Tornadoes win trio of grand finals

The Torquay Tornadoes have stormed their way through the Hockey Geelong grand finals this year, winning three – Under 14, Division 1 Women and Division 1 Men – and only narrowly losing the fourth.

Held last month, the grand finals saw Ava Doolan emerge as one of the stars of the day, winning premierships in the Under 14s and then backing it up with the Division 1 grand final.

She then went on to play in a third premiership team on the same day by hitting the winning goal for the Geelong Sharks Under 14 representative team.

Ashton Schram’s day was also amazing, playing in the Under 14 premiership team and then following up by playing in Division 1 Men’s Grand Final alongside his father Paul and brother Jayden.

The Harper family also had a great day. Matthew played with his son Nathan in the Division 1 Men Grand Final, and Luke played in the Under 14 flag. To cap off a wonderful family achievement, Sally was goalkeeper in the Division 1 Women’s grand final in her first season as goalie.

“This is an amazing example of how wonderful hockey is with everyone in the family playing and winning a premiership,” Torquay Tornadoes president Andrew Crowley said.

“The Tornadoes were also very proud of Puck Klaassen, who coached the Under 14 team to a premiership. Puck has been identified as a great female role model for young girls and a leader.

“The win for the Division 1 Women and Men was the first time that the Tornadoes have ever achieved this in the same year.”

The Division 2 Men fell short with the game going into overtime and finishing at 7-6 after a penalty shoot-out.