The Tassie Van Demons were a nationally competing women's hockey team based in

Tasmania, Australia ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. Coached by Ilene Carr, they competed in the

Australian Hockey League The Australian Hockey League (AHL)AHL Webpage
was Australia's premier national domestic

...

. Some of the former coaches of the Van Demons include David Guest, Oliver Close, Zain Wright, and Ilene Carr.

2018 Australian Hockey League campaign

The Van Demons participated in the final Australian Hockey League (AHL) after it was announced by

Hockey Australia Hockey Australia is an organisation that formed from the merger of the Australian Hockey Association and Women's Hockey Australia in 2000. It is the national body responsible for the promotion, development and administration of field hockey in A ...

that the national competition would be dissolved after the 2018 competition in favour of a "revamped" league in 2019. They were drawn in Pool A alongside the Canberra Strikers,

NSW Arrows The New South Wales Arrows are a nationally competing field hockey team based in Sydney, Australia. Their most recent Australian Hockey League title win was in 2014. In 2015, NSW beat the ACT in the bronze medal playoff, securing 3rd place i ...

, and the Queensland Scorchers. The Van Demons squad for the 2018 AHL was announced on 25 July 2018 with Ilene Carr again appointed as head coach. Brett Withington joined the staff as assistant coach with Greer Wells announced as the team manager. Maddison Curtis and Jemma Kenworthy withdrew from the initial squad and were replaced with Molly Haas and Laura Spandler. The squad was notable for being 100 per cent Tasmanian, with no international or out-of-state imports selected for the first time in years. *when announced.

Round 1 (Tasmanian Hockey Centre, Hobart)

The Van Demons played their first pool match against Canberra on Saturday, 6 October 2018 at their home ground the Tasmanian Hockey Centre in

Hobart, Tasmania Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-smalle ...

. The Strikers won 3–0 with Hockeyroo Naomi Evans scoring a field goal in the 12th minute, and Meredith Bone scoring a field goal and a field goal conversion in the 55th minute.

Round 2 (Tasmanian Hockey Centre, Hobart)

Their second pool match was against New South Wales on Sunday, 14 October 2018, again at their home ground the Tasmanian Hockey Centre. The Arrows fielded a strong team featuring five Australian national team representatives, compared to Tasmania's zero, and won comfortably 8–1. Jessica Watterson scored a field goal and a field goal conversion in the 13th minute, Kate Jenner scored from a penalty corner in the 26th minute, and Grace Stewart scored a field goal and a field goal conversion in the 30th minute to give the Arrows a 5–0 lead at half-time. Sarah Johnston scored from a penalty corner in the 54th minute and Grace Stewart again scored a field goal and conversion in the 55th minute, before Samantha Lawrence scored a consolation goal for the Van Demons in the 60th minute.

Round 3 (State Hockey Centre, Brisbane)

Tasmania's final pool match was away against Queensland on Saturday, 20 October 2018 at the State Hockey Centre in

Brisbane, Queensland Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. The Scorchers fielded a star-studded team featuring eight Australian national team representatives, easily accounting for the Van Demons with a 15–0 win.

Stephanie Kershaw Stephanie "Steph" Kershaw (born 19 April 1995) is a field hockey player from Australia. Personal life Kershaw was born in Townsville, Queensland. She plays hockey for her home state in the Australian Hockey League, as part of the Queensland ...

scored a field goal and conversion in the 3rd minute, Rosie Malone did the same in the 10th minute, and Rebecca Greiner also scored a field goal and conversion in the 23rd minute. Queensland had their PumpPlay, where all goals (except for conversions) are worth 2, in the final five minutes of the first half, and during that period Malone scored a PumpPlay field goal and conversion, and

Jodie Kenny Jodie Kenny (née Schulz; born 18 August 1987) is an Australian field hockey player. Kenny was a member of the Australia women's national field hockey team that were defeated by the Netherlands women's national field hockey team in the final of ...

scored a PumpPlay penalty stroke and conversion, to balloon the half-time score out to 12–0 in favour of the Scorchers. In the second half Queensland added only three more goals to their total, with

Jordyn Holzberger Jordyn Holzberger (born 27 August 1993) is an Australian field hockey player. Holzberger was born in Ipswich, Queensland, and made her senior international debut in a test series against Korea in March 2012. Holzberger was part of the Austral ...

scoring from a penalty corner in the 39th minute before Malone took her match tally to 7 with a field goal and conversion in the 46th minute.

