Camberwell defeats Doncaster in AHL Trial Format Match

Last Friday, the 9th of February, Camberwell and Doncaster Hockey Clubs assisted Hockey Victoria and Hockey Australia in testing out a new format of the game, that the associations hope to attract more interest to the sport and in turn a larger following of a national league. 

The new format is designed to promote lots of 'celebratory moments', to keep the crowd interested and excited over the match. HV outline the format and rule changes in the graphic below. 

Some interesting rule changes in here no doubt. Camberwell started the match strong, taking advantage of the first quarter power play by starting without a keeper on the field at all (Tom Davies as kicking back). This yielded two points from one goal very early on. Camberwell continued to keep Doncaster under control. During the mixed period however, it would be Doncaster who'd prove victorious. Their success was short-lived though, with our women's side beating them in the last component of the game. 

Results:

MPL def. Doncaster 6-5
Mixed lost to Doncaster 4-7
WPL def. Doncaster 10-3
Aggregate: Camberwell 20 def. 15 Doncaster

It will be interesting to see what HA takes out of these trial matches and implements into a final product. For now though, preseason continues as we approach round one at the beginning of April.