Perth Thundersticks miss out on Hockey One men’s decider after semifinal loss, but WA club’s women reach final

Perth have fallen agonisingly short of a Hockey One men’s final berth, with a late surge not enough to get past Melbourne in their semifinal in Hobart. The Thundersticks pressed late with three penalty corners and a field goal attempt in the dying minutes, but time ran out as they slumped to a tournament-ending 4-3 defeat. The WA side couldn’t repeat their comeback from the clubs’ regular season clash, when they came from 4-1 down at three-quarter time to win 5-4. “Last time we played them they obviously overran us but learnings from that game put us in good stead for this last quarter,” Melbourne and Kookaburras defender Josh Simmonds said. “Now we’ve got to recover and look forward to Canberra tomorrow.” All but the last of the nine goals In the second semi came from a penalty corner, with James Day giving Perth a fifth-minute lead. HC Melbourne hit back to lead at quarter-time following goals from captain Damon Steffens and Brad Marais. The second quarter produced few clear-cut chances, but Perth goalkeeper Ben Rennie kept his team in the game in the third with three important saves. Cooper Burns displayed great skill and control in little space to prise open the obdurate Perth defence from a penalty corner four minutes from three-quarter time. Tom Harvie dragged the Thundersticks back into the clash with a fierce shot from a penalty corner 40 seconds after the final quarter started. Within four minutes Melbourne regained their two-goal advantage after Conner Otterbach rounded off a slick move before holding on down the stretch. Melbourne will face minor premiers Canberra in the final, with the Chill scoring inside the last five seconds to squeeze out a 3-2 win over defending champions Brisbane. It was better news for Perth in the women’s competition, where the Thundersticks surged into the grand final after overcoming an early deficit to notch a 3-1 win over Tasmania. Perth fell behind after just six minutes, but goals to Lexie Pickering, Neasa Flynn and Eva Drummond helped the WA club keep their unbeaten campaign alive and set up a grand final clash against Brisbane.