Finals week (Gold Coast Hockey Centre, Gold Coast)

The Van Demons finished last in Pool A and went into the finals week at the Gold Coast Hockey Centre with a difficult path towards a title challenge, needing to beat the

Victorian Vipers The Victorian Vipers are a field hockey team who participate in Australia's national field hockey league, the AHL. The team is predominantly made up of amateurs who participate in the Victorian Premier League competition. The team's home stadi ...

(who finished top of Pool B after winning all three of their games) in the quarter-final.

Quarter-final: Van Demons vs Vipers, Thursday 25 October 2018

Victoria scored in the 5th minute with

Hayley Padget Hayley Padget (born 30 September 1992) is an Australian field hockey player. Personal life Hayley Padget was born in Doncaster, Victoria, and plays representative hockey for the Victorian Vipers. Padget is also a scholarship holder at the Vic ...

scoring a field goal and conversion. In the second quarter they were awarded two penalty strokes in quick succession, in the 18th and 20th minutes, and these were converted by

Madi Ratcliffe Madeleine Ruby Ratcliffe (born 17 October 1997) is a field hockey player from Australia, who plays as a forward. Personal life Ratcliffe was born and raised in Warrnambool, Victoria. She was a scholarship holder at the Victorian Institute of ...

and Lily Brazel respectively. Brazel scored a field goal and conversion in the 41st minute to deliver Victoria a 6–0 win over Tasmania.

Classification match: Van Demons vs Diamonds, Saturday 27 October 2018

Having each lost their quarter-finals the Van Demons faced the

WA Diamonds The WA Diamonds are a women's field hockey team based in Perth, Western Australia. The team compete in the women's division of the Australian Hockey League The Australian Hockey League (AHL)Kathryn Slattery Kathryn Slattery (born 30 July 1993) is an Australian field hockey player. She represented her country at the 2016 Summer Olympics, in Rio De Janeiro . She has played both as a midfielder r and more recently as a forward. Slattery was born and ...

scored from a penalty corner in the 4th minute, as did

Roos Broek Roos Broek (born 28 September 1993) is a Dutch-Australian field hockey player. Broek was part of the Netherlands women's junior national team that won gold at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. Broek moved from the Netherlands to Aus ...

in the 11th minute and Penny Squibb in the 20th minute to give WA an early 3–0 lead. Danielle Bestall scored a field goal and conversion in the 27th minute to make the score 5–0 at half-time. Slattery scored a field goal and field goal conversion in the 46th minute and Broek scored a PumpPlay field goal and conversion in the 59th minute to give the Diamonds a 10–0 win.

7v8 playoff: Van Demons vs Pearls, Sunday 28 October 2018

Tasmania and the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

, having lost all of their matches in the AHL, played off in the final classification match to decide their final competition standing. The Van Demons took the lead early, with young Australian Futures Squad player Julia Gunn scoring a field goal and field goal conversion in the 6th minute. Jacqueline Graf equalised for the Pearls in the 18th minute with her own field goal and conversion to send the teams into half-time locked at 2–2. Erin Lidbetter put the NT ahead in the 33rd minute, with a field goal and conversion, and Georgia Graf scored a field goal in the 41st minute to have the Pearls 5–2 ahead at three-quarter time. Ashleigh Arthur scored from a penalty corner in the 55th minute to give the Van Demons a late chance, but there were no goals scored in the final PumpPlay to deliver the NT Pearls a 5–3 win, consigning the Van Demons to an eighth-placed (last) finish in the AHL.

