2018 Women's Australian Hockey League
The 2018 Women's Australian Hockey League was the 26th edition of the women's field hockey tournament. The 2018 edition of the tournament was held between 6 – 28 October, and featured a new format from previous editions.[1]
| Tournament details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Host country | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Australia | ||
| City | Gold Coast (finals venue) | ||
| Dates | 6 – 28 October | ||
| Teams | 8 | ||
| Venue(s) | 9 (in 9 host cities) | ||
| Final positions | |||
| Champions |  NSW Arrows (10th title) | ||
| Runner-up |  QLD Scorchers | ||
| Third place |  Canberra Strikers | ||
| Tournament statistics | |||
| Matches played | 24 | ||
| Goals scored | 155 (6.46 per match) | ||
| Top scorer(s) | Rebecca Greiner Jodie Kenny.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Emily Hurtz (9 goals) | ||
| Best player | Elena Tice Lily Brazel | ||
| |||
The finals phase of the 2018 tournament was held in the Queensland city of the Gold Coast, from the 25 – 28 October.[2]
NSW Arrows won the tournament for the tenth time, after defeating the QLD Scorchers 7–6 in the gold medal match.[3] Canberra Strikers won the bronze medal after defeating VIC Vipers 2–0 in a penalty shoot-out following a 4–4 draw.
Competition format
Unlike previous editions of the Women's Australian Hockey League, the 2018 edition will include a very different format. Instead of the tournament being held at a single venue, the teams will play at least one home and away match during the pool stage, before converging on a singular venue for the Classification Round.[4]
The teams will be divided into two Pool A and Pool B, both consisting of four teams, with each team playing each other once. The teams will then progress to the Classification round, with each team playing a qualifying match, before progressing to either the fifth to eighth place playoffs, or the first to fourth place playoffs.
Rule Innovations
As well as a new format, the 2018 AHL brought in new rule innovations from standard international hockey.[5]
Field Goal Conversions
When a field goal is scored the same athlete will have an automatic one-on-one shootout with the goalkeeper for an extra goal.
Power Plays
Each team possesses a five-minute Power Play to use at the end of either the second or fourth quarters, when teams are reduced to nine players each and where that team’s goals are worth double.
The allocation of Power Plays will be decided by the team which wins a pre-game coin toss. For example, if the coin toss winner elects to take their Power Play at end of the fourth quarter, the opposition must use at theirs at the end of the second quarter.
In the second and fourth quarters, the clock is initially set for 10 minutes, then re-set for a further five minutes for the Power Play. Play will re-commence with a centre pass taken by the team in possession of the Power Play.
Point Allocation
All matches must have an outright result so drawn matches will be decided in a penalty shoot-out. Match points will be as follows:
· 5 points for a win
· 2 points to each team in the event of a draw
· 1 point will be awarded to the winner of the shoot-out
· 0 points to the loser of the match
Participating teams
Venues
| Sydney | Melbourne | Perth |
|---|---|---|
| Sydney Olympic Park | State Netball and Hockey Centre | Perth Hockey Stadium |
| Capacity: 8,000 | Capacity: 8,000 | Capacity: 6,000 |
 |
 |
 |
| Adelaide | ||
| State Hockey Centre | ||
| Capacity: 4,000 | ||
.jpg.webp) | ||
| Brisbane | ||
| Queensland State Hockey Centre | ||
| Capacity: 1,000 | ||
 | ||
| Canberra | Hobart | Darwin |
| National Hockey Centre | Tasmanian Hockey Centre | Marrara Hockey Centre |
| Gold Coast | ||
| Finals Venue: Gold Coast Hockey Centre | ||
Results
Pool A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | WD | LD | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | QLD Scorchers |
3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 6 | +17 | 10 |
| 2 | NSW Arrows |
3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 6 | +7 | 10 |
| 3 | Canberra Strikers |
3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 10 |
| 4 |  Tassie Van Demons |
3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 26 | −25 | 0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pool B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | WD | LD | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | VIC Vipers |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | +15 | 15 |
