Gloucester came through the season as minor premiers, while the Sharks were a surprise appearance after beating Wingham in a closely fought final won in double extra time to a golden goal.

The match started with Sharks coming out strong and Gloucester taking a little time to find their legs. The Taree team took full advantage, scoring off a short corner penalty straight through Gloucester defence. This was the boost the Panthers needed, banding together to get their mojo back. The first to strike back was Warren Beggs with an opportunistic goal off a loose ball smacked high and fast into the top right corner. A short corner awarded to Gloucester left Bruce Snape with an open hole to drive the second goal in. The Sharks tried to come back and, despite some great intercepts, were not able to get through the Panther's defensive mid and full backs. Late in the first half, Callum Howard, assisted by his brother in a great breakaway run, added a third goal to the tally.

In the second half, the Sharks pushed their players higher into attacking positions putting pressure on Gloucester's defence but they were quickly running out of steam, finding themselves in the right territory but without support. Despite the close competition, the scoreline seemed a little disproportionate. The second half saw Callum add two more goals to the tally to finish the match with a 5-1 win, seeing the Panthers hold both minor and major premiership titles, as well as back to back premierships.

With the Gloucester Hockey Club's under 15s junior team making it as far as the finals as well as the combined Wingham/Gloucester under 13s team winning their premiership, it has been a very successful season. The club hopes to push for a straight under 13s and under 15s team next year and would love to have both a men's division 2 and 3 side in the Manning Valley competition, with a bit of luck, even a women's team. If anyone is interested in getting involved with the teams and building on their success, contact the club at ghclub17@gmail.com