2017 Australian Hockey League campaign

The 2017 Australian Hockey League was held from 28 September to 8 October 2017 at the

Perth Hockey Stadium Perth Hockey Stadium is Western Australia's premier hockey facility, with two world-class synthetic turf pitches, a large bar and canteen area and a function centre all available to the public. The venue holds up to 6,000 fans. The Perth Hockey ...

. In addition to the eight traditional teams from the Australian States and Territories two national development sides from India and New Zealand competed in the tournament. Tasmania were drawn in Pool B with India,

SA Suns The SA Suns (formerly Southern Suns - prior to 2015) are a women's field hockey team based in South Australia that competes in the Australian Hockey League (AHL). The SA Suns won national championships in 1995 and 2011. Current Team The followi ...

, and VIC Vipers. The Van Demons squad for the 2017 AHL was announced on 1 September 2017, with Ilene Carr reappointed as head coach, Phil Marshall appointed as assistant coach, and Kathryn Arneman appointed as team manager. The squad was heavily supplemented with non-Tasmanian imports. *when announced.

Pool matches

Tasmania lost their first match against New South Wales 2–0, their second match against South Australia 5–0, their third match against Victoria 4–0, and their final pool match against the Indian development side 1–0 to finish bottom of their pool.

Classification matches

Missing out on the finals the Van Demons went into the second phase of the competition for final classification. They lost their first classification match against Canberra 1–0, lost their second match against Western Australia 3–1 despite Sarah McCambridge scoring a field goal in the 33rd minute, and then lost their final match against the Northern Territory 2–1 despite Teisha King scoring from a penalty corner in the 17th minute, to finish last (10th) overall.

2016 Australian Hockey League campaign

The 2016 Australian Hockey League was held from 29 September 2016 to 9 October 2016 at the

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. In addition to the eight traditional State and Territory teams two additional teams participated in the tournament: a New Zealand development side and a Malaysian development side. The Van Demons were drawn in Pool A alongside the Canberra Strikers, Queensland Scorchers, Western Australia Diamonds, and the New Zealand development side. The Van Demons 2016 AHL squad was announced on 12 September 2016, with Ilene Carr again appointed as head coach, Paul Ancher continuing as assistant coach, and Melitta Smith again serving as team manager. *when announced.

Pool matches

Van Demons vs Scorchers, Thursday 29 September 2016

Tasmania lost their opening match 2–0 in a tight contest against Queensland. Renee Taylor scored a field goal in the 19th minute for the Scorchers, then

scored from a penalty corner in the 21st minute.

Van Demons vs Strikers, Saturday 1 October 2016

Canberra defeated Tasmania in the second pool match 4–0. Naomi Evans scored a field goal in the 2nd minute, Meredith Bone scored a field goal in the 18th minute, and

Anna Flanagan Anna Flanagan (born 8 January 1992) is an Australian field hockey player who plays as a defender for the Canberra Labor Club Strikers in the Australian Hockey League. She is nicknamed ''Flanno''. A full international with over 100 caps since 2 ...

scored from a penalty corner in the 27th minute to give the Strikers a 3–0 lead at half-time. Laura Gray scored a field goal in the 44th minute to complete the scoring.

Van Demons vs Vipers, Monday 3 October 2016

Tasmania played Pool B opponent

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

in a cross-over match, losing 2–0 in a tough match.

scored for the Vipers in the 9th minute to give them an early lead, but they had to wait until 44th minute to score their second, when Lily Brazel converted a penalty corner.

Van Demons vs Diamonds, Tuesday 4 October 2016

Tasmania lost their fourth pool match against Western Australia in heart-breaking fashion, conceding a goal in the final minute of play. Caitlin Pascov scored a field goal for the Diamonds in the 9th minute, before Ainsley McCallister equalised in the 15th minute by scoring from a penalty corner. Annie Gibbs put WA back in front, scoring a penalty corner in the 24th minute, to make the score 2–1 at half-time. Van Demons Captain and former Australian National squad member Amelia Spence scored from a penalty corner in the 34th minute, just after half-time, but Melissa Luff scored from a penalty corner at the end of the game to deliver WA a narrow victory.

