AFTER the Barossa Valley Hockey Association kicked off its A-grade season last week, the B-grade competition joined the party on the weekend, with Gawler back fielding a B-grade side after being unable to do so in 2019.
Gawler Hockey Club president and B-grade player Chris Johnson said it was a special moment for the team to be able to run back out under the Gawler name.
“We didn’t have a team last year in the B’s, we just couldn’t get the players,” he said.
“We did a lot of work earlier in the year, recruiting some old faces to get back out again.
“I was worried as president that all our hard work was going to go out the window when games and training were halted, but fortunately for us the guys were really keen – probably even more-so after the break.
“We actually had a wealth of numbers – on the weekend we had quite a robust bench of 14 people… it was a really great feeling to see the Gawler B-team back in action again.”
Johnson credits access to the new state-of-the-art facilities at Trinity College for the elevated levels of enthusiasm with returning players.
“For us, (the facilities) have been a 10-out-of-10,” he said.
“It’s just such a remarkable different going from grass with substandard lighting, to a state-of-the-art facility with quality lighting.
“It’s obviously safer for the players, but the surface enables skills to come to the fore. The surface is very reactive, and puts skill development on a much high priority than the hit-and-smack style of the old days on the grass.”
Gawler drew 1-1 in that B-grade meeting with Tanunda White, with Daniel Johnson snagging the Strikers’ only goal. On the women’s side of the B-grade fixture, Gawler went down 1-2 to Trinity.
Gawler/Trinity’s A-grade men’s side suffered a second-straight close loss after Tanunda’s Steven Draper snagged the game’s only goal late in proceedings. AM United, led by star Callum Munchenberg, got back on track with a 2-1 win over Nuriootpa.
The results leave Tanunda as the sole undefeated side after two rounds, with Gawler/Trinity the only one still winless.
Gawler’s A-grade women kept the ball rolling, backing up its 7-0 win in round one with a 4-0 victory over Tanunda behind four individual goal scorers, including Jacqui Rowe who now has four goals from her two matches.
Being a three-team competition, it was Tanunda’s turn to play two games for the weekend, and it ran away 5-1 winners over Nuriootpa to split its weekend.