By Blair Burns
Last weekend was about much more than just hockey at Casey Cannons Hockey Club as it managed to raise more than $7,000 for the Breast Cancer Network Australia.
Two members of the club, Tegen Hyland and Jess Fitzgerald shaved their heads to raise money for the great cause, with the club welcoming donations.
Cannons Club president Seann Rowland said Pink Round was about more than just wearing pink on the day.
“It’s about education and awareness so everyone can really understand why we are raising money for this great cause,” he said.
“We are really proud as a club that this year we focused on that education side of things … and we were very grateful to have Jess Pearce come down and do a session for the women and girls to raise more awareness.”
Pearce is an ambassador for the Breast Cancer Network Australia and spoke about her lived experience with breast cancer.
The Pink Round is an annual event, but Rowland said the club raised more money than ever before.
“In terms of donations, we were blown away with how many people donated to the girls for shaving their heads, but also to the canteen and bar sales knowing some of that was going to BCNA,” he said.
“It was pretty unreal, it just kind of took off and people kept donating and all of a sudden, we’d raised over $7,000.
While there was plenty of good hockey played over the weekend, Rowland said the best part was the incredible off-field support and fundraising efforts.
“The highlight of the club was how many community and club members got down and supported on the weekend, but also during the week, and how much money we’ve been able to raise,” he said.
The senior women were also the most successful on the hockey field last weekend with three of the four teams winning their matches.
The Women’s Vic League (WVL1) side had a huge victory over the Geelong Sharks in Round 6, winning 6-2 as they produced some amazing plays.
Samantha Wagg was at her damaging best again with two goals, while the other scorers were Rebecca Wagg, Charlotte Smith, Emma Harris and Chantelle Calado.
While the WVL1 Reserves also had a good win over the Sharks as they prevailed 2-0 in a hard-fought contest.
Rebecca Gregory and Mia Joner scored one goal each in the thrilling victory as they continue their strong form.
The Women’s Pennant E South East team got back on the winners’ list in Round 6 as it defeated Hawthorn 2-0 in what was a good battle.
Kimberlee Davidge was on fire and gave the opposition defenders all sorts of problems, scoring both of the Cannons’ goals to lead her team to victory.
While the Women’s Metro 1 side lost in a one-goal thriller against Mornington Peninsula and despite chances, they were unable to get over the line.
Casey Cannons didn’t have as much success in the men’s fixture as they lost three of the four matches.
But the MVL2 side had made it two big wins in a row as it came from behind to defeat Werribee in a thriller.
The Cannons were jumped at the beginning of the contest and found themselves trailing 3-0, and it looked like Werribee were going to run away and win.
Enter Tristan Chaffey and captain Craig Moore who both netted two goals and were determined to produce a comeback victory for the ages.
David Noney and Harry Coster also impacted the scoreboard and helped the Cannons to a famous victory, overturning a three-goal deficit to win the game 6-4.
Unfortunately, this was the only time the men celebrated a victory for the weekend.
The MVL2 Reserves fell short against Werribee 4-2 despite goals from Charlie Coster and Tyler Jacobs who battled hard.
In the Men’s Pennant D South East competition, Casey Cannons were beaten 3-0 by a formidable Hawthorn side, while they also fell short in the Men’s Metro South 2 competition against Glen Eira, 4-0.
The women will be determined to carry their strong form into Round 7 this weekend, while the men’s sides will look to bounce back.
