Sunraysia Hockey Association

🏑🌟 JUNIOR MOST EFFECTIVE PLAYER PRESENTATION! 🌟🏑

It’s time to celebrate our amazing junior hockey stars! 💚💛

🏅 Join us for the Junior Most Effective Player Presentation as we recognise the fantastic efforts, skills and achievements of our juniors throughout the season.

📅 Saturday 5 September
⏰ 3:00pm
📍 Baseball Pavilion

🏆 Bring the family, cheer on our juniors and help us celebrate the future stars of hockey! ☀️🏑💚💛

See you Saturday! 🎉🏅🏆

🏑 FINALS REMINDERS – RESPECT FOR ALL 🏑

As we head into finals, let’s make sure the series is safe, positive and enjoyable for everyone.

🟢 Zero Tolerance: Abuse, intimidation, aggressive behaviour, offensive language or disrespect towards players, umpires, officials, coaches, volunteers or spectators will not be accepted—on the field, from the bench or on the sidelines. Inappropriate behaviour may result in removal from the venue and further action.

🟡 Uniforms: Players must wear their complete club uniform, including matching socks and required protective equipment.

🟢 Strict game times: Please arrive early, warm up and be ready to take the field at your scheduled time. Games cannot be delayed.

🟡 Spectators: Stay within designated viewing areas, keep clear of team benches and officials, supervise children and support all teams positively.

🟢 Long grass safety: If a ball goes into long grass, retrieve it with your hockey stick—never your hands.

Please show good sportsmanship, respect the umpires and help us celebrate the very best of our hockey community.

Good luck to all teams! 💚💛

Attention Sunnies players, please see below from Riverland!

❤️🏑 WHAT AN END TO AN AMAZING TOURNAMENT! 🇳🇱🇦🇺

And just like that… our World Youth Hockey Tournament is over. ❤️

What a week. What an experience. What a group of players.

Parents — you should be extremely proud of your players.

On the field they have played hard, represented Sunraysia with pride and taken on some incredible international opposition.

Off the field, they have been respectful, hilarious, supportive of each other and an absolute pleasure to travel with.

And it's fair to say our players were VERY popular with the other international teams! 😂❤️

Part of that may have had something to do with our AMAZING playing strip that EVERYONE wanted! It was so lovely watching our players swap shirts with players from other international teams. 🌏🏑

Seeing our Sunnies shirts being proudly worn by players from other countries was pretty special — and our players now have shirts from their new international mates to take home as a reminder of the friendships they've made along the way. ❤️

🏑 FINAL DAy, GAME WRAP
V Athena (again)

Our first game of the day was a tight one, with neither team able to find the back of the net in the first half.

Our Amazing GK pumped the boys up by saving a massive penalty Stroke. Stick side no less💪💪💪💪

0–0 at half time.

Then the Sunnies got going! 🔥

Kade opened the scoring to put us 1–0 up.

Another penalty corner followed and this time Kayd found the back of the net again ! 💥🏑

The players held strong to finish with a fantastic:

💚💛 2–0 WIN! 💛💚

That win put us into our final game of the tournament, playing off for 5th place.

Once again, the players threw everything at it.

Our opposition managed to get two goals on the board in the second half, but the Sunnies weren't finished.

A stroke gave us an opportunity and Kade stepped up and put it away! 💥

The final whistle brought not only the game to an end, but our World Youth Hockey Tournament campaign to a close.

What an achievement from this group. To come all the way from Sunraysia and compete against international teams on the other side of the world is something they should be incredibly proud of. ❤️🇦🇺

🏆 TOUR AWARDS

After each game, the players cast their votes for the Netherlands Tour 2026 Players’ Player Award.

🥉 3rd Place — 12 votes
Ben Barbary

🥈 2nd Place — 13 votes
Rory Ellis

And your NETHERLANDS TOUR 2026 PLAYERS’ PLAYER is…

🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

🏆 KAYD DIVOLA — 15 VOTES! 🏆

Congratulations Kayd! An award voted on by your teammates makes this one pretty special. ❤️

And the Coaches Award — Netherlands Tour 2026 goes to…

🏆 TOBY SMITH 🏆

Congratulations Toby — thoroughly deserved!

