CBC peak at ideal time to dispatch Norths in high-scoring men’s A1 hockey decider

Sam McGinty provided the grunt in a best afield display that was capped off by James Cable’s stunning hat-trick in CBC’s grand final triumph over Norths last Saturday for the Eastern Goldfields Hockey Association’s men’s A1 flag.

A year after lowering their colours against Norths after being grand final favourites, CBC returned the favour in a 5-3 result that player-coach Chris Connolly attributed to the squad’s willingness to peak at exactly the right time.

Norths led the qualifiers with 13 wins — a record that earned them a direct path to the grand final under a top-three finals system.

But after CBC had their measure in each of the two previous two clashes, Connolly said each player was desperate to ensure the momentum was carried into the grand final.

“We’d had that success against them late in the season and no doubt that built up a fair bit of confidence,” Connolly said.

“It was very satisfying — you couldn’t fault the effort the boys put on the table on Saturday night — they went at it hard and absolutely gave Norths the kitchen sink.

“Even when Norths scored, we responded straight away and the collective energy and effort put in by each of the guys was incredible.”

Connolly said a fast-start headed the game plan.

“In our earlier semifinal, we came out of the gates pretty bloody slow, until the last quarter,” he said.

“Everyone really took notice of that and wanted to make amends.

“It meant we got on the board early to be up, I think, 4-1 by half-time before we had a few lapses and they pulled a couple back.

“But Jimmy Cable was just an absolute killer in the circle — he was swinging at everything and putting them in the back of the net.

“Sam McGinty did what he always does and was incredible, along with Slayde Coombs.

“Hopefully most of the group will be back (next season) and we’re just going to try and build on the collective energy and how we finished the season because we’ve spent a big portion of the past few years really building a great culture.

“We think that’s a big part of what has driven us this season because everyone was playing for each other.”

Grand final results:

A1 men:

CBC d Norths 5-3. Best-on-ground: Sam McGinty (CBC).

A2 men:

Norths d YMHC 3-2. Best-on-ground: Wade Wood (YMHC) and Michael Scruth (Norths).