What we learned from Round 3 of the Salters Hire Premier League

Forward recruits earn their keep

The Premier League’s big off-season forward signings both took a first step to repaying the faith. University’s Nai Moreno was blanketed in the opening two rounds, before lifting her side to an important 4-2 defeat of DiamondBacks with two classy goals. The first a well-rehearsed set piece, while the second demonstrated poise well beyond the likes seen at the Students before. Elsewhere, Canterbury’s Ruben Hoey took to the field in red and immediately made an impact with his ball running and a signature deflection into the roof of the net. Both University women and Canterbury men have both lacked a 20+ goal pure forward over the past decades, with the exception of the Lions 2022 premiership drought-breaking year, and both signings could prove their weight in gold.

Newbold knee

North-West Graduates’ premiership defence suffered a major blow, with returning star Emily Newbold suffering a nasty knee injury in their win against OHA. Witnesses close to the scene talked about a pop sound being heard as Newbold’s knee collapsed. This could spell a premature end to the season for the midfield machine, who struggled to place any weight on her leg as she departed the hockey centre. Newbold’s signature had been heralded as a strong value add to their stocks, but teammate Clare Rojahn feels they covered her loss well against the Ships. “We did well to stop their running play and it was a good, controlled effort, but we need to make the most of our opportunities,” Rojahn said.

Stars turn back the clock

The men’s Premier League could be confused with a John Farnham concert tour at times, with DiamondBacks goalkeeper Grant Woodcock and OHA defender James Thomas the latest to return after a retirement announcement. Woodcock couldn’t be faulted in the Maroons drawn result with University, making a clutch save to deny Oscar Sproule when the match was delicately poised and comfortably repelling several penalty corners. Thomas also provided a spark in the first term for the Ships, scoring two set piece flicks within three minutes and providing some variability in OHA’s outletting. When you throw in the consistent performances of Derwent returnee Vaughn Bowen, there appears life left in dad’s army just yet and the added experience could decide the final league ladder positions.

Premier League stream goes live

After catching fans off guard in the opening two rounds, Hockey Tasmania unveiled a new partnership to livestream all hockey matches played on pitches one and two in Hobart and the main field in Launceston. The filming is completed by artificial intelligence and whilst there were understandably some implementation bugs, such as short lags and time clocks out of sync, the new service presented a good quality. Some criticism emerged that a small, yearly subscription fee is required, but for a sport that constantly battles keeping the affordability down for new families, particularly at beginner level, its difficult to mount an argument against a low-cost user pays model. Often tier two and three sports can get caught over capitalising themselves to compete in the crowded high performance and elite competition marketplace, invariably coming at a cost to their ability to invest in participation programs and recognition of officials. This contemporary solution appears to strike the right balance overall.

Brooks’ grit on full display

 A collective groan went out on Saturday night as hockey fans tuned in to the Hockeyroos 1-0 win over Japan, with Tasmanian star Maddi Brooks dislocating her shoulder. The 19-year-old sensation dived for a misguided pass in the final moments and instantly went down grabbing her troublesome shoulder. Brooks first dislocated it at the Junior World Cup in December and has been managing the issue since. The shoulder was quickly popped back in, and Books will reportedly look to strap it up and fight through the pain in order to keep her Olympic Games chances alive. The scenes of a gutsy Brooks picking herself up with a clearly displaced shoulder, flooded back memories of Tasmanian AFL star Daryn Cresswell smacking his own dislocated kneecap back into place down when playing for Sydney down at Geelong. They breed us tougher in Tasmania.

Thank you to Adam Clifford and The Mercury for assisting us with these stories.