By Justin Schwarze
The Casey Cannons Hockey Club had a day filled with reflection and historical commemoration when it welcomed former key figures in a past players day.
A huge crowd showed its support and appreciation for the club, enjoying a day of festivities, memories and of course, hockey.
“The turnout reflected how strong the club is and how committed the families are because you had generations of families there,” Cannons club President Seann Rowland reflected.
“It was so good to see so many people reconnecting but also seeing where the club is now.
“The atmosphere around the club on the day was buzzing, there were so many people chatting about old stories.”
In the day’s action, the Women’s Vic League 1 faced Brunswick, a match which saw neither team find the back of the net and thus result in a 0-0 draw.
The Women’s Vic League 1 Reserves side was able to defeat Brunswick 1-0, thanks to a strike from Cleo Guastella.
A lone goal from Emily Noney wasn’t enough for the Pennant E squad, going down 1-2 to Southern United.
Southern were able to claim the bragging rights, defeating the South Metro 1 side 1-0 as well.
In the men’s, the Vic League 2 backed up last week’s 5-0 win with a 4-0 triumph against Eastern Christian Hockey Organisation (ECHO).
“We’ve really been concentrating on being able to play out a whole game and not fade, so keeping a clean sheet was certainly a big part of that,” head coach Steve Noney said of his team’s performance.
“The intensity we’re playing with is good, but I think its controlled intensity.
“Most of our goals come through field goals which is a promising sign, so we’ve got to keep building on that.”
ECHO’s reserves team got the better of the Cannons despite Tadhg McCurran finding the goal, finishing with a 1-2 result in favour of the visitors.
Goals from Zach Coster, Matt Guastella and McCurran steered the Pennant D South East outfield 3-1 past Southern United.
However, the Metro 2 South team was no match for United, falling 0-4 at home.
Regardless of the results, the club was refreshed to see the positive outcome of the day and realise the positives 2025 has brought.
A big highlight was seeing the junior competition kick off over the weekend, with a major milestone achieved by the club.
The Cannons fielded sides in every juniors age bracket, something Casey has never seen before, which is an achievement that speaks volumes of the progression of the club.
“I couldn’t have hoped for it to be any better than it was,” Rowland said of the day.
“It showed how strong the club is and what strong history it has.”
