Hockey One
FormerlyAustralian Hockey League
SportField hockey
Founded2019
No. of teams7
CountryAustralia Australia
ContinentOceania (OHF)
Most recent
champion(s)		Queensland Brisbane Blaze (M)
Queensland Brisbane Blaze (W)
Most titlesQueensland Brisbane Blaze
New South Wales NSW Pride (3 titles)
TV partner(s)7plus
Official websitehockeyone.com.au

The JDH Hockey One is a field hockey competition organised by Hockey Australia, which replaced the Australian Hockey League.[1][2][3][4]

The competition serves as Australia's premier domestic hockey league, helping unearth future talent for selection to the Australian national teams; the Kookaburras and Hockeyroos.[5]

The NSW Pride and the Brisbane Blaze are currently the most successful teams, winning three out of six titles each. The Pride won both the men's and women's competitions in 2022, whereas the Blaze won both competitions in 2023.

History

The Hockey One League was founded on 17 April 2019. The tournament was formed following an overhaul of the Australian Hockey League, and replaced the tournament to serve as Australia's premier hockey competition.[5]

Following a series of rule innovations during the 2018 men's and women's AHL tournaments, Hockey Australia made the decision to disband the premier competition, making way for the new domestic league.[6]

On 23 September 2019, Hockey Australia confirmed that the new league had secured a major partnership with Kellogg's, with naming rights also afforded to the company, forming the Sultana Bran Hockey One.[7] The following day it was confirmed that Westfund Health Insurance had been named as a supporting partner.[8]

On 11 September 2023, the league announced Jamie Dwyer Hockey (JDH) as the new official naming rights partner.[9]

COVID-19 pandemic

Following a successful first season of the Sultana Bran Hockey One in 2019, the second edition was anticipated for commencement in late 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league's second season was postponed until 2021.[10] The decision was made by the Hockey One board on 24 March 2020 following consultations with Hockey Australia and the seven member associations in the league, all of which being unable to financially support the program later in the year.[11]

The postponement was not only made to benefit associations financially, but also on account of restrictions put into place by the Government of Australia, which prohibited mass-gatherings and sporting events.[12] The league went on to postpone the second season to October 2022, owing to divergent state border restrictions in place across the country in late 2021.[13]

Format

Seven teams will compete in a round-robin tournament with home and away matches, played from late September to mid November, with the top four teams advancing to the finals round at a pre-determined location.[14]

Teams

The seven teams to compete in the Sultana Bran Hockey One come from Australia's states and territories, with the Northern Territory being the only team absent.[15]

Men's tournament

Summaries

Year Hosts Gold Medal Match Third and Fourth
Champions Score Runners-up 3rd place Score 4th place
2019 Melbourne New South Wales
NSW Pride 		8–3 Queensland
Brisbane Blaze 		Tasmania
Tassie Tigers 		Round-robin Victoria (state)
HC Melbourne
2022 Bendigo New South Wales
NSW Pride 		2–0 Western Australia
Perth Thundersticks 		Queensland
Brisbane Blaze 		6–2 Australian Capital Territory
Canberra Chill
2023 Canberra Queensland
Brisbane Blaze 		3–3
(5–3 pen.) 		New South Wales
NSW Pride 		Victoria (state)
HC Melbourne 		2–1 Tasmania
Tassie Tigers

Awards

Men's Statistics
Year Player of the League Highest Goalscorer(s) Player of the Final
2019 Eddie Ockenden (Tigers) Blake Govers (Pride) Flynn Ogilvie (Pride)
2022 Andrew Charter (Chill) Joel Rintala (Blaze) Ky Willott (Pride)
2023 Timothy Brand (Pride) Jacob Anderson (Blaze) Not Awarded

Team Appearances

Team 2019 2022 2023 Total
Australian Capital Territory Canberra Chill 5th 4th 7th 3
New South Wales NSW Pride 1st 1st 2nd 3
Queensland Brisbane Blaze 2nd 3rd 1st 3
South Australia Adelaide Fire 7th 7th 5th 3
Tasmania Tassie Tigers 3rd 5th 4th 3
Victoria (state) HC Melbourne 4th 6th 3rd 3
Western Australia Perth Thundersticks 6th 2nd 6th 3
Total 7 7 7 21

