By gosh Saturday was warm it was like the start of the season all over again. If this is winter heaven help us this summer. A quick dip in the pool was a thought that passed through the mind occasionally while out there hittin' and pushin' and runnin' for all we were worth. Again there was some great hockey to be witnessed at the park with teams jockeying for positions as the last round looms.

An Ode To The Rookie Umpires

Well done to Fergus for having a go at umpiring today, volunteered and all, a big ask for a young fella at short notice!

Well done also to Jack Nobes who, having never umpired before, took a deep breath and did the "A". Who said, "no-one wants to do Railway?" Special thanks go to the Railway players who took occasional turns to stand with Jack and give guidance, he really got it together in the second half (all by himself) and went extremely well for a first go at this level. Also thanks to the CBC team who showed mutual respect and understanding of the situation. Nice play girls!

Thanks to Dave Howarth for helping out all over the place with whistle in hand. And did we mention Carole Brown, still juggling umpires around right up until the last game! Onya Caz! Thanks to all the umpires who filled in!

AGM:

The AGM is on Monday night at the Cowra Bowling Club starting at 7pm sharp and it is important for all teams to have the appropriate number of representatives there. For those who are unsure just double the number that is usually required at a normal meeting.

This weekend's round is the last one for this year and the finals series will commence next weekend. Remember that correct uniform must be worn for the finals and sticks will be checked so make sure that you get your act together so that all will be smooth sailing.

The lollies from the fundraiser were distributed on the weekend. Thanks to Marg Tarrant for organising that - and yes I know that I can't add up and owe you a dollar.

This week Cowra High hosted the Central West District hockey carnival at Edgell Park. Thank you to the ladies who ran the canteen on the day. Also thank you to the teams that lent their goal keeping gear to the Cowra High School and visiting teams, it allowed the carnival to run with a maximum number of entries - goalie gear is very expensive and it is too cost prohibitive for schools to carry enough equipment to allow more than one or two teams to play. But the kind assistance of the Cowra District teams allowed each school to send everyone who wanted to play - well done Cowra Hockey!

And while we're talking school hockey - the Cowra High School U/16's played in Bathurst during the week and though we were unsuccessful overall a special mention needs to go to Briony Jonkers who played 3 phenomenal games in goal to keep our team in the hunt in all games. Her agility and fearlessness knew no bounds and she, with the rest of the girls, did our association proud.

RULE BOOKs:

We're drawing very close to the end of the season and there are a lot of rule books available. At this time of year they are FREE, if you want one please see the office! Any budding umpires keen to learn the rules or coaches, players, captains, get one now, make sure you know what is acceptable and not acceptable before the finals. Don't get caught receiving a card!

Enough of the chit chat, let's get onto the team reports for the weekend:

U/11's

Almost everyone was back, with only 2 of our regulars missing. Good to see you all! We worked hard on our tackling from behind, coming in from the attacker's right side and it was great to see so much of this skill employed in the game play. Well done everyone! The tackling is getting much safer and cleaner. This week we'll be adding to this by learning how to tackle from the reverse side, by far one of the hardest skills to do without giving away a penalty, and included in this will be "channelling". Any other players wishing to further develop their skills are encouraged to attend the U/11's sessions.

Game play: We made a couple of player changes last week to even the sides. Thanks to Emma Francis and Samantha Brown (blues) and Jamie-Leigh & Matthew Gourlay (reds) for happily swapping teams. The blazing Bears (red) were ferocious against the torrid Tigers(green), the reds having their first win after some hard fought previous games were very excited by the 4 goal win. Emma & Claytyn got the mama and papa bears' share of these. The Tigers never tired, trying at every purr to claw their way back into the match but felt the absence of a key striker today and had no luck with their efforts. Like Tigger, they're bound to bounce back next week. Great work Gabi Rhodes and Daniel White for the Tigers, Claytyn & Eliza Feeney for the Bears. Players of the week were Emma Francis (Bears) and Dana Hannan (Tigers).

