K. Govers  43', 43'

Gold Coast Hockey Centre, Gold Coast
Umpires:
Tim Pullman (AUS)
Ben Hocking (AUS)

Awards

Player of the Tournament	Top Goalscorer	Player of the Final	Goalkeeper of the Tournament
Jake Whetton	Blake Govers	Corey Weyer	Andrew Charter

Statistics

Final standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	WD	LD	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
	QLD Blades	6	4	0	0	2	29	25	+4	20	Gold Medal
	NSW Waratahs	6	2	0	0	4	32	22	+10	10	Silver Medal
	Tassie Tigers	6	5	0	0	1	30	15	+15	25	Bronze Medal
4	Canberra Lakers	6	3	0	0	3	17	19	−2	15
5	VIC Vikings	6	4	0	0	2	51	15	+36	20
6	SA Suns	6	2	0	0	4	13	36	−23	10
7	WA Thundersticks	6	4	0	0	2	27	24	+3	20
8	NT Stingers	6	0	0	0	6	9	52	−43	0

Source: Hockey Australia

Goalscorers

There were 208 goals scored in 24 matches, for an average of 8.67 goals per match.

11 goals

• Blake Govers

9 goals

• Samuel McCambridge
• Dane Gavranich

8 goals

• Nathan Ephraums

7 goals

• Glenn Turner
• Aaron Kleinschmidt
• Jason Gabriel

6 goals

• Timothy Brand
• Jack Hayes
• Joel Rintala
• Edward Ockenden
• Russell Ford

5 goals

• Ross Hetem
• Joshua Pollard

4 goals

• Dylan Wotherspoon
• Max Hendry
• Andrew Scanlon

3 goals

• James Day
• Kieran Govers
• Kurt Lovett
• Ewan Wallin
• Jared Taylor
• Corey Weyer
• Jacob Whetton
• Brodie Gleeson
• Luke Larwood
• Kieron Arthur
• James Dick
• Ben Read
• James Knee
• Joshua Simmonds
• James Webster
• Daniel Robertson

2 goals

• Garry Backhus
• Jamie Hullick
• Adrian Lockley
• Jacob Anderson
• Daniel Beale
• Scott Boyde
• Oliver Crane
• Alastair Oliver
• Hayden Beltz
• Jeremy Edwards
• Kiran Arunasalam
• Tim Cross
• Andrew Philpott
• Jayshaan Randhawa
• Tim Geers
• Coby Green
• Alec Rasmussen

1 goal

• Niranjan Gupte
• Jamie Hawke
• Aaron Kershaw
• Lewis Shepherd
• Ben Staines
• Thomas Craig
• Nicholas McEwen
• Flynn Ogilvie
• Matthew Argent
• Isaac McDonald
• Justin Douglas
• Blake Wotherspoon
• Oliver Smith
• Jack Welch
• Frazer Gerrard
• Jake Harvie

Source: Hockey Australia