Van Demons vs New Zealand Futures, Wednesday 5 October 2016

In their final pool match Tasmania drew 1–1 against the New Zealand development squad. Deanna Ritchie scored a field goal in the 15th minute for NZ, while Nicole Geeves scored from a penalty corner in the 29th minute for the Van Demons.

Classification matches

Van Demons vs Pearls, Friday 7 October 2016

Failing to qualify for the finals Tasmania faced

in their first classification match. They started strongly, with young star Madeleine Murphy scoring from a penalty corner in the 21st minute to give the Van Demons a 1–0 lead at half-time. However, Natasha Fitzsimmons scored twice in the second half for the Pearls, the first was from a penalty corner in the 37th minute, and the second was again from a penalty corner, this time in the final minute of the game, to give NT a 2–1 victory.

Van Demons vs Suns, Saturday 8 October 2016

Tasmania played

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

in their final classification match. Eleanor Brennan scored a field goal in the 27th minute, and Stephanie Blackwell scored a field goal in the 54th minute to give the Van Demons a 2–0 win that delivered them an eighth-placed finish out of ten teams.

2015 Australian Hockey League campaign

The 2015 Australian Hockey League was held from 25 September 2015 to 2 October 2015 in

Sydney, New South Wales Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountains ...

. The Van Demons were drawn in Pool A with the

, Canberra Strikers, and

Mariah Williams Mariah Williams (born 31 May 1995) is an Australian field hockey player. She represented her country at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Personal life Williams was born and raised in Parkes, New South Wales. She plays national representative hockey f ...

scored from a penalty corner in the 36th minute to give NSW a 3–0 lead at three-quarter time, before the Arrows took the game away with four goals in the final seven minutes. Cara Simpson scored a field goal in the 53rd minute, Emily Smith scored another field goal in the 54th minute, Grace Stewart scored a field goal in the 56th minute, and Lily Brazel completed the scoring with a field goal in the 60th minute.

Van Demons vs Strikers, Monday 28 September 2015

Tasmania faced Canberra in their final pool match, losing 4–1.

scored a hat-trick of penalty corner goals, in the 1st minute, the 34th minute, and the 37th minute. Sarah McCambridge dragged one back for the Van Demons with a field goal in the 44th minute, but Edwina Bone scored from a penalty corner in the 57th minute to give the Strikers the victory.

Classification matches

Van Demons vs Pearls, Tuesday 29 September 2015

Tasmania played their first classification match against the Northern Territory. The Van Demons won 1–0, with Eleanor Brennan scoring a field goal in the 12th minute.

Van Demons vs Suns, Thursday 1 October 2015

South Australia defeated Tasmania 2–1 in the second classification match. Charlotte Van Bodegom scored from a penalty corner in the 9th minute for the Suns, and Karri McMahon doubled their lead from a penalty corner in the 20th minute, with Madeleine Hinton scoring for Tasmania with a field goal in the 48th minute.

Van Demons vs Pearls, Friday 2 October 2015

The final classification match, to determine seventh and eighth place, saw Tasmania play the Northern Territory again. Madeleine Newlyn scored a field goal in the 29th minute to give the Van Demons a 1–0 lead at half-time. Amy Swann equalised with a field goal in the 35th minute, and Mikaela Patterson scored from a penalty corner in the 45th minute to give the Pearls the lead, before Amelia Spence dramatically equalised for Tasmania from a penalty corner in the final minute, forcing the match to be decided by a penalty one-on-one shootout. Hannah Calvert for Tasmania and Rachel Divall for Northern Territory were the only players to score from the initial five rounds of the shootout, forcing a golden goal shootout. Calvert missed this time for the Van Demons, and

Brooke Peris Brooke Peris (born 16 January 1993) is an Australian field hockey player. She is a member of the Australia women's national field hockey team. Peris was awarded the title of "Northern Territory Sportsperson of the Year" in 2014. She is the firs ...

scored her attempt to end the match and give the Pearls a 2–2(2–1) win, meaning the Van Demons finished the tournament in eighth place (last).

