Melissa Eastwood positive for Australian Indoor Hockey Championships
Both the men’s and women’s hockey teams of New South Wales (NSW), after thrashing the Tasmanian men’s and women’s squads, are looking to secure slots in the finals of the Australian Indoor Hockey Championships at Unanderra Stadium.
The NSW women’s squad has won all its league matches thus far, while the men’s squad is also thus far unbeaten in the tournament (although a match against Western Australia was drawn at 3-3). The NSW women’s and men’s teams thrashed
Tasmania’s squads 5-1 and 12-1 respectively.
The captain of the NSW women’s team, Melissa Eastwood, told reporters that she and her team-mates were happy with their performance so far in the tournament. She said she believed all the girls had performed outstandingly and hoped
that they would get a place in the finals of the tournament. Eastwood further said that the team had some truly great victories to its credit, thanks to the tricks and dodging techniques with which it scored record goals.
“We’ve got a strong core group of players from our area and the South Coast especially, so it’s good,” said Eastwood, who is from Illawarra. South Coast and Illawarra are well represented in the NSW women’s hockey team. Airlie
Ogilvie, Emma Cobbin, Shelley Watson and Lyndal Ogilvie are from South Coast, while Eastwood, Bronwyn Poulton and Simone Bunt are from Illawarra.
The NSW women’s team stunned hockey fans in its first league match when it defeated three-time Australian Indoor Hockey champions Western Australia.
Eastwood was of the view that Victoria and Western Australia would be major obstacles on the way to the finals.
"In the semi-finals, one plays four and two plays three so our main aim is to finish on top of the table," she said.
New South Wales will face South Australia on Thursday, December 2nd.
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