Women's tournament

Summaries

Year Final Host Gold Medal Match Third and Fourth
Champions Score Runners-up 3rd place Score 4th place
2019 Melbourne Queensland
Brisbane Blaze 		1–1
(3–2 pen.) 		Victoria (state)
HC Melbourne 		South Australia
Adelaide Fire 		Round-robin Australian Capital Territory
Canberra Chill
2022 Bendigo New South Wales
NSW Pride 		2–2
(3–1 pen.) 		Queensland
Brisbane Blaze 		Western Australia
Perth Thundersticks 		3–0 Victoria (state)
HC Melbourne
2023 Canberra Queensland
Brisbane Blaze 		4–1 Australian Capital Territory
Canberra Chill 		Western Australia
Perth Thundersticks 		2–1 New South Wales
NSW Pride

Awards

Women's Statistics
Year Player of the League Highest Goalscorer(s) Player of the Final
2019 Shihori Oikawa (Chill) 3 Players (see list) Ambrosia Malone (Blaze)
2022 Amy Lawton (Melbourne) Grace Stewart (Pride) Mariah Williams (Pride)
2023 Kaitlin Nobbs (Pride) Laura Reid (Pride) Not Awarded

Team Appearances

Team 2019 2022 2023 Total
Australian Capital Territory Canberra Chill 4th 5th 2nd 3
New South Wales NSW Pride 6th 1st 4th 3
Queensland Brisbane Blaze 1st 2nd 1st 3
South Australia Adelaide Fire 3rd 6th 6th 3
Tasmania Tassie Tigers 7th 7th 7th 3
Victoria (state) HC Melbourne 2nd 4th 5th 3
Western Australia Perth Thundersticks 5th 3rd 3rd 3
Total 7 7 7 21

Media coverage

To promote the sport and engage fans, every match of the 2022 Hockey One League was broadcast live across Australia. All matches were broadcast live on Kayo Sports and in addition, all Thursday night double headers were broadcast on FOX Sports.[16] Both Kayo and FOX Sports broadcast the finals series, held over a weekend in Bendigo on the 19th and 20th of November, 2022.[17]

Prior to the 2023 season, Hockey Australia announced a new broadcast deal with the Seven Network, bringing the competition to their free streaming service 7plus in a multi-year deal.[18]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Hockey One - REAL HOCKEY. REIMAGINED". hockeyone.com.au. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  2. ^ Helmers, Caden (17 April 2019). "Chill factor: Hockey league revamped". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  3. ^ "Heraldsun.com.au | Subscribe to the Herald Sun for exclusive stories". www.heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  4. ^ "Couriermail.com.au | Subscribe to The Courier Mail for exclusive stories". www.couriermail.com.au. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  5. ^ a b "A New Era Begins - Hockey One Is Here!". Hockey Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  6. ^ "'Fully revised' Australian Hockey League delayed until 2019". The Melville Times. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  7. ^ "Sultana Bran announced as naming rights partner for Hockey One League". Hockey Australia. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  8. ^ "WESTFUND HEALTH INSURANCE JOINS NEW HOCKEY ONE LEAGUE AS SUPPORTING PARTNER". Ministry of Sport. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  9. ^ "Jamie Dwyer Hockey teams up with Hockey One League | Hockey One". hockeyone.com.au. 10 September 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  10. ^ "Hockey One campaigns for South Coast stick duo postponed until 2021". southcoastregister.com.au. South Coast Register. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  11. ^ "Sultana Bran Hockey One 2020 Season postponed". hockeyone.com.au. Hockey One. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  12. ^ "Limits on public gatherings for coronavirus (COVID-19)". health.gov.a. Government of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  13. ^ "Sultana Bran Hockey One League Season 2 update". 20 October 2021.
  14. ^ "Hockey One - Whats the Format?". hockeyone.com.au. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  15. ^ "NEW LEAGUE AND TV DEAL FOR HOCKEY". thewomensgame.com.au. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  16. ^ "2022 Season starts Thursday with blockbuster | Hockey One". hockeyone.com.au. 26 September 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  17. ^ "Bendigo to host Sultana Bran Hockey One League 2022 Finals Series | Hockey One". hockeyone.com.au. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  18. ^ Australia, Hockey. "Best of Australian hockey now LIVE and free on 7plus". www.hockey.org.au. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
Categories