Round 2 Preview

The second week of the 2007 Wimmera Hockey Association’s games will be played in Yanac.
It will be the first time anyone gets a look at the new Kaniva men’s team, who had a bye last week after joining the Association at the start of the year. They will take on the Horsham Hurricanes, who have just come off a hard fought draw with Warracknabeal last week and will be looking forward to getting a win on the board this week.
In a grand final rematch, the Warracknabeal Hoops will take on the Yanac Tigers. Warracknabeal will be looking to once again assert their dominance after narrowly losing the grand final last year. This promises to be a very hard hitting match, as both teams want to get psychologically on top at the beginning of the season.
The Dimboola Kookaburras will also have their first game tomorrow after also having a bye last week. They are taking on the up and coming Nhill Bandits, who had a narrow loss last week and will be looking to improve their performance this week.
The top two junior teams from last year, Raiders and Warriors face each other in a rematch of last year’s grand final, in a game that looks to be fought out until the end. However, both teams have lost some crucial players. Raiders have lost captain Riley Sanders, but still have promising young players such as Claire McDonald and Tim Eastwood. The Raiders have also come off a surprising 8-1 loss to Dimboola last week. The Warriors have lost players Anne Blackwood and Matthew Kube to the senior competition, but managed a draw last week, showing that their team still has the depth to succeed this season.
The Kaniva women will take on the Horsham Highlanders with both teams having one loss already and looking to get a better start in the competition. The Kaniva team has lots of young talent, with some players coming from the juniors to fill the ranks. This will be a close game – both teams played last year’s grand finalists last week and lost 2-0. The Highlanders will come out fighting with experienced players Launa Schilling and Robyn Creek urging their team forward. The Kaniva team, however, looks very fit and will be hard to beat.
Last year’s premiers Warracknabeal will take on Yanac in a women’s competition match that will be very close. Yanac has come off a convincing win from last week and will be hoping to improve their tally. Warracknabeal has some reliable players in Suzanne Puls and Kate Nicholson, but Yanac has lots young players with the Blackwood sisters and captain Sarah Coughlan strong in defence. Yanac also has a lot of goal scorers who will be looking for the quick goal, unlike Warrack’s hard hitting goal style.