WA hockey: Umpires, life members fuming after Towns South Hockey Club tank match to land easier finals game

A WA hockey side has purposely tanked the final minutes of their match to attempt to land an easier finals draw in a brazen move that has officials and the club’s life members fuming. The bold strategy, which saw an entire team stop playing for three minutes to allow two consecutive goals, has been met with such outrage it has even prompted a league investigation. Bunbury side Towns South Hockey Club were leading 4-2 with seven minutes remaining over Busselton-based Wests in their last division one clash of the regular South West Hockey League season on Friday night, when their coach was said to have told the team to “get out their way” and let their opponents score two goals. Players then stood still as the Busselton team walked the ball up the pitch to score before repeating the act a second time, with the goalkeeper stepping aside. The historic club, which boasts a 90-year history, ended up drawing the game 4-4 and hoped the result would mean they play a less competitive opposition in the first round of finals. In a comical twist to the controversial play, the side will actually face Wests for a second consecutive week instead of their intended opponents, Marist — who the side reportedly deemed as an easier draw. Umpire Jarrod Booth was officiating the match played at the Bunbury Hockey Stadium on Friday night and said he thought the Bunbury team had “brought the game into disrepute.” “They had just scored their fourth goal with about seven minutes to go and their coach yelled out to let them get two,” he said. “One guy went to tackle them and their whole team yelled at him to stop. “I didn’t know what I could do as an umpire, obviously I had never been in that situation before. “I thought it was rubbish. I was pretty disgusted.” Former Towns South president and life member Dean Lomax, who has held the accolade for more than a decade, said he was outraged by the move and hoped there were consequences. “It was pretty disappointing to hear of the event that took place and I’d hope that the club took the matter seriously and took some action,” he said. “It’s pretty disappointing that this happened in our premier level of hockey here in the South West but it should not happen anywhere.” SWHL president Alan Cartledge confirmed to the South Western Times there would be an investigation into the match. “We are requesting information from officials of the game played by Wests and Towns Souths men on Friday night,” he said. “From collecting that information, a meeting will be held (on Tuesday) and tribunal could follow if we find this to be required.” Towns Souths Hockey Club said it would not comment until the investigation was completed. The draw means the two sides will play off in a final in Busselton this weekend after Wests finished third on the ladder, with Towns South in fourth.