Orbost Hockey Club welcomed rival Mitchell River to the Orbost Recreation Reserve last Saturday for its final set of home games in the East Gippsland Hockey Association regular season, with round 14 action featuring four closely
contested fixtures, all of which had finals implications.
Although the day’s weather was gloriously sunny, a week of rain meant that the grass field played slower than usual, adding an extra layer of complication for both clubs to work to overcome.
Orbost’s under 16 team has had to fight hard every step of the way in 2026, but in a match it simply had to win to keep its finals hopes
alive, it produced its best performance of the season so far to record a vital 5-2 victory.
After going behind early, Mia Martin made a crucial clearance just when it appeared that the visitors were about to extend their lead, and after Campbell Edlington had gone close to scoring at the other end on a couple of occasions, it was Jasper Anderson who equalised for the Green and Gold when he threaded the ball past the keeper to complete a strong attacking move involving Chloe Findley and Keira Irvine.
Mitchell River soon struck again to lead 2-1, but a strong series of attacks in the shadow of half time paid off for the hosts when they were awarded a penalty stroke, which Anderson calmly converted to draw his side level again.
Whatever motivational words of wisdom were imparted at the main break certainly worked for the home side, as it proceeded to burst out of the blocks in the third quarter and quickly put the game away with some wonderful team attacking that produced three goals.
Anderson struck first with a clever finish from a tight angle before a brilliant piece of manoeuvring in the “D” allowed Findley to twist her way past the defence and drill the ball into the corner of the cage.
With the Leni Millward-led backline in no mood to allow its opponents back into the contest, the forward forays for Orbost continued to mount, with Anderson capping a fine personal performance in
front of goal with a big shot off his reverse stick into the top corner to seal the win.
Crucially for the Green and Gold, the victory puts the side fourth on the ladder with one home-and-away game remaining, meaning that if it can secure a draw or a win against Maffra this week, or if both the teams below it (Wellington and Mitchell River) fail to win or draw, it will confirm its spot in an elimination final.
The under 14 outfit is already confirmed as minor premier and qualifying final participant, but with its rivals now starting to snap harder at its heels, for the third time in the past month it found itself embroiled in a real tussle with one of its main contenders.
Pleasingly for Orbost, it was twice able to come from a goal down to win a thrilling 3-2 contest, one in which its youngest stars showed the level of attacking intensity that should hold them in good stead come September.
After Mitchell River seized an early lead, Jasper Anderson fired a trio of shots just wide in response before the strong intercepting and rebounding work of Cohen Mathews in midfield helped generate an attack that found Jaxon Murray wide open in front of goal to confidently convert his chance to level proceedings.
A bold one-on-one save by goalie Jacob Rutherford and a crucial block from Alex Kenny then helped to keep the visitors at bay, only for an unfortunate own goal to put the Green and Gold in arrears once more at half time.
After the break, Orbost’s young brigade of attackers really had the bit between their teeth, with Teddy Kuyper, Joe Millward and Demi Murray all making their presence felt in dangerous areas in the “D”, scrapping hard to try and force any loose balls across the goal line.
Eventually, a period of extended pressure paid off when Joe Millward got the final touch to a clever Anderson cross at the back post to equalise, before Anderson himself gave his side the lead for the first time a few minutes later with one of his trademark weaving runs on goal capped by successfully passing the keeper.
This proved to be a lead that the hosts would not relinquish, particularly with Kitty Millward and Savannah Lindfield imposing themselves on the contest with their high-quality tackling and Jaxon Murray making a pair of vital interventions to end Mitchell River’s last-gasp chance to equalise.
Orbost’s under 12 side is also still very much in the mix to play finals, and even though it was unable to confirm its spot against a strong Mitchell River outfit in a 3-2 defeat, the way the team performed in a one-goal loss was nevertheless very encouraging.
An engaging first half saw plenty of opportunities to score at both ends, with Demi Murray seeing a pair of shots saved for the Green and Gold before her brother Jaxon threaded a pass through the defence to create another chance for Belle Healey.
In defence, the home side had a bold tackle from Sophie Scott, a crucial intervention in his own “D” by Harry Greenwood, and a sharp save from goalie Darius Mathews to thank for keeping the scoreboard blank at the break.
Mitchell River did, however, grab the initiative after the restart with a pair of quick strikes, but Orbost was able to pull a goal back when Teddy Kuyper delivered a clean finish into the cage after receiving a long pass from Joe Millward.
With Savannah Lindfield sweeping effectively at the back and Izzy Palmer providing plenty of industry in the midfield, the Green and Gold kept moving the ball forward with regularity, and despite the visitors going 3-1 up, further chances fell to the sticks of Kuyper, Millward and Demi Murray respectively.
Their best team move of the match involving a Lara Kenny drive, a Millward pass, and another sharp Kuyper strike kept the home side’s hopes of a comeback alive, only for the clock to ultimately deny its bid for what would have been a well-deserved draw.
Despite this setback, Orbost remains third on the competition ladder and will qualify for an elimination final next week if it either wins or draws against fourth-placed Maffra, or indeed if it loses and fifth-placed Wellington does likewise.
Orbost and Mitchell River’s women’s teams entered their contest having shared a pair of one-goal wins between them earlier this season, and with the fourth and final finals spot also on the line, it was no surprise that they played out another low-scoring and absorbing fixture.
In a game that somehow remained goalless (0-0), it was the home side that had the most scoring chances in the first half and the away team the better of the opportunities in the second, with a pair of Casey Findley shots — the first coming after a Misty Anderson cross, the second after some strong work in the “D” by Alana Farley — representing the Green and Gold’s closest efforts.
On what had become an unseasonably warm afternoon, the ability of Aster Anderson and Phoebe Findley to run hard with the ball on their sticks proved invaluable in turning defence into attack for Orbost, while behind them Kerryn Volk’s cool-headed clearance work and Lisa Murray’s relentless tackling and dispossessing of opponents on the backline ensured that all of the visitors’ best attempts on goal were turned away.
With time running out at the end of the match, Sarah Gladstone pulled off a sublime piece of goalkeeping with a dramatic third-effort prone save that denied what seemed to be a certain score, preserving the draw and the sharing of the points between the two rivals.
The draw keeps Orbost in fifth place on the ladder with just one round remaining, meaning that it must try to either draw or win against Maffra and ensure in the process of doing so that it also betters the number of points that Mitchell River gains in its last match, if it is to reach the elimination final.
The under 10 competition does not include finals, but there was still plenty to celebrate for Orbost’s youngest team playing for the last time in 2026 on its home ground, particularly as for many of them this is their first-ever year of hockey.
Mitchell River may have had the attacking edge in this particular contest (4-0), but there were still many Green and Gold highlights to enjoy, including Zoe Griebenow’s big tackles, an excellent block on his own goal line by Toby Gilmour and the across-the-ground energy on show from Keira Murray.
Twins Indi and Lyla Gilmour were heavily involved in contesting the ball in the centre, while Evie Crofts was a livewire up front, well supported in attack by the direct running of Grace Reddy and Matilda Kuyper, all three of whom had goal-bound shots that were saved on the line.
Orbost Hockey Club will contest the final round of the home-and-away season against Maffra this Saturday at the WORLD facility in Bairnsdale.