A very close and vocal game between the shattering Sharks (blue) and the lightning fast Lions (yellow). This game could have gone either way with both teams blazing a path to goal. The defence for both was excellent but there were 3 goals scored. Jamie-Leigh Gourlay shone with 2 points for the Sharks and Steffani Gardener got the lone goal for the Lions. Brody Hannan was noisy but hard working for the yellows and sibling team members Tom & Crista Purdie put in a fine effort for the blues. Players of the week were Cassie Glover for the Lions and Matthew Gourlay for the Sharks.

# Please don't forget those trophies, we've got one still not returned from 2 weeks ago, we need all back to ensure they're available for each week's awards. Enjoy trophy winners- well done!

U/15's:

A big thank you to Carole Brown who managed to scrape together another 3 umpires for the U/15's at very short notice and was still juggling whistle blowers and duties right to till the last game. Thanks and well done to Andrew White (Elders) who had his first go at umpiring (at very short notice) and did a fabulous job. Sorry to the Elders players who turned up for an "on-game" coaching session only to find their coach was umpiring.

Sportspower 3 v Cowra Glass 3

Sportpower: In the see-sawing first half Sportspower had trouble getting a defensive break despite all of the team members trying hard. Fairly early in the 2nd half some good team work resulted in Jack scoring a great goal. Toby once again made some great saves. Sportspower lifted and applied more pressure on Cowra Glass. Jack was tenacious in his attempts to score. Many great tackles by Nathan, Sarah, Nicole and Meg kept Sportspower in the game. Their tenacity led to Sportspower drawing the game at 3 apiece. Best players were Megan French, Sarah Park and Grace Bryant

Cowra Glass: A great game was played by all of the Cowra Glass team. We were unlucky not to get some more goals into the back of the net. Andrew refereed the game well - thankyou. Our forwards worked well together to produce 3 goals. The defence by the halves and backs supported Briony well in goals who made many great saves to keep us in the game. Best players were Shannon Boyd, Stuart Barr and Bill McAlister

The Subway player of the game was Sportspower's Megan French - congratulations

Walkers SS 2 vCentral Motors 0

Walkers SS: No report. Best players were Rosie Wilson, Sam Barker and Charlie Book

Central Motors: The first half was evenly matched between the two teams with Central Motors unable to score a goal. Walkers SS broke Central's defence twice to score early in the 2nd half. A disjointed display by Central Motors did well to keep Walkers out for the rest of the game. Best players were Karina F, Eric Hutchinson and Emma Grant.

The Subway player of the game was Walkers SS Rosie Wilson - congratulations.

B Grade:

CIGA 2 v Blue Jays 1

CIGA: No report. Best players were Clare English, Karen Nash and Danielle Jenkins

Blue Jays: A great goal was set up by Kim and scored by Sarah. The team played hard but again struggled with a lack of numbers. Thanks Sarah for being the goalie in the second half, you did really well. It is imperative that ALL players turn up for games with the finals starting next weekend. Best players were Cassie Williams, Maree Kelly and Kristy White

Gill's Girls 0 v Townhouse 0

Gill's Girls: Sickness dwindled our numbers this week and the other walking wounded soldiered on to a draw with an also depleted Townhouse. Both teams made some nice plays on the goals. Gill's goalie actually stopped some for a change. Bec, Missy, Jackie and Sarah ran all game in the forwards and Kate, Jenna and Stacey gave 100% in the halves. Bin the super back was all on her lonesome down the bottom end of town and pulled out some super saves for her team mates. A well played game by all. Best players were Kate Eggleton, Belinda Burgan, and Sarah Brydon

Townhouse: Without a few of the standards playing we were bolstered by the young and spirited Jessie Lee Medway and Grace Bryant who played well beyond their years and helped to keep the Gill's Girls scoreless with persistent tackling by Jessie and many great breaks up front by Grace. With Jason in goals, replacing the absent Tracey S, Gills'Girls found a formidable foe. He slid and kicked and punched away the ball making it impossible for the attacking team to score. He was ably assisted by Tracey 'Don't let the fact that the kids are playing for the opposition put you off' Farley and Di Clarke who refused to let the Girls break through to get a clean shot at Jason. Sam Medway kept attacking the goal and, although we keep telling him that it is only a matter of time before he scores, he was unable to convert his great pushes forward. The Dunksters, with Jessie Lee in the mid field, were solid in defence and were able to keep providing the forwards with good passes to keep the pressure on Gill's defence. Maxine found being the centre forward unfamiliar territory and was much more comfortable when she swapped with Michelle to get back onto the wing. Tammy as always was solid in defence picking up the loose balls and sending them back down to our forwards. The heat got to us oldies with many hanging in there, just, for the final whistle to blow. A well spirited game by both teams which was overseen by the rookie ref Fergus Carney with Jo Nobes by his side. Well done Fergus you controlled the game well. Best players were Sam Medway, Jessie Lee Medway and Grace Bryant

