James Webster Set to Play 300th State League One / Premier League Match
Stories, history and photos, looking back at Jimmy’s incredible hockey career to date
As we approach round 16 of the HV Winter 2022 season, we pause to recognise a significant milestone of one of Camberwell’s most decorated men’s players. This weekend, Jimmy Webster will bring up his 300th match in the top flight of Victorian hockey, another feather in the cap of a rather accomplished career so far.
James Webster with what we believe is his first flag, with Box Hill HC circa 2000
“So…. James first played hockey with Box Hill after his older brother, Tom took hockey up with that club. He played Red Devils in the Junior State Championships.
Stuart encouraged him to transfer to CHC, where he had played, as he would benefit from a greater depth of playing opportunity. He played in the Junior Championships with Hot Shots while with CHC.
He played seniors with CHC in 2003. He won B&F in PC in 2005. He played with PA - not sure of year/s - possibly 2005/6”
We’ll begin this story at Camberwell, we’ll wind the clock right back to 2003, when Jimmy was plying his trade at Matlock Reserve in the early years of his hockey career. Jimmy’s talent was clearly visible even at such a young age, earning selection to the under 14 Hotshots team in 2003 and playing for Camberwell in the Under 15 A Shield team. Based on the records that we have, this was also his first season playing seniors, featuring in the Metro 2 South team playing nine games and scoring one goal. As the years continued, the fledgling junior was steadily reaching higher levels. In 2004, Jimmy won gold in the under 15 state team in Adelaide, and by 2005, Jimmy was selected in the Australian Under 16 team. Back on the local stage, he’d risen right the way up to play five games in Camberwell’s Pennant A side, at the time our second highest team. Club life member and noted stats man Peter Ridland recalls Jimmy very nearly getting the call up to SL1 that year:
“In 2005, I recall one game when he doubled up from MPC to MPA. Pointer was desperate for him to triple up that day in MSL1 but we managed to persuade him that it was highly illegal to play three games in 1 round. Jimmy was U16 that year.”
The stage was set. In March of 2006, Jimmy played in the Victorian Under 18 team, playing eight matches and scoring two goals. By this point, he’d also been selected in the Australian Junior development team. Clearly, a call up to the Camberwell 1st XI was coming, and on the 6th of May that year, that day arrived. Jimmy was set to play his first Men’s State League One match against Altona (away), the first step in a story that is still unfolding, and reaches such a milestone this weekend. Marty Cashmere recalls fondly passing on the #7 jersey to Jimmy back in 06:
“To have received the CHC #7 shirt from a wonderfully talented servant to not only the first grade team but the club as a whole in Robert Dowling, shares equal pride within me as seeing that same shirt perform and be carried by Jimmy Webster. I recall passing it to him and hold it as a great moment.”
As the years rolled on, Jimmy’s presence at state and national tournaments continued to grow. In 2007, Jimmy played in both the under 18 and 21 Victorian teams, winning gold in the latter, and then again in 2010 at the same tournament. 2010 was also his first year playing for the Victorian Vikings, a side he played in for nine consecutive years until 2018, winning gold in 2016 and 2017. Adding to this remarkable achievement, he was selected in the Victorian Vikings All Star Team, announced in 2018 as Hockey Australia pivoted away from AHL to the new Hockey One League.
Back in State League One, Jimmy was solidifying his position in the team. By 2007, Jimmy was playing almost all of his club games in State League 1, as Camberwell began building back toward the force that we have become over the last decade. Things were not always easy back then, a ten team competition meant that the ladder was very tight. I’ve heard the story of one season in which a win or loss in the final match could have meant finals qualification or relegation. Thankfully, the latter was avoided.
In 2009, Camberwell reached the pinnacle match of the season, and Jimmy lined up with the team to take on Doncaster in our first grand final appearance since 2000. Unfortunately, it was not our day, going down narrowly to Doncaster 3-2. We’d get two back on them, but not for a few years yet.
