Strikers' clean sweep

It was a great week for the West Gippsland Strikers with all four juniors teams taking the full three points for the first time this season.
Under 14 boys
Strikers 6 def Hawthorn 0
Goals: Strikers: Harrison Prigg 2, Jaya Lepke 2, Oliver Fallon, Benjamin Tepper.
After losing to Hawthorn earlier in the year, the under 14 boys were very keen for a win this time around.
In a reversal of their previous encounter, Strikers scored two early goals via Harrison Prigg and Jaya Lepke.Both forwards were playing beautifully, making space and good passing decisions.
Two more goals followed with Jaya and then Ollie Fallon finding the back of the net, taking the team to a 4-0 lead at half time.
An undermanned Hawthorn fought hard in the second half but were unable to score thanks to strong defensive efforts from Charlie Hotchkin and Stephen McNamara.
Ben Tepper scored and then Harry Prigg's second goal took the final score to 6-0.
A well deserved win to the Strikers who have improved significantly as the season has progressed. The win was one of the better team performances of the year.
Under 16 boys
Strikers 10 def MCC Hockey Section 1
Goals: Jayden Ronalds 3, Jacob Mock 2, Damian McNamara 2, Otto Humpris, Seth Christy, Tyler Boltong.
It took the Strikers a full 10 minutes to find their feet against MCC Hockey Section at Bellbird Park. with a short corner resulting in Jacob Mock and the Strikers scoring first.
MCC returned fire with an excellent toss into the circle and suddenly it felt like the Strikers had a game on their hands.
That feeling didn't last very long as the Strikers dominated from them on.
Otto Humphris replied within 30 seconds and then Jayden Ronalds slotted in two goals back-to-back on his way to a hat-trick and best on ground.
Coach Michael Ballantyne claimed the play of the game by pushing Damien McNamara forward which resulted in a double and it was 8-1. The highlights were not finished though with Jacob Mock slamming home an absolute rocket tomahawk before the curtain was brought down in an epic grand finale from Tyler Boltong. Boltong, with less then five seconds on the clock, chased down a loose ball and while falling over managed to back stick it perfectly into the top corner to bring up double figures and a final score of 10-1.
Under 16 girls
Strikers 6 def MCC Hockey Section Blue 1
Goals: Strikers: Georgia Hazell 3, Alexis Hazel, Rachel McCracken, Jessica Ronalds. MCC: Emma Doyle.
Despite a slow start, the girls settled into the game and soon found their rhythm. Their persistence paid off with three well-worked goals in the first half, giving them a deserved 3-0 lead at the break.
The opposition came out strongly after half time and managed to score the opening goal of the second half, briefly reducing the margin.
However, the girls responded brilliantly, regaining control of the match and adding three more goals with some excellent attacking hockey.
It was a dominant team performance, with goals to Georgia Hazell (three), Alexis Hazell, Jess Ronalds and Rachel McCraken, combined with strong defence to secure a 6–1 victory.
Under 18 mixed
Strikers 3 def Bayside Powerhouse 2
Goals: Strikers: Ronan North 2, Sam Pepper. Bayside: Daegan Reddy, Isaac Shaw.
The Strikers' under 18s took on Bayside with only 10 players at the ungodly hour of 9:20pm on a freezing cold winter's night.
Accountability was the message from coach Jordan Oellermann and those instructions were carried out with the first goal coming from some fantastic stick skills by Sam Pepper.
Ronan North scored the next two but with the whole team having to fight Bayside incredibly hard to get them. Final score was 3-2. Oliver Grant secured a best on ground performance.