QGSSSA Hockey – Who has a chance to win the premiership and how the teams are faring with only 2 remaining rounds.
Brisbane State High School are on the cusp of achieving an incredible 9th straight QGSSSA Open Hockey Premiership as they head into the penultimate round this Saturday undefeated. BSHS will need to beat Ipswich Girls’ Grammar this weekend, and Clayfield College in the final Round to walk away with the winning Pennant and a clean sweep.
The BSHS team is powerful and includes some big names in schoolgirl hockey. Eight team members were part of the Met East medal winning side at this year’s Queensland State Hockey titles. BSHS also has Queensland reps in their artillery, Karissa van der Wath, Montana Carr, Tayla Bartholomeusz and Lara Pyle in the U16 Queensland Schoolgirls team and Jade Bartholomeusz in the U18 Queensland Schoolgirls.
There have been two stand-out games for this all-star team this season, namely the highly anticipated and hard-fought match against Moreton Bay College. MBC capitalised on their opportunities and were almost unbreakable in defence, minimising State High’s strike rate. The experience, skill and patience of the BSHS players showed under pressure, scoring goals in critical moments, with the defensive corner team saving a short-corner after the final siren.
The match against Somerville House was another success story for BSHS where four Queensland School girls’ players were unavailable, so five Junior A players stepped up to the plate instead. The Open players did a stellar job of leading by example, communicating well and supporting the junior girls who really stepped up to the higher level of play, and soaked up the experience.
There are some talented players being developed in the BSHS junior ranks, with Aryel Bisseling being a standout in the Junior A’s with her control of play, communication and skill level – she has just been selected in the Brisbane 1 U15 team as a 14 year old. Bisseling has been supported well by other young guns Josie Burgess, Stella Bartholomeusz, Gabrielle Waugh and Samantha Dyson. These girls are a team to watch as they motor towards an undefeated QGSSSA season.
The BSHS Jnr A team had a standout match against Brisbane Girls Grammar, another school with a sparkling history in Hockey, and an excellent development programme. It was a challenging game with both teams displaying excellent hockey knowledge and ability, with BSHS managing to capitalise on the combinations they had been building and convert opportunities for a 4-0 win.
St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School have had a consistent season and have been developing an Open team housing several of the school’s Athletics stars such as Olivia Rees-Smith, Kaya Agnew, Gemma Hooper, Amber Norton, Zara Caswell and Holly Williams utilising their fitness and speed. The Open team had strong performances against Clayfield, BGGS and St Aidan’s, however stumbled in an evenly matched game versus MBC in Round 6. This was the game of the season thus far for the Maggies team, a nail biter that was ultimately decided in the last 5 minutes.
St Margaret’s Open Captain Grace Sheared has been consistently good all season and embodies excellent values in her leadership and commitment.
Shearer has excellent control and pace with the ball through the midfield and she distributes the ball effectively to produce two-on-one situations. Her presence and determination to never give up on the field has influenced a team culture where the girls can transition quickly between defensive and attacking plays.
Another Open’s player to watch is St Margaret’s Year 9 striker Emily MacDowell. MacDowell has efficient elimination skills, and her spatial awareness ensures her long diagonal drags and pop touches on the move result in gaining ground quickly. She is an asset in attack as she leads to generate space for players with the ball and she is never fails to move to position to advance attacking plays.
This team has progressed in the ladder position in comparison to previous years and will be looking for a top 3 finish in 2023.
The Moreton Bay College Hockey teams have been having a sensational season with all four teams recording some outstanding results. Queensland U16 representative Lily Richardson has been very strong in the Open team, and the match of the season was against Brisbane State High School. It was a seesaw of a game where BSHS ultimately proved too strong winning 3-2, the MBC team and coaches being buoyed by the team’s tenacious performance.
Queensland U13 player Emma Delaney has been a great leader for the MBC Junior A team, only having one loss on their scorecard this season. The MBC Senior A and Junior B teams are also performing exceptionally well, both teams remain undefeated and are looking forward to finishing the season strongly.
A secret to MBC’s success is their concentrated focus on developing Goal Keepers, with Isobel McKeon and Olivia Cosgrave being particularly impressive in goals all season.
Clayfield College has been fortunate to have a resilient team of girls who give it their all, every match. Opens Goalkeeper and Captain Georgia Waterson, motivates her teammates and excites the crowd with her never-give up attitude and her lively and tenacious keeping skills. Waterson’s ability to dominate in the box is inspiring. The quietly conscientious Katie Lennon is another invaluable member of the Clayfield College team; an ever-reliable, consistent and highly skilled player, her strength as a player and leader is cloaked in humility, always exemplifying fine sportsmanship.
This year is a big year of development for some of the Clayfield girls who are really playing out of their skin in a competition that is stretching their skill development. The girls are rising to the challenge, taking recent inspiration from former Clayfield College student and current Hockeyroo, Renee Taylor, having a sensational campaign at the Commonwealth Games and World Cup, and capping off her 100th game for Australia – an incredible feat.
St Peters Open Hockey team are currently sitting on 5 wins and 1 loss, in what has been an exceptional season of hockey for this team. They hope to beat Moreton Bay College in the final Round for a chance to come second in the competition. Jazelle Carter is a new student at St Peters and utilises her speed and agility as a 200m and 400m runner to whip around the field, making it look easy. Carter also has fine stick skills, and it is evident she has been exposed to high level, skilful and physical hockey via her association with Kedron Wavell Club.
Tayden Tomich is an Australian Athletics rep, specialising in Hurdles, Sprints and Jumps in particular, and has been rock solid with her efforts at right half, a positive and motivating influence on this team.
The St Peters win over Brisbane Girls Grammar on their grass fields was a highlight. It has been a long time since they beat BGGS, and to do it such a commanding fashion was impressive.
QGSSSA Winter Hockey Fixtures move into Round 8 this Saturday the 3rd of September and you can track the results and final ladders via www.qgsssa.com.au
Susan Uhlmann
QGSSSA Content Coordinator
Wednesday, 8 August