Camberwell worked hard through the next few years, and were back in the grand final in 2012, going down to an in form Greensborough. The next year though, we’d be back for revenge against Doncaster, and this time, things would be different. The game ended in a 1-1 draw, and was decided in sudden death shootouts in which Camberwell won out 8-7 in the tenth round. Our first premiership in 13 years, Jimmy has mentioned this in the past as one of the top highlights of his hockey career so far, and how could it not be?
“Never seen him miss a one on one shootout in finals at both club and National League, you could always lock away his goal in the shootouts”
Following the 2013 premiership, Camberwell was really beginning to solidify its place at the top of the premier league. Ever since the 2012 grand final, we were starting to see the real emergence of the great Camberwell / Burra era, and grand finals fought between the two of us in 2014 and 2015. Unfortunately, those results never went our way, but they meant all the more finals appearances for Jimmy, playing in each one of them. Indeed, a truly outrageous statistic for Jimmy is that throughout his entire career in the top flight, he’s only ever missed one game to injury, an amazing testament to his work rate and high standards of keeping his body in check, withstanding the hours and hours of training and game play that is required to perform at such a high level.
Three premierships, two grand final man-of-the-match medals
By 2016, Jimmy was set to appear in his sixth grand final, now already ten years into his Premier League career. After two agonising losses against Greensborough, Camberwell was now facing a plucky Powerhouse St. Kilda team, who had been performing well since their promotion into Premier League in 2014. James Webster, now captain, lead his men strongly out on the field, scoring a goal in the final minute of the first half and putting Powerhouse to the sword with a 5-2 victory. In addition to this premiership win, Webster won the Fin McNab award for Men’s Premier League Best and Fairest in 2016.
2017 was another great year for Camberwell, finishing the home and away season a game clear at the top of the ladder. Coming into the finals series, Camberwell were hot favourites, and Jimmy was again at the helm as captain, this time with new head coach Katie Allen. First coming from behind to beat Altona in a shoot out, then knocking off Powerhouse again in the preliminary final 4-2, the stage was set for another grand final show down between Camberwell and Doncaster. The two in form teams for the year, it was a big game, played for the first time under lights at the State Hockey Centre. Jimmy’s finals experience again shone in this match, as Camberwell set about absolutely demolishing Doncaster 7-2. In a somewhat bizarre coincidence, Jimmy scored two almost identical goals within seconds of half time one year apart, see the video for yourself.
James Webster scores two almost identical goals in the 2016 and 2017 grand finals, one with a few seconds left in the first half, and one a few seconds into the second
As 2018 began, I had the pleasure of working as Jimmy’s team manager in Premier League for the first time. Getting the full view of his leadership in the role of captain was a real pleasure to see. The desire in 2018 to get the three-peat was palpable, and we put a lot of good work in over the season. Reaching the grand final again was an excellent achievement, this was now Jimmy’s eighth grand final appearance, and seventh in a row. There are not many others who would be able to boast such a record, and the few that could are likely limited to a couple of Jimmy’s teammates from this era. It was a painful loss to Southern United that year, going down in a shoot out after being drawn 2-2 at full time.
After 2018, the team began to get younger and younger, with some of the older players that Jimmy had shared the field with for so long starting to hang up the boots. Jimmy’s captaincy again came to the forefront, doing great work bringing our fresh young faces into the fold. Despite a strong season coming in second, we narrowly missed a grand final berth for the first time since 2011 in a tough loss against Southern United in the preliminary final.
“We think James has been very humble about his hockey achievements and totally committed to training, playing and the Club. He has embraced the camaraderie with his fellow team mates, whether it be at club or state.”
Over the years, Jimmy has more than given back to the clubs and associations he’s been a part of. Numerous coaching roles, HV participation growth, Camberwell Centre of Excellence and captaincies name just a few of these achievements. Now sixteen years and 299 games into this journey, I think I speak on behalf of everyone in saying how proud we are of what Jimmy has been able to achieve in the Victorian and Australian hockey community. Congrats and good luck mate, an achievement well earned.
