Wangaratta Dragons thrive on hockey field

WANGARATTA Dragons under 16s girls took the field on Friday night for the first time since before Easter, led out by captain Ellie 'Chicken' Samson. Playing short, the Dragons received a helper from Falcons to bring the team up to eight. The Wangaratta girls played extremely hard and never put their heads down. No matter what the score was in the end they came off the field with big smiles on their faces, but not as big as star goalkeeper Eva Siperki, who was on fire and player of the match. Some other wins for our game were our defensive short corners, not a single goal scored against them on the short – a massive well done to the defence. Ada Wheeler had an outstanding passage of play up the sideline against multiple opponents even jinking the ball over a defensive tackle and continuing into the 'D'. With a few new additions starting this week, team numbers are growing along with the side's competitiveness. The division three men had a cracking game on Saturday against a very strong (second on the ladder) team from Corowa. The team is really starting to come together and live up to the preseason expectations. Tim Longman and Charles Webster in the midfield were feeding the ball to Hunter Kerr and his dad Stewart to really put the pressure on a strong defensive line–up. A little shell–shocked by the relentless attack, Corowa didn't score in the first half. The Wangaratta men had their work cut out in the second half. With Anthony Couche and his son Sam doing an amazing job in defence they were just plain unlucky with some awkward deflections finding the back of the net, the men conceded two goals. With the score at 2–0, the men held their heads high and played an amazing game. The under 14s mixed played at home in Wangaratta against a very strong Scots Albury boys team, with plenty of players on the bench to keep them fresh. The Dragons had a tough game under relentless attack from the multiple players in the Scots forward line. Jake Lane captained the team and we had some strong defensive work from Noah Fitzgerald, Braiden Hodge, Adara Evans, Lily Radnor and Sophie Shallue. Hamish Kerr pushed hard all day trying to make play, driving into attack and was rewarded best on ground for his efforts. The squad needs to keep training as a team and practise fundamentals – well done to everyone on the team for having a solid effort. It has been an exciting start to the season for the women having teams in division two and three. Round five welcomed a some new faces which helped immensely as it was looking like division two wouldn't play a full team. Never underestimate the Dragon ladies as they pulled together and found the numbers. New and old players meshed together and formed a really strong team that managed to beat the Magpies 4–0. Jamielee Sexton played up from division three and managed to score a ripping three goals, with a fourth goal scored by Christy Christie. Younger players Chloe Collins and Ellie Samson had great confidence and managed to get themselves into some fabulous space. Talk from the backline was loud and clear from Paula Collins and 'Turtle' which helped the front line lock in any free hits given to the opposition and keep the ball close to the Magpies goalpost. As always, everyone put in 100 per cent effort with amazing talk and support from the whole team. The under 16 boys travelled up the highway to Albury again on Friday night, this time up against Wodonga. It was a high–paced, fast flowing game with plenty of ball movement going end to end. Wodonga were the first to score in the first half, despite a solid defensive effort from the junior Dragon boys. The boys took to the field in the second half with the same determination that they started the game with, and were able to level up the score through Andrew Groves pouncing on a loose rebound from the goalie to put the ball in the back of the goal. Henry Findlay and Ollie Chambers ran all night in attack, with Ollie Fox making some crucial touches. In defence Alistair Merritt and Luke Mercer stuck to their opponents all night not giving them much space to attack. A special shout–out goes to Xavier Bennett, who made an amazing goal line save, stopping the ball from going in after his goalie was left floundering on the ground during a short corner. The boys have shown good progression through all their games so far and should be proud to come away with a 1–all draw.

Wangaratta Dragons thrive on hockey field

Wangaratta Chronicle, Friday, 25 September, 2026

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Wangaratta Chronicle, Friday, 25 September, 2026

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