By Simon King

Six players and one coach from the Wimmera Hockey Association participated in the Victorian Junior State Championships in Melbourne at the weekend.

Representing the North West Lighting zone, along with others from the Sunraysia, North Central, Hockey Central Vic, and Goulburn Valley hockey associations, the players competed alongside and against some of the best underage hockey players in the state.

Under-14 girls

Horsham’s Holly Di Pietro lined up with the Lightning under-14 girls’ team, which enjoyed mixed results. 

The team started the tournament confidently, drawing both of its games on Friday. Its first defeat came on Saturday morning against North West Metropolitan Tigers, who went on to top the pool and finish the weekend as runner-up.

The Lightning’s last three pool matches yielded victories over Gippsland Bulls and Wets Vic Eagles, and a tight one-goal loss to Western Wildcats. 

The Lightning’s tournament concluded with a two-goal win in the fifth-place play-off against the Wildcats.

Under-14 boys

Under the guidance of Horsham coach Paul Mackereth, all three Wimmera representatives in the Lightning’s under-14 boys’ team were among the goals.

While the team began the tournament with three losses, Jonas Beattie scored its first goal of the weekend in its loss to the Sharks, James Mackereth scored its only goal in a loss to the Tigers, and Barrett Clark was one of six who scored in a big win against the Bulls.

After a loss and a draw in its final two pool matches, Lightning faced the Eagles again in the seventh-place play-off, and, as in the previous encounter, the match ended in a one-all draw. 

James Mackereth finished the tournament on a positive note by scoring his second goal of the tournament in the game.

Under-16 girls

The Lightning’s under-16 girls’ team, featuring Hannah Dixon from Yanac, started with a one-all draw with the Flames but then suffered losses to the Sharks and North West Tigers.

Lightning’s only win was a three-goal defeat of the Gippsland Bulls on Saturday afternoon.

The last two pool matches were losses to the Red Devils and Eagles, and in the seventh-place play-off Lightning suffered another narrow loss by just one goal to the Flames.

Wimmera association

The race to the Wimmera Hockey Association finals will resume this weekend after a full competition bye for the Junior State Championships, with several teams facing pivotal matches.

Yanac Tigers can regain top spot on the open ladder when they take on Horsham Hurricanes, who are coming off a solid win last round on the synthetic surface at Dimboola, which they play well on. The Hurricanes are yet to reproduce that form on grass, and the Tigers will be well-rested after two weeks off and will go into the game as favourites.

The other open match will be an enthralling encounter as Nhill Rangers look to build on their first win of the season last round, when they take on Kaniva Cobras. 

A draw when they met earlier in the season suggests the teams are evenly matched, but this is an opportunity for one team to gain an advantage over a fellow finals aspirant.

The closest match in the women’s competition has third playing fourth. 

Kaniva is striving to keep in touch with the top two, while Nhill Thunderbirds’ incentive is to increase the gap between themselves and those outside the top four. 

Both had good wins in the last round against a lower-ranked team, but Kaniva should repeat its victory over this opponent from earlier this season.

Horsham Jets need a win to stay within reach of the top four, but will have to play at their best if it is to come this weekend against second-placed Yanac.

 Warracknabeal takes on the undefeated competition leaders, Dimboola Roos, and it is unlikely they will earn their first win of 2026 at their expense.

Only eight points separate the top five teams in the under-16 competition at the halfway point of the regular season, but even the current sixth-placed team is not out of contention yet.

Nhill Leopards need a win to ensure they stay on top of the ladder, but despite playing fourth-placed Kaniva Raiders, they are not assured of the points. 

Warrack Revengers will eye off returning to the top of the ladder at the expense of the Dimboola Kangaroos, who need the win to jump back into the top four.

Horsham Bombers scored their first victory in the last round, but will have to string together multiple wins if they are to bridge the gap between themselves and the top four. 

Taking on Yanac Warriors this week will be a big challenge, but it is a game they need to win if they have ambitions of playing finals this year.

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