There will be a new sight on the turf this Saturday. For the first time in many people's memory, a Northern United women's team will be taking the field in a Wellington Hockey Premier 1 final.
The Northern United Hockey Club had been without a Premier 1 team for many years, until David McNaughtan urged the club to enter a team to enter at the club AGM in 2018. McNaughtan had just coached both the Northern United Premier 2 Men and the Onslow College 1st XI boys to grade championships, but with his sons all leaving Wellington for university, he wanted to provide an opportunity for his daughters to wear the Northern yellow at the highest level.
With a promise that if he found the players, they would enter the team, McNaughtan, and daughter Annie, who has represented three different regions at the National Hockey League, assembled a group of players from within their hockey networks.
The team stayed middle-of-the-pack in its first few years, finishing a creditable fifth in their first season in 2019, then fourth in Covid-affected 2020 and 2021 seasons. The 2022 season, however, has seen them sit at, or near, the top of the table all year. Out of 12 regular season matches, the Northern women have lost just three. Two of those were to Hutt United, who finished top of the table, to Northern's second.
After losing their first playoff round to Hutt United, Northern had to beat Harbour City to make it through to the final. Northern did so convincingly, with a 3-1 victory, with field goals to Amy Robinson and Sophie Macadre, and a penalty corner strike from Georgia Garden-Bachop.
Northern will now again face Hutt United, who they are yet to defeat, at the National Hockey Stadium in Berhampore in the final on Saturday. Northern will have to carefully mark Hutt's Minna Reid, who scored a hat trick in their last meeting. Likewise, Hutt will be looking to keep Georgia Garden-Bachop, and Otago Sparks cricketer Polly Inglis out of the game.
However the final ends up, the season will be a credit to the work of McNaughtan and the Northern team.
What: Wellington Hockey Premier 1 Women's final
When: 4:00pm Saturday, 20 August 2022
Where: National Hockey Stadium, 9 Mount Albert Road, Berhampore, Wellington