The Finals Series kicked off at the State Netball and Hockey Center in Melbourne on Saturday morning, with the NSW Pride Women losing 6-0 to defending champions the Perth Thundersticks.
Late in the afternoon, the NSW Pride Men lost their semi-final to HC Melbourne 9-3, also ending their title hopes.
A depleted NSW Pride Women lost Hockeyroos Alana Kavanagh (broken hand) and Grace Stewart (hamstring tear) in midweek, and New Zealand forward Jenna Rae-McIntyre (shoulder) passed a late fitness test on Friday to enter the match but was heavily strapped down and still restricted. The challenge of overcoming a resurgent Thundersticks became a classic bridge too far for the injury-ravaged Pride.
NSW Pride Women Head Coach said he was proud of the playing group for the way they handled the adversity despite being disappointed with the result.
“Unfortunately we didn’t get the result we were looking for, but how do you define success? Sometimes it’s not the scoreboard,” he said.
“To me, you ask two questions: Are we willing to fight, and were we willing to give everything we have physically? And they did,” Barker said.
Despite the loss, his side immediately turned their thoughts to the bronze medal match against the Adelaide Fire on Sunday at 11:30am AEDT.
“The players are already recovering in the ice baths,” he said. “After a defeat the players want to come back, and they want to put in a good performance, and a performance that NSW Pride is proud of, and that’s what’s going to happen tomorrow.”
Striker Chelsea Holmes echoed her coach’s sentiments and was keen to see her side regroup.
“We started really well in the first half, I would say, especially with the Hockey One conversion [rule]We only scored three goals, so six-nil doesn’t really reflect the game,” she said.
“Definitely a tough pill to swallow after such a positive season, but we have to look forward to tomorrow and prepare for that game,” Holmes said.
It was a similar story in the men’s match, with defending champions HC Melbourne feeding off the home crowd and taking an early lead. Leading 6–0 after three quarters, the Pride threatened a three-goal comeback early in the final quarter to cut the score to 6–3, but ultimately the risks taken in the search for goals left the Pride vulnerable in defence, which HC Melbourne exploited in the final minutes.
NSW Pride Men Head Coach Kieran Govers said he remained proud of his players and how far they had come in the season, but the result was disappointing.
“We gave it everything, it’s just disappointing that some of the game clips we put out weren’t up to our standard, but that’s hockey. When you come across a classy outfit like those guys, they’re going to make you pay,” he said.
“I can’t blame anyone. I said in the changing rooms before and after the match that I am very proud of the boys and very proud to lead the group, but with these conversion goals it is a two-goal swing,” said Govers. “We got the upper hand in the second quarter, but Jed [Snowden] their goalkeeper, went bang-bang-bang and saved three of us and two of those resulted in counter-attack goals, so that’s a two-point turnaround,” he said.
“Now they realize how hard and skill-wise you have to be, and the level you have to be consistent at. Melbourne showed us that today, and hopefully it’s a good learning curve.”
The NSW Pride Men will play the Brisbane Blaze in the bronze medal match on Sunday at 1.15pm AEDT.
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