2014 Australian Hockey League campaign

The 2014 Australian Hockey League was held from 4 October 2014 to 11 October 2014 in Brisbane, Queensland. The Van Demons were drawn in Pool B along with the

, SA Southern Suns, and the

Zain Wright Zain Wright (born 18 April 1979 in Tasmania) is a former field hockey midfielder from Australia, who was a member of the Men's National Team just after the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia Sydney ( ) is the capital city of th ...

was announced as the head coach, with Stewart Pither taking on the role of assistant coach and Marina Oakley taking the role of team manager. *at the start of the tournament. ^Co-Captains.

Pool matches

Tasmania started their campaign well with a 1–1 draw against South Australia, with Sarah McCambridge scoring their goal. However, they lost their second match against NSW 6–0, and their final pool match against Western Australia 7–0, to finish bottom of their group.

Classification matches

The Van Demons progressed into the 5–8 classification group. Their first match was against the Northern Territory, winning 2–0 thanks to penalty corner goals to Renee Taylor and Hannah Reid. They then lost their second classification match against Canberra 6–1, with Blair Patten scoring their only goal from a penalty corner, sending them into the 7v8 playoff.

7v8 playoff

Tasmania met the Northern Territory again, this time playing off for the seventh and eighth place final classifications. The NT Pearls won 1–0, consigning the Van Demons to and eighth (last) placed finish in the tournament.

Previous squads

2013 Van Demons AHL squad

Oliver Close was appointed as head coach, Zain Wright, Larry Mills, and Stewart Pither were announced as assistant coaches. Jenny Geeves served as team manager.

2012 Van Demons AHL squad

Craig Williams was appointed as the Van Demons Head coach for 2011, with Dougal Middleton and Jeff Aldridge joining as Assistant Coaches, and Jenny Geeves serving as team manager.

2011 Van Demons AHL squad

David Guest was announced as the Van Demons Head coach for the 2011 tournament, with Larry Mills as the assistant coach and Marina Oakley as the team manager.

AHL record

References

External links

Home , Hockey Tasmania

2018 Australian Hockey League campaign

Round 1 (Tasmanian Hockey Centre, Hobart)

Round 2 (Tasmanian Hockey Centre, Hobart)

Round 3 (State Hockey Centre, Brisbane)

Finals week (Gold Coast Hockey Centre, Gold Coast)

Quarter-final: Van Demons vs Vipers, Thursday 25 October 2018

Classification match: Van Demons vs Diamonds, Saturday 27 October 2018

7v8 playoff: Van Demons vs Pearls, Sunday 28 October 2018

2017 Australian Hockey League campaign

Pool matches

Classification matches

2016 Australian Hockey League campaign

Pool matches

Van Demons vs Scorchers, Thursday 29 September 2016

Van Demons vs Strikers, Saturday 1 October 2016

Van Demons vs Vipers, Monday 3 October 2016

Van Demons vs Diamonds, Tuesday 4 October 2016

Van Demons vs New Zealand Futures, Wednesday 5 October 2016

Classification matches

Van Demons vs Pearls, Friday 7 October 2016

Van Demons vs Suns, Saturday 8 October 2016

2015 Australian Hockey League campaign

Van Demons vs Strikers, Monday 28 September 2015

Classification matches

Van Demons vs Pearls, Tuesday 29 September 2015

Van Demons vs Suns, Thursday 1 October 2015

Van Demons vs Pearls, Friday 2 October 2015

2014 Australian Hockey League campaign

Pool matches

Classification matches

7v8 playoff

Previous squads

2013 Van Demons AHL squad

2012 Van Demons AHL squad

2011 Van Demons AHL squad

AHL record

References

External links

See also