From the red earth of Sunraysia to the hockey pitches of the Netherlands… what an adventure this has been. 🇦🇺➡️🇳🇱

The results might eventually fade, but the friendships, laughs, international connections and memories these players have made certainly won't.

And somewhere around the world, there are now a few extra pieces of Sunraysia hockey travelling home with our new international friends. ❤️🌏🏑

Netherlands Tour 2026 — what a ride.

So incredibly proud of this group.

Red Earth. Blue Skies. From Sunraysia With Pride. 🇦🇺❤️🇳🇱

Huge thanks to our sponsors
McGlynn Hunt Funerals
Hip Pocket Work wear
PIP Global safety and workwear
Sutton Refrigeration
Waratah artworks
Mildura Working Man's club
Wizard hockey brand.

🇳🇱🏑 WORLD YOUTH HOCKEY TOURNAMENT – DAY 2 ❤️💙

Another day in Holland, and our second day competing in the World Youth Hockey Tournament!

And what a beautiful day it was! 🙌 No real rain, only a few warm spells, and for most of the day we had a lovely cool breeze — pretty perfect hockey weather!

🏑 GAME 1 – SUNNIES v ATHENA

Our final pool game was against Athena, who definitely came into this one with the home-ground advantage!

The Sunnies looked good and came out strong, but Athena struck first and I think it shell-shocked our players a little.

Then Logan Cattanach stepped up and scored a BEAUTIFUL goal! 🔥🏑

Half time saw the scores locked at 1–1.

Athena came out firing again in the second half and managed to get one past us, but Ben Barbary answered back, levelling the scores once again! 💪

At full time, the teams simply couldn't be split.

SUNNIES 2 – ATHENA 2

And that result meant…

🥈 WE FINISHED SECOND IN OUR POOL!!

Honestly, what a HUGE achievement for this group of players. ❤️

🏑 GAME 2 – SUNNIES v WARANDE

Our second game of the day saw us take on another Dutch team, Warande.

The Sunnies lifted the intensity and played some really good hockey. Awesome movement, great talk and plenty of fight.

But today just wasn't our day.

Despite the effort, Warande managed to get three past us and we went down 3–0.

By the end of the game there were some VERY tired bodies, a few sore ones and a couple of injuries sprinkled in there for good measure. 😬

🇦🇺🇨🇦 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 😂

It's not ALL hockey though…

Our boys have also been busy working on their international relations, making some new Canadian friends and, naturally, teaching them the finer points of AFL! 😂🇦🇺🏉

And apparently the lesson went well, because our new Canadian cheer squad came out to support the Sunnies during our game — even getting an “AUSSIE, AUSSIE, AUSSIE!” chant going from the sidelines! 😂❤️

You go girls! 🇨🇦👏

THIS is what these tournaments are all about.

After two massive days of tournament hockey, I think everyone is feeling it tonight!

Tomorrow is another day. Time to rest, recover and hopefully get our groove back. 💪🏑

But one thing that isn't lost on any of us is just how incredible this experience is.

These players are competing against teams from around the world, experiencing different styles of hockey, making new friendships, learning, growing and representing Sunraysia on an international stage.

Regardless of what is on the scoreboard, every single one of them is taking something pretty special away from this tour. ❤️

A huge thank you, as always, to our supporters — for cheering, helping, washing uniforms, finding ice, looking after tired bodies and being there every step of the way.

And to our sponsors, thank you for helping make this whole crazy adventure possible. We are incredibly grateful.

Two tournament days down… one to go! 🇳🇱🏑

Rest up, Sunnies. Tomorrow we go again. 💙❤️

WOW, OH WOW!!!**

What. A. Day. 🤯❤️

Today was **Day 1 of the WORLD YOUTH HOCKEY TOURNAMENT** and our Sunnies officially hit the pitch against teams from around the world!

🌍 **GAME 1 – Sunnies vs Worcester, South Africa 🇿🇦**

Our first game was against Worcester, a South African school team, and unfortunately we came away with a **1–0 loss**.

But what a fantastic game to watch! It was incredibly even and competitive, and you can certainly see the strength of the school hockey programs they have in South Africa.

