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Subscriber only CELEBRATING her first national success as head coach, Sara Rogers also has a better understanding of what the NRL and AFL teams are enduring during COVID restrictions. After initially fearing the Queensland under-18 women would miss the latest Australian hockey tournament in Tasmania, Rogers oversaw the team s unbeaten performance. Queensland won the gold medal match against Victoria after sudden death shootouts. That was Queensland s sixth victory to go with a 0-0 draw with NSW in the qualifying rounds. But just to get to Launceston to contest the championships was a feat in itself. Just before Easter, the Greater Brisbane area including Ipswich went into the three-day lockdown.
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Subscriber only LIKE players rising up the representative ranks, umpires have to continue learning and adjust to different situations. That s exactly what Ipswich hockey duo Hayden Michel and Natalie Walker achieved at the latest Australian under-15 championships in Bathurst. Michel, 21, officiated in the boys bronze medal match won by Victoria over Western Australian Gold. As a dual registered Ipswich and Brisbane competition player and Australian indoor hockey representative, Michel offered an honest insight into his latest challenge. I had a rough start, said Michel, who plays for Hancock Brothers in the Ipswich competition. I had a banger third match and then just got consistent from there.
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Subscriber only AFTER the Norths juggernaut clicked up a gear and rolled to another huge victory, the warning was clear. The Norths Devils will only get better in this year s Ipswich A-Grade hockey competition. Sunday night s 7-1 victory over Easts came after the Devils surrendered the first goal. We probably needed a goal against us to start with just to wake up, coach Steve Profke said. With only four training sessions under their belt, last year s grand final runners-up displayed plenty of firepower with Profke s sons Zac (four) and Riley (two) dominating the goal fest. However, the other teams are already on notice.