| 2 |  SA Suns |
3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 10 |
| 3 |  WA Diamonds |
3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 5 |
| 4 |  NT Pearls |
3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 21 | −20 | 0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Classification round
| Quarterfinals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 25 October 2018 | ||||||||||
| QLD Scorchers | 13 | |||||||||
| 27 October 2018 | ||||||||||
| NT Pearls | 0 | |||||||||
| QLD Scorchers | 2 | |||||||||
| 25 October 2018 | ||||||||||
| Canberra Strikers | 1 | |||||||||
| SA Suns | 0 (2) | |||||||||
| 28 October 2018 | ||||||||||
| Canberra Strikers (p.s.o) | 0 (4) | |||||||||
| QLD Scorchers | 6 | |||||||||
| 25 October 2018 | ||||||||||
| NSW Arrows | 7 | |||||||||
| NSW Arrows | 6 | |||||||||
| 27 October 2018 | ||||||||||
| WA Diamonds | 0 | |||||||||
| NSW Arrows | 4 | |||||||||
| 25 October 2018 | ||||||||||
| VIC Vipers | 3 | Third place match | ||||||||
| VIC Vipers | 6 | |||||||||
| 28 October 2018 | ||||||||||
| Tassie Van Demons | 0 | |||||||||
| Canberra Strikers (p.s.o) | 4 (2) | |||||||||
| VIC Vipers | 4 (0) | |||||||||
Quarterfinals
|
| ||||||||||||||
|
|
Fifth to eighth place classification
| Crossover | Fifth place match | |||||
| 27 October 2018 | ||||||
| NT Pearls | 0 | |||||
| 28 October 2018 | ||||||
| SA Suns | 5 | |||||
| SA Suns | 2 (3) | |||||
| 27 October 2018 | ||||||
| WA Diamonds (p.s.o) | 2 (4) | |||||
| WA Diamonds | 10 | |||||
| Tassie Van Demons | 0 | |||||
| Seventh place match | ||||||
| 28 October 2018 | ||||||
| NT Pearls | 5 | |||||
| Tassie Van Demons | 3 | |||||
Crossover
|
|
Seventh and eighth place
|
Fifth and sixth place
| ||||||||||||||
Semi-finals
|
|
Third and fourth place
| ||||||||||||||
Final
|
Awards
| Player of the Tournament | Top Goalscorer | Player of the Final | Goalkeeper of the Tournament |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elena Tice Lily Brazel |
Rebecca Greiner Jodie Kenny Emily Hurtz |
Kaitlin Nobbs |
Rachael Lynch |
Statistics
Final standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | WD | LD | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
NSW Arrows |
6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 30 | 15 | +15 | 25 | Gold Medal |
 |
QLD Scorchers |
6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 44 | 14 | +30 | 20 | Silver Medal |
 |
Canberra Strikers |
6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 16 | Bronze Medal |
| 4 | VIC Vipers |
6 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 8 | +20 | 22 | |
| 5 | WA Diamonds |
6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 13 | +6 | 13 | |
| 6 | SA Suns |
6 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 5 | +8 | 19 | |
| 7 | NT Pearls |
6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 42 | −36 | 5 | |
| 8 | Tassie Van Demons |
6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 47 | −43 | 0 |
Goalscorers
There were 155 goals scored in 24 matches, for an average of 6.46 goals per match.
9 goals
8 goals
7 goals
6 goals
5 goals
4 goals
- Kate Jenner
- Mariah Williams
- Emily Grist
- Lily Brazel
- Kathryn Slattery
3 goals
- Jessica Watterson
- Savannah Fitzpatrick
- Karri McMahon
- Leah Welstead
- Aisling Utri
2 goals
- Meredith Bone
- Sophie Gaughan
- Beckie Middleton
- Greta Hayes
- Jacqueline Graf
- Erin Lidbetter
- Jordyn Holzberger
- Renee Taylor
- Britt Wilkinson
- Lucy Talbot
- Julia Gunn
- Hannah Gravenall
- Hayley Padget
- Danielle Bestall
1 goal
- Catriona Bailey-Price
- Edwina Bone
- Naomi Evans
- Tina Taseska
- Elena Tice
- Lisa Farrell
- Sarah Johnston
- Abigail Wilson
- Georgia Graf
- Jessica Martin-Brown
- Layla Eleison
- Madison Fitzpatrick
- Michaela Spano
- Ashleigh Arthur
- Samantha Lawrence
- Nicola Hammond
- Sage Rogers-Uff
- Shanea Tonkin
Source: Hockey Australia
References
- "2018 AHL Schedule & Details Announced Ahead Of 2019 Revamp". Hockey Australia. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
- "2018 Women's Australian Hockey League (AHL)". haockeyaustralia.altiusrt.com. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
- "NSW Arrows Claim Last-Ever AHL Title In Thriller". Hockey Australia. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
- "2018 AHL Fixture" (PDF). Hockey Australia. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
- "A Simple Breakdown Of The 2018 AHL Rule Innovations". Hockey Australia. Retrieved 7 October 2018.