National Championship three-peat history in the making

Three tournaments, 31 players, 17 games, one head coach, three National Championships.

Schoolhouse Rock and De La Soul proclaimed that three is a magic number, and the Western Australian Under-21 Men’s team proved just that when they made history in March.

Under the leadership of Head Coach Tim Geers, the WA Under-21 Men’s team held off their Victorian rivals to win the 2024 National Championship 4-0 and achieve the first National Championship three-peat for a Western Australian Under-21 team.

The team had previously climbed the mountain to the top in Perth in 2022, then backed up their efforts in Sydney to pull off back-to-back National Championships in 2023.

Geers said the feeling of coaching the team to a third National Championship in a row was “almost indescribable”.

“It’s a mix of joy, pride, overwhelming emotion, and satisfaction,” he said.

“It’s exceptionally hard to win one of these tournaments, let alone three in a row, and I think the magnitude of that achievement shouldn’t be overlooked.”

The journey to a National Championship three-peat began four years ago with a determination for Western Australia to return to the pinnacle of hockey in Australia.

“A large part of that is the actual hockey but we were very passionate about creating an environment and driving a culture which would allow our athletes to flourish as not only hockey players, but more importantly as great young men,” Geers said.

“What that has developed into is far greater than what anyone will understand looking in from the outside but it’s something that I am extremely proud of and the investment in relationships has been the driving force behind our success.

“People on the outside will only see the numbers, and the numbers are nothing short of phenomenal.”

Going into the 2024 tournament, Geers was joined once again by assistant coach Dominic Hird and team manager Jeanette Collins, who each played integral roles on the way to the National Championship three-peat.

“Dom and I have a unique bond and a very close friendship, and this level of success wouldn’t come without his involvement,” Geers said.

“When it comes to understanding hockey, our brains work in very similar ways, and he has been the major driving force behind a lot of the work we have done as a group off the field.

“I think we have enormous trust in each other which allows us to propose different ideas or challenge each other’s thinking to get the best outcome.

“The players often see the humour in the way we do things, but I think they know we would do everything in our power to fight for them and they reciprocate that with the way they play for us.

“Jeannie has been the glue that’s held all this together for so many years.

“She has always gone above and beyond for all of us, and the boys absolutely love her.

“I can’t thank the both of them enough for the integral roles they have played on this journey.”

Following a rigorous trial process, 11 players reprised their roles from 2023 and seven new faces were welcomed to the team.

Like Geers, Hird and Collins, seven of those returning players looked to be part of the few that would be three-time National Championship team members.

While the team made a solid start to their 2024 campaign with a 4-2 win over South Australia, day two brought a new challenge when they were handed the team’s first loss in three years, falling short to Victoria 0-1.

Although the team bounced back with a 6-1 win over Northern Territory to claim second place in Pool A and a spot in the quarterfinals, the pressure mounted as their quarter-final against Australian Capital Territory went to shootouts and the team lost Luke Anderson to injury.

“Ultimately, it was those two games which dictated the way we would play the semi-final and the final,” Geers said.

“Despite the challenges they presented us, our belief never faltered and the learnings we gained were key to how we would go about winning the final two games.

“There’s no doubt the experience of the past two years really held us in good stead, and we were able to produce our very best when it really mattered.

“I always say to our group that big players stand up in the big moments, especially in big games, and we had several of those.

“Aside from hockey, we had some very real-life things happening in the background, and that is where the environment we created really came to the fore – one that allows young men to be comfortable being vulnerable and the ability to wrap our arms around those who needed it and come out the other end firing on all cylinders.”

As the sun rose on the final day of the tournament, there was only one team standing in the way of the Western Australian Under-21 Men’s team making history: the very team that handed them their first loss in three years.

The WA team had previously come from behind to defeat Victoria 2-1 to win the National Championship on home turf in 2022, then came back from 2-4 down to defeat them once again to win the semi-final 5-4 in 2023.

The stage was set for the ultimate culmination of a spirited rivalry between the two states.

“Victoria like to play a very fast, direct, attacking game – they’re very skilful, they commit lots of numbers forward, and they have one or two players who can really hurt you if you don’t give them the respect they deserve,” Geers said.

“For us, it was about trying to prevent them from being able to do that and then picking parts of their structure and their game that we could expose.

“I had great faith that our system was better, and I had unwavering trust in our boys to perform their roles for the team, so once we had a plan in place it was just a matter of executing.

“Thankfully the execution matched the preparation, and the result was obviously an emphatic one.”

Throughout the course of the tournament, there were plenty of big moments for the team and incredible individual performances.

“Hunter Banyard’s performance over the course of the tournament was the most impressive display I’ve seen from a goalkeeper at any tournament,” Geers said.

“Our penalty corner defence was pivotal – you just don’t see teams defend 28 corners in a tournament without conceding a single goal; the intelligence as well as bravery in those situations was remarkable and Angus Adamson was a major leader in that regard.

“Hamish Adamson’s goal in the semi-final was a watershed moment and I think when you watch the celebrations for that goal, you could see how much it meant for our entire group.

“We are big on celebrating success, and you can see in those moments exactly how much these guys enjoy playing together.

“It gives me goosebumps just talking about it.

“I am incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to make such a positive contribution to hockey in WA and the journeys of each of these young men.”

Western Australia Under-21 Men’s National Championship Team Members

Head Coach: Tim Geers – 2022, 2023, 2024

Assistant Coach: Dominic Hird – 2022, 2023, 2024

Team Manager: Jeanette Collins – 2022, 2023, 2024

Angus Adamson – 2022, 2023, 2024

Hamish Adamson – 2022, 2023, 2024

Luke Anderson – 2022, 2023, 2024

Hunter Banyard – 2022, 2023, 2024

Max Baynam – 2022, 2023, 2024

Max Freedman – 2022, 2023, 2024

Thomas Keating – 2022, 2023, 2024

Samuel Ashton – 2022, 2023

Brodee Foster – 2022, 2023

Cambell Geddes – 2022, 2023

Oliver Higgins – 2022, 2023

Kye Stirrat – 2022, 2023

Jack Faulkner – 2023, 2024

Rinto Fukunaga – 2023, 2024

Fletcher Netherway – 2023, 2024

Matthew van Selm – 2023, 2024

Ky Fisher – 2022

Jaxon Geddes – 2022

Marcus Jorgensen – 2022

Mitchell Pace – 2022

Jack Pearce – 2022

Kurtis Scaini – 2022

Zacharie Boglio – 2023

Rourke Palmer – 2023

Patrick Andrew – 2024

Jaxon Browne – 2024

Chaz Davies – 2024

Matthew Edwards – 2024

Ian Grobbelaar – 2024

Zed Kearnan – 2024

Jonah Pilatti - 2024