LGSHA player-coach Darren Parkes optimistic his team can challenge for division 1 title at country champs

The Lower Great Southern Hockey Association men’s senior team coach Darren Parkes believes a healthy list of returning players and a solid lead-up can help his side clinch the division 1 title at the CBH Group Men’s Country Championships in Perth this weekend. Parkes will return in his role as player-coach for the tournament as the LGSHA do battle with four other teams in their conquest for division 1 glory, Upper Great Southern, Eastern Goldfields, Bunbury and Geraldton. The LGSHA went through the round-robin matches without a win last year but bounced back to defeat top seed Eastern Goldfields in the semifinal. They battled hard against a strong Geraldton side in the grand final but went down 2-1 after conceding two early goals. “We have managed to have a decent lead-up to it, we’ll play a scratch match before and do all the fine-tuning of our special plays to find out what we can do well and then we’ll lead into the tournament from there, fresh and knowing how each other play,” Parkes said. “I’d say we’ve got about three-quarters of returning players which is probably a good thing for us to know how we all play, so hopefully we can click together and know what we did wrong last year and do it right this year. “We came second last year, we just ran out of legs after playing really hard throughout the competition. “It was a hard tournament last year but this one’s looking to be even harder and from what I’ve heard a lot of guys are coming back to play down here in Albany (at the national country championships) but we’re looking forward to it. “The harder it is, the better we play . . . it makes us work harder and think smarter.” The LGSHA will play four round-robin games on Friday and Saturday to determine whether they advance to Sunday’s grand final. First and second place will face off in the grand final at 2.20pm on Sunday while the third place play-off will be at 11.35am on the same day. The LGSHA top team will start their campaign against Bunbury at noon on Friday followed by a clash with Geraldton at 3pm. They will face Eastern Goldfields at 12.10pm on Saturday and will then play their final qualifying game against Upper Great Southern at 7.30pm. Parkes said while he’s looking forward to the challenge, his role as player-coach presents unique challenges. “It’s very challenging, you can only really change things at quarter time and half time so it really makes it a bit difficult that I can’t be on the sidelines doing a few things,” he said. “But I still think I’ve got a little bit of impact on the field where I can scream and yell and give some direction.” Matches will be played at Perth Hockey Stadium. The LGSHA will take a second team to the event, competing in division two. LGSHA Division 1 Team Darren Parkes, Andre Gabriel, Robert Stan-Bishop, Damen Guest, Jack Carlson, Brodie Sarre, Chris Metcalfe, Hayden Mills, James Leiper, Taylor Pocock, Charlie Hudson, Brock Keymer, Mitch Bradbury, Heath Cremasco.