THE Barossa Valley Hockey Association (BVHA) returned to play over the weekend in both the men’s and women’s A-grade competitions, highlighted by the dominance of Gawler’s women.
The Strikers, who have won the past six women’s A-grade premierships, dominated Nuriootpa 7-0. Jacqui Rowe led the way with a hat-trick, while Hanna Kingsmill and Jay Galmesa also chipped in with strong performances.
On the men’s side, AM United got off to a shaky start in its attempt for a fifth consecutive title, going down 1-4 to Tanunda.
The match of the round went to the clash between Nuriootpa and Gawler/Trinity Old Scholars, with the latter pulling back a 1-4 halftime deficit to 3-4, just falling short of an upset.
Josh Longo was terrific for Nuriootpa as the game’s only multi-goal scorer, and Gawler Hockey Club president Chris Johnson said it was a fair result.
“It was a pretty scrappy game, and that’s really just down to the break and the non-traditional build-up we’ve had,” he said.
“The next few weeks I think we’ll see teams experimenting with some new players, but ultimately everyone is trying to put their best team forward.
“Everyone at BVHA has been working tirelessly behind the scenes to get everything back up and running, so I just want to thank everyone for that hard work.”