Queanbeyan United sends three teams to grand finals

United’s SL2, SL3, and SL4 teams will all take part in the grand finals on Saturday at the Lyneham Hockey Centre in Canberra, and club president Mark Unwin said that these fixtures are the results of several seasons of hard graft.  

“It’s been building over a couple of years,” Unwin said. 

“The last few years, we’ve had at least one team in the Grand Final, but to get all three straight through to the grand final is positive for the club moving forward. 

“Two of the teams [SL2 and SL3] were Minor Premiers, and the other team [SL4] came second in their division, so we had a pretty successful season right through.” 

The success of the three men’s teams has come on the back of the club’s tight-knit nature and consistent development. 

“I think it’s just building the infrastructure around the teams and management of the teams,” Unwin said. 

“Players are used to playing with each other, because they’ve been playing with each other for a couple of years. 

“And getting on, basically. Being mates, and no other hassles in the team, infighting or anything like that.” 

Along with the club’s senior men, their women and juniors have also enjoyed groundbreaking seasons. 

In their first year competing, the Queanbeyan United Under 13’s made the semi-finals, where they were defeated by Uni Juniors, 5-0. 

“They struggled a little bit for numbers, there were some weeks there where they didn’t even have 11 players,” Unwin said. 

“[Making the semi-finals] was a huge success for those boys.” 

Similarly, the club’s SL1 Women’s side enjoyed a successful year. While on paper, they only won six matches, it came following consecutive years without any wins at all. 

“It’s been the same team [throughout that period],” Unwin said. 

“They had a new coach this year, and it’s been a hugely successful season for them.” 

All three Queanbeyan United men’s teams will play their grand finals this weekend at the Lyneham Hockey Centre.