The Sunnies worked hard, held their own and gave us plenty to be proud of. ❤️🏑

🇳🇱 **GAME 2 – Sunnies vs Hurley, Netherlands**

Now THIS ONE… 😳😂

Hurley hit the scoreboard first to make it 1–0.

Then **Rory Ellis** stepped up and absolutely nailed a fantastic goal to equalise!

**1–1. GAME ON.**

And then…

**NEXT MINUTE…… 🤯🤯🤯**

**Logan Cattanach** gets the ball on his own in the midfield, Noone around, and takes off.

The Hurley goalkeeper comes charging out and **SLIDES OUTSIDE THE CIRCLE** trying to stop Logan from getting his shot away.

😳😳😳

🟨 **GK = YELLOW CARD**

👉 **SUNNIES = PENALTY STROKE**

Up steps **Kayd Divola…**

**GOOOOOAAAALLLLL!!!!!**

**2–1 SUNNIES!!!**

The rest of the game was fantastic. The players dug deep, worked for each other and held on to bring home our **FIRST WIN OF THE TOURNAMENT!**

**SUNNIES 2 – HURLEY 1**

And yes… there may have been a few VERY excited Aussie supporters on the sidelines! 😂🇦🇺❤️

Two games. Two completely different challenges. And our first international tournament win in the books.

We finished the day with dinner at the tournament before loading a lot of very tired bodies onto the bus for the trip back to the hostel.

What an experience these players are having.

**Day 1 done.** **First win done.** **More hockey tomorrow.**

And we cannot WAIT! 🇦🇺🏑🇳🇱

❤️💙 **GO SUNNIES!** 💙❤️

THANK YOU TO OUR AMAZING SPONSORS.

McGlynn Hunt Funerals.
Hip Pocket workwear Mildura
PIP Global safety workwear
Sutton Refrigeration
Ritual Hockey
Waratah artworks
Workingmans club Mildura
Wizard the hockey brand

🇳🇱 AMSTERDAM TOUR UPDATE 🏑❤️🇦🇺

Well… what a few days it has been! I feel like we’ve already squeezed about three weeks into a handful of days 😂

✈️ 1. D-DAY – WE’RE OFF!

We all arrived at Melbourne Airport VERY excited and ready to go — and looking pretty bloody good kitted out in our Sunnies Rugby jumpers! 😍

First destination… Dubai!

After a VERY long flight, we landed to 37-degree heat and humidity. 🥵 Just a little different to what we had left behind in Melbourne!

Then it was back on another plane and finally on to Amsterdam! 🇳🇱

We were met at the airport by Sander, the event organiser, and Thomas, our tour guide for our stay. From there it was off to our hostel, get everyone settled in and try to get some sleep before the adventure really began!

🇳🇱 2. AMSTERDAM & THE WORLD CUP

Bright and early after not nearly enough sleep 😴, we headed into Amsterdam for the This is Holland 5D Experience — and it was FANTASTIC! Definitely one of the highlights so far.

We then had a couple of hours to wander around Amsterdam, explore and grab some lunch.

Then it was off to the Hockey World Cup to watch Netherlands v New Zealand and Argentina v Japan.

Both games were a little one-sided, but it was still pretty amazing to be sitting in Amsterdam watching world-class hockey! 🏑❤️

🏑 3. TIME FOR OUR PLAYERS TO PLAY SOME HOCKEY!

Our first training session was at a hockey club with… wait for it…

12 WATER-BASED PITCHES! 😳

Yep. TWELVE.

Meanwhile, we get excited about one. 😂

The team had a fantastic training session with a coach who had played at the Olympics with Sander. He was absolutely brilliant with our players.

While the team had some downtime, Andrea and Vicki found themselves at a very random automated laundromat beside a petrol station washing training tops and shorts.

Living the European dream over here. 😂

Then it was time for our first lead-up game, and the team came away with a fantastic 5–1 WIN! 💪🇦🇺

Dinner at the club, back to the hostel… and then apparently our European adventure also included handwashing an entire team's playing shirts and socks. 🤢🤮😂

🎢 4. EFTELING & GAME TWO

Next up — EFTELING! 🏰🎢

A beautiful fairy-tale-style theme park with plenty of rollercoasters, rides and fun.