A grade:

Redbacks 9 v North Cowra Car Centre 2

North Cowra Car Centre. These guys were in a world of hurt with six players away with various commitments leaving gaping holes in the side. What a tireless effort by those that were here. Rachel English padded up in goal and was mercilessly hammered by the Redbacks. First half saw Rachel with no where to hide under the onslaught, the attack was fast and shooting freely. Jaime Buckmaster worked hard at fullback with some very solid, relieving clearances. Keira Idiens and Elle Manton supported well across the park with Marg Tarrant trying hard to spark the forwards and Lyn Watt taking the game to the Red side as much as possible. Ben Jonkers for Redbacks was the hard man to beat in defence and his big clearing hits continued to put N3C on the back foot. Little Clare Watt as one of the purple's dashing wings was dwarfed by Jonkers but continued to try and take him on. If tenacity were points, she'd have 10. Ruth Watt worked hard too but it was to no end today. To her credit, Rachel English, bruised and sore, came out firing in the second half and while conceding a few more goals looked like she was getting the hang of GK and saved some beauties! A brave effort Rachel- well done! Thanks to the fill-ins who really gave it their best - Laura Butterworth, Charlie Book and Sam Barker - your efforts were really appreciated! A big loss for North Cowra today but it showed even under the attacking onslaught of the Redbacks, there were still opportunities to score and Lyn Watt made every chance count. 2 goals to her! Best players were Rachel English, Lyn Watt, Marg Tarrant

Redbacks: No report. Best players were Eric Hutchinson, Jack Nobes and Paul Farley

Railway Hotel 3 v Canowindra Bowling Club 0

Railway Hotel:

The blues were up against Canowindra Bowlo and their main difficulty seemed to be scoring from their chances. A few near misses and a number of horror shots kept the crowd guessing. CBC moved the ball around nicely but between Lisa Robertson and Elka Johnstone who were wearing their "run Billy run, see Billy run" shoes there wasn't a lot of chasing required by anybody else. Oh, except the wings, Julie Daley and Trish Malcolm who were expected to chase after any wild, long wayward hit we could muster. It was so nice to have the lovely Annie Garlick back, such a pleasure that she was allowed to go wherever she wanted. The backs, Carole Brown and Vicki Camps were always safe with some great clearances. We must have played a lot of soccer, with umpire Dave calling "foot",."foot", so we'll blame the forwards for lack of skill there! Not like us I'm sure. Lucky last week's scorers Kylie Jonkers and Brenda Hannan made the most of it because nothing seemed to go right for them today. Cherie (Cheza) Mccabe and Maree Dykes combined well up front and Briony Jonkers, called for some action at GK again, and got it. Thankfully, she was equal to the task. We have to give special mention to Joey Nobes who turned up to play and found herself in the canteen after 6 hours in that role at the footy and then gave up playing her own game to help Fergus Carney umpire the "B" grade. Onya Joey!!

The Draw for round 16: 3/9/05 - lucky last

11.30am Minkey

U/11's

12.30pm U/15's Sportspower v Central Motors Ump: Steve Ford/ David Howarth

Cowra Glass v Eldaers Ump: Kate Hudson/Anthony Clarke

BYE: Walkers SS

1.45pm A Grade: CBC v NCCC Ump: Brenda Hannan/ Spoon

B Grade Blue Jays v Gill's Girls Ump: CIGA x1/ Elka Johnston

3.10pm A Grade Railway v Redbacks Ump Steve Ford/ Anthony Clarke

B Grade CIGA v Townhouse Ump: Gill's Girls x 1/ CBC x 1