Masters hockey: Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast cap off a memorable 2023 Hockey Queensland Women’s Masters Championships with thrilling final. Check out our mega photo gallery and grand final recap here.
“We love coming to Toowoomba,” Hockey Queensland tournament director Brent Brown said.
“The hospitality is fantastic and the facilities between the fields and Club Glenvale are some of the best in the state.
More than 1200 players, officials, volunteers and fans packed Clyde Park and Toowoomba Grammar School for the Hockey Queensland Women’s Masters Championships.
The championships, which are second in size to their New South Wales equivalent, featured teams from Atherton and Cairns in the north to Tweed in the south.
With five teams in action Toowoomba had high hopes of championship glory but unfortunately only one team came away with a grand final winners’ medal.
In a player of the match worthy performance Beth Lawerence scored a double to secure Toowoomba 3 a 2-0 win in the Division 5 final against Bundaberg.
In the Division 1 final Brisbane 1 fought back from a goal down to seal a 2-1 win over Sunshine Coast 1.
SC captain opened Nanette Latta opened the scoring in the 29th minute but her strike wasn’t enough.
Brisbane took home gold thanks to goals from Patricia Hughes and Kylie O’Donohue.
“I just think it was a really gutsy effort from the whole team,” an emotional Belinda Cameron, who co-captained Brisbane, said.
“No of us let our guard down and we just kept staying positive and trying to come back, despite being under the pump for so much of the game.
“We continued to press and press and press, and knew all along that we would be able to claw our way back and score the winning goals.
“Everyone is always against us (Brisbane), so to come from behind at 1-0 down and to do it in the way we did, it means the world to us, I’m just so proud.
“We came here to win and we achieved that; so it’s just such a testament to the team we’ve been able to build year on year.”
An equally emotional Amanda Peach, who was a defensive powerhouse in net, echoed Cameron’s thoughts.
“We settled ourselves down in the second half and we all knew that we were capable of pulling off a comeback as long as we played as a team and not as individuals, which we did to great effect,” the co-captain said.
Karen Nixon (left) of Redlands 1 against Tanya Lesina of Cairns 1 in 2023 Hockey Queensland Womens Masters State Championships at Clyde Park, Toowoomba, Friday, June 9, 2023. Picture: Kevin Farmer
Tamsin Perry scores for Gold Coast 1 against Rockhampton 1 in 2023 Hockey Queensland Womens Masters State Championships at Clyde Park, Toowoomba, Friday, June 9, 2023. Picture: Kevin Farmer
Renee Dunstan (left) of Gold Coast 1 against Jacquleen Prinsloo of Rockhampton 1 in 2023 Hockey Queensland Womens Masters State Championships at Clyde Park, Toowoomba, Friday, June 9, 2023. Picture: Kevin Farmer
Tamsin Perry (right) celebrates her goal for Gold Coast 1 against Rockhampton 1 in 2023 Hockey Queensland Womens Masters State Championships at Clyde Park, Toowoomba, Friday, June 9, 2023. Picture: Kevin Farmer
Rockhampton 1 captain Kim Reibel with the ball against Gold Coast 1 in 2023 Hockey Queensland Womens Masters State Championships at Clyde Park, Toowoomba, Friday, June 9, 2023. Picture: Kevin Farmer
Sammi Morris (centre) of Gold Coast 1 reacts during the game against Rockhampton 1 in 2023 Hockey Queensland Womens Masters State Championships at Clyde Park, Toowoomba, Friday, June 9, 2023. Picture: Kevin Farmer
Tammy Drews (left) of Redlands 1 against Carliha Brown of Cairns 1 in 2023 Hockey Queensland Womens Masters State Championships at Clyde Park, Toowoomba, Friday, June 9, 2023. Picture: Kevin Farmer
Redlands 1 captain Petra West (left) against Cairns 1 in 2023 Hockey Queensland Womens Masters State Championships at Clyde Park, Toowoomba, Friday, June 9, 2023. Picture: Kevin Farmer
Carliha Brown of Cairns 1 against Redlands 1 in 2023 Hockey Queensland Womens Masters State Championships at Clyde Park, Toowoomba, Friday, June 9, 2023. Picture: Kevin Farmer
Julie Mulligan of Gold Coast 1 against Rockhampton 1 in 2023 Hockey Queensland Womens Masters State Championships at Clyde Park, Toowoomba, Friday, June 9, 2023. Picture: Kevin Farmer
Jodie Borg (centre) of Rockhampton 1 against Gold Coast 1 in 2023 Hockey Queensland Womens Masters State Championships at Clyde Park, Toowoomba, Friday, June 9, 2023. Picture: Kevin Farmer
Toowoomba players to watch
Toowoomba 1 (Division 1)
Stalwarts Rachel Macready and Heidi Philips will hold down the midfield.
The star duo are great two-way players doing the hard work in defence and launching attacking raids.
Former Hockeyroos star Bec Dwyer, with her great tomahawk shot, leads a group of extremely talented strikers.
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Rachel Macready will be a key figure for Toowoomba 1 at the Hockey Queensland Women’s Masters Championships. Picture: Nev Madsen.
Toowoomba 2 (Division 3)
Look out for Allison Campbell and Rachel Williams on attacking set pieces – the pair are particularly dangerous on penalty corners.
Toowoomba 2 will trouble plenty of opposition’s defences with the likes of Sam Richards and Renee Bidgood setting the tone in what neutral fans would consider ‘aggressive’ mid and striker lines.
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Renee Bidgood (left) will line up for Toowoomba 2.
Toowoomba 3 (Division 5)
With an experienced and level headed backline Toowoomba 3 will be hard to beat.
Goalkeeper Roslyn Jupp leads a talented defence that includes Toni Cox, Kate Fleming and Wendy O’Brien.
Striker Emily Swann has speed to burn upfront and will be among the goals.
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Toowoomba 4 (Division 6)
Jessica Rossow works hard in the circle to make sure she is in the right spot to produce the ‘magic touch’ on goals.
The dynamic attacker will have plenty support behind with Kate Skuse and Amber Tolley tackling hard and driving the ball forward.
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Toowoomba 5 (Division 6)
Some of Toowoomba’s longest serving masters players will line up in this side.
Look for Lynda Shiels, Lana Bradshaw and Sandra Rosbrook to set the tone with plenty of hard work and just as much fun.
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