We also squeezed in a doctor visit for one of our players with an ear infection — because apparently no sporting tour is complete without a little medical adventure! 🤦‍♀️😂

Then, with a team full of exhausted players, we headed off for lead-up game number two.

And somehow, they still pulled out another win…

🏑 2–1! 👏

Late bus. Late dinner. VERY tired players.

A few leg massages happening back at the hostel and everyone was VERY ready for bed!

🏑 5. MORE HOCKEY!

Because obviously we hadn't had enough yet. 😂

Another training session followed by our third lead-up match, this time against Spandersbosch.

The team put together another fantastic performance and came away with a convincing…

🔥 6–0 WIN! 🔥

And yet again, we found ourselves at another incredible hockey facility surrounded by beautiful trees and bushland, with a mere three water-based pitches and a practice circle. 😂

But the best part of the last few days has been watching this group come together.

Our players are really starting to gel as a team, both on and off the pitch. They're looking after each other, having a laugh, working hard and starting to find their rhythm together. ❤️

So after three lead-up games:

🏑 5–1 WIN
🏑 2–1 WIN
🏑 6–0 WIN

Not a bad little lead-in to the tournament! 💪🇦🇺

❤️ AND A HUGE THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS!

We absolutely have to give a shout-out to the amazing group of supporters travelling with us.

They've washed uniforms, hunted down ice for tired and sore bodies, cheered from the sidelines, supported our players and staff, helped out wherever they've been needed and, most importantly, they're having a pretty great time themselves! 😂❤️

It really does take a village to get a team like this halfway around the world and keep everything running once we're here, and we're very lucky to have such a great group along for the ride.

Thank you for everything you’re doing — especially the jobs nobody really wants to do! 😂 We appreciate you! ❤️🇦🇺

😴 6. TODAY… A LITTLE REST!

Today we FINALLY have a bit of a rest morning before heading back to the World Cup this afternoon.

Then tomorrow…

IT'S TOURNAMENT TIME! 🔥🏑🇦🇺

The team is ready. We’re excited. We’re exhausted. 😂 And we’re loving every minute of this experience.

Because apparently there really is no such thing as too much hockey…

HOCKEY IS LIFE! 😂🏑🇦🇺🇳🇱❤️

Bring on the tournament!

THANK YOU TO OUR AMAZING SPONSORS.

McGlynn Hunt Funerals.
Hip Pocket workwear Mildura
PIP Global safety workwear
Sutton Refrigeration
Ritual Hockey
Waratahs artworks
Workingmans club Mildura
Wizard the hockey brand.

🏑💚💛 **OUR SUNRAYSIA STARS HAVE DONE US PROUD!** 💛💚🏑

What an incredible few weeks on the national and international stage!

🥈 **Jade & Sarah Chapman** finished as **Silver Medallists** with Vic Country at the Australian Country Championships in Bendigo, going down 3-1 in the Gold Medal match.

⭐ And a special shout out to **Sarah**, who scored Victoria's goal in the Grand Final! What an achievement! 👏

🥈 **Sue O’Brien** and the Australian Women's 65 Masters team also claimed **Silver** at the World Masters in Belgium. After being locked together at full time, the match went all the way to a nail-biting shootout, with England only securing victory on the 5th and final shot. What a contest! 🇦🇺

🥇 And finally... **SUE "SNOOPY" WAKEFIELD IS A WORLD CHAMPION!** 🏆🌏

Snoop and the Australian Women's 55 Masters team took home **GOLD**, defeating Argentina in a shootout to become World Champions! What an incredible achievement and a moment to remember forever.

From Bendigo to Belgium, our Sunraysia representatives have shown skill, determination and heart on the biggest stages.

But we're not done yet! 👀

🌏🏑 Our attention now turns to our **Sunraysia Under 18 Boys**, who are currently taking on the world at the** Junior World Cup in the Netherlands**. We'll be cheering them on every step of the way!

📺 And if you're still looking for more hockey, all Australian matches from the FIH World Cup can be watched live and free on **7+**.

We couldn't be prouder of all of you. Congratulations on your amazing achievements and thank you for representing Sunraysia Hockey so brilliantly! 💚💛