HOCKEY ACT GRAND FINAL WEEKEND

It’s Grand Final time for the Hockey ACT community with the first game pushing back on Friday 19^th September with the Junior State League girls at 6pm. 

A full day of back-to-back finals on Saturday starting from 8am all the way into the evening with the Capital League 1 Men and Women closing the day. 

The Men’s CL1 Grand Final will push back at 3:45pm on the Carter Pitch at the EPC Solar Hockey Stadium with Central taking on Wests for the second year running. Central coming in fresh from a week off and undefeated season, securing the minor premiership and Wests securing their spot with a dominant performance over Old Canberrans last Saturday. 

Central have been the top dogs of the season with 15 wins, 3 draws and taking out the Minor Premiership. Throughout the season Central have had some incredible milestone matches with Tim Black playing his 350^th CL1 match, James Hawke with 200 as well as Jack McEntee and Ryan Dooley notching 50 matches each. The side is filled with incredible talent, highest goal scorer Aiden Dooley, most improved male in the CL1 competition, Peter Crossman, Michael Dillon placing second in the Brophy (best and fairest) votes as well as Dylan Brick being selected in the U21 Australian Men’s side, coach Jamie Cummins winning coach of the year at the 2025 Brophy McKay awards night and 6 of the Central men being named in the final 25 for the Canberra Chill. What a side full of talent. The contest between Central and Wests will look to be another tight match with their semi final match going down to shootouts.

Wests pushed hard throughout the season, led by a new coach Adam Baxter with 11 wins, 4 draws and 3 losses. Working hard to secure a spot in the grand final for the third year straight after losing the grand final last year to Central. Former coach Andrew Stead ticked over an incredible 350 CL1 games with the side, another team filled with talent with the likes of goal scoring machine James Jewell, scoring an impressive 23 goals this season, Brophy winner Charlie Dorman, rising star Darcy Macdonald and solid goalkeeper Kieran Hammond. The side also with 6 Wests men named in the final 25 Canberra Chill squad. 

It's set to be a stellar game with both incredibly talented sides battling it out for the last time this season before many become teammates for the 2025 One Active Hockey One season in October.

Will Central prove too dominant or will Wests make it third time lucky this weekend?

Following on from the CL1 Men we will see the clash of the CL1 Women when the North Canberra Eagles take on the Tuggeranong Vikings at 5:45pm on the Carter Pitch at the EPC Solar Hockey Stadium. The North Canberra Eagles fresh from their week off, also securing the Minor Premiership will be ready to go and the Tuggeranong Vikings will be feeling confident after their impressive win over last year’s premiers the UC Stars in the preliminary final over the weekend. 

The North Canberra Eagles have had an impressive run this season after their grand final loss to the UC stars in 2024 and are firing on all cylinders after navigating through many injuries this season. Finishing as minor premiers, the star-studded team will be one to beat this weekend featuring many talented players. Georgina West, last years McKay medallist and this year’s third place medallist will be impressive in the midfield and on penalty corners, leading goal scorer Laura Monterosso will be excited to find the net and lead her team to victory. Fresh off her 2024 Canberra Chill debut and undefeated U21 championship performance, Lucy Nash will be one to watch with her lightning speed, out letting and solid tackles, alongside an impressive lineup of young talent making their way up the ACT representative pathway. The side lead by Womens Coach of the Year, Glenn Turner, will be impressive with 7 of their side also selected in the final 25 of the Canberra Chill womens squad. This weekend could see the North Canberra Eagles make history, after falling short in their first Grand Final in 2024. They’re back for redemption this year to lift the shield for the very first time.

With just one point separating them from the minor premiers, the Tuggeranong Vikings will be filled with confidence after knocking out last year premiers in a dominant display over the weekend. A side filled with knowledge and experienced heads will put on an exciting battle in this year’s final with tied leading goal scorer Laura Reid looking to burn a hole in the back of the net alongside goal scoring duo Ashleigh Chivers and Helen Legge, together the three have scored 61 goals this season. The midfield will be a dynamic match up with former McKay winner and this year’s second place medallist Mikaela Patterson looking to glide through the midfield. Alongside their strong attacking presence they will be backed with a solid defensive line up with Canberra Chill goalkeeper Sarah Steinhardt and Imogen Dorsett ready to clean up the scraps in their defensive circle. A side full of talent which will also see 3 of their side battling it out this Canberra Chill season. 

Will the North Canberra Eagles finally make history, or will the Tuggeranong Vikings charge home strong and lift the shield at the end of the night?

CL1 Men Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/live/wXOysJpKZJU
CL1 Women Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/live/iJewxcH7BMc

Canberra Senior Grand Final Schedule (Saturday 20^th September):