After wonderful results in the grand finals, it was all smiles as the juniors attended their presentation afternoon on Saturday. We enjoyed a sunny, if windy, afternoon. The formal presentations were made first. 

Our new umpires for the season were presented with certificates and a HB embroidered towel for their hockey kit. These included Michelle Borg, Luke Butterworth, Devon Hamley, Louis Hassum, Elliot Jones, Rosie Malone, Samantha Oddy, Tobias Stuart and Zac Tollemache. The kids did the club proud and will hopefully continue next year. Thanks was also given to the club mentors Aleeta, Jeanette and Brian. Without there dedication, the kids would not be able to take the field.

Clint Colefax was awarded the trophy for outstanding efforts to the junior club with his efforts as U18 Girls coach over a number of years and training of the junior goal keepers. Well done Clint!

Each team was then presented with their trophies. This year everyone received photo trophies with a personalised comment...

What a wonderful weekend of junior hockey for Hockey Burleigh. Out of eight possible grand finals, Burleigh played in five of them. Out of five grand finals, Burleigh won all of them!

In the order of play:

U15B beat Labrador Black 3-2   (Aaron Foxover player of the final)

U15G draw with Labrador 1-1 to share the premiership (Rosie Malone player of the final).

U18G beat Mudgee 3-0  (Eleanor Rawding player of the final and player of the season).

U11 beat Labrador Teal 3-0

U13G beat Labrador Gold 2-1 (Rosie Malone player of the final and player of the season)

Truly a great result for the club and a satisfying reward for the hard work that has been put in by the coaches, managers, committee, parents and most of all the KIDS!

Here are some interesting facts for the season (these were compiled prior to the grand finals games):

Total juniors registered - 112 juniors

Number of boys - 58

Number of girls – 54  

Youngest registered - Zac  (11/1/2008)

...

Cherokees played a tough game on Saturday but went down 3-1, putting an end to their season. The Div 2 women played a repeat of the U13B game. A 1-1 draw at full time, extra time with no change in the score and lost because of position on the table. Bad luck ladies. 

That leaves no senior teams in the finals. However, there is still lots of hockey left in the juniors. Grand finals are on this weekend at the following times:

U15 Boys play Labrador Black on Friday at 5:30pm
U15 Girls play Labrador Gold at Labrador on Friday at 5:30pm
U18 Girls play Mudgee on Friday at 6:45pm.
U11/2 play Labrador Teal in the B div Grand Final on Saturday at 7:45am.
U13 Girls play Labrador Gold on Saturday at 10:20.

Come and watch a game and show the kids your support. There has been some ripper games over the finals series.

U13 Boys played a tough game this morning. Labrador played a very defensive game and we had plenty of opportunities but just couldn't put them in the back of the net. It ended up a 1-1 draw after extra time and Labrador went through based on their position in the ladder. Coach and manager are coping (just) after two nerve-wracking extra time games in two weeks. Well played boys.

Senior finals start this afternoon with the Cherokees playing at 5:30 this afternoon and Div 2 women at 11:30 Sunday morning. Go ladies!

What a great Friday night of junior hockey! First, the U15 girls went beat Labrador 3-2 to progress to the grand final. Labrador had a penalty corner with seconds left to full time but the girls managed to keep it out. Next the U18 girls beat Labrador 2-1. Labrador tried to get the ball into the circle to score with seconds to go but again the girls kept them out. That's now five Burleigh junior teams in Grand Finals next weekend - U11/2, U13G, U15B, U15G, U18G. Spare a thought for the Taylor family. Blake plays in the U15B final and Taylor plays in the U15G final. That's excellent, except for the fact that both are on at the same time :-( Mum, dad and grand parents will be busy moving between the two fields. 

The U13B play tomorrow at 10:20 to hopefully earn their place in a grand final next weekend. Can we make it six from eight teams in the final?