2008 Men's Australian Hockey League

The 2008 Men's Australian Hockey League was the 18th edition of the men's field hockey tournament. The tournament was held in Australia's capital city, Canberra.

2008 Men's
Australian Hockey League

Tournament details
Host country	Australia
City	Canberra
Teams	8
Venue(s)	National Hockey Centre
Final positions
Champions	WA Thundersticks (7th title)
Runner-up	QLD Blades
Third place	VIC Vikings
Tournament statistics
Matches played	36
Goals scored	178 (4.94 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Luke Doerner (9 goals)
Best player	Bevan George
← 2007 (previous) (next) 2009 →

The WA Thundersticks won the gold medal for the seventh time by defeating the QLD Blades 4–2 in the final.

Competition format

The tournament comprised a single round-robin format in the preliminary round. At the conclusion of the preliminary round, teams ranked first to fourth progressed to the medal round, while teams ranked fifth to eighth progressed to the classification round.

Teams

• Canberra Lakers
• Southern Hotshots

• NSW Waratahs
• Tassie Tigers

• NT Stingers
• VIC Vikings

• QLD Blades
• WA Thundersticks

Results

Preliminary round

Pos	Team	Pld	W	WD	LD	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	QLD Blades	7	6	0	0	1	28	14	+14	18	Semi-finals
2	VIC Vikings	7	5	1	0	1	22	8	+14	17
3	WA Thundersticks	7	4	0	1	2	17	8	+9	13
4	Tassie Tigers	7	4	0	0	3	19	18	+1	12
5	Southern Hotshots	7	4	0	0	3	17	20	−3	12
6	Canberra Lakers	7	3	0	0	4	17	18	−1	9
7	NSW Waratahs	7	1	0	0	6	13	17	−4	3
8	NT Stingers	7	0	0	0	7	5	35	−30	0

Source: Clearing House
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) goals scored; 4) head-to-head result.

Fixtures

25 February 2008 11:00 VIC Vikings 6–0 NT Stingers Doerner  6', 19' T. Brooks  29', 52' J. Brooks  59' McLennan  64' Report Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

25 February 2008 13:00 QLD Blades 2–1 Southern Hotshots Elder  28' Dwyer  30' Report Schubert  54' Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

25 February 2008 15:00 WA Thundersticks 5–0 NSW Waratahs Hopkins  4' Smith  30' Kavanagh  44' Dancer  67' Blakeney  69' Report Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

25 February 2008 17:00 Canberra Lakers 0–2 Tassie Tigers Report Cock  27' Guest  61' Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

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26 February 2008 11:00 NSW Waratahs 2–3 QLD Blades Livermore  29' Sutherland  32' Report Dwyer  45' De Young  61' Elder  66' Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

26 February 2008 13:00 Tassie Tigers 2–5 VIC Vikings Ancher  24', 41' Report Doerner  21', 22' McLennan  25' Mirecki  37' Kleinschmidt  68' Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

26 February 2008 15:00 Southern Hotshots 3–6 Canberra Lakers Cleghorn  13' Reece  31' Porter  63' Report Onitiri  2' Davidson  12' Turner  34', 39', 41' D. Hotchkis  43' Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

26 February 2008 17:00 NT Stingers 0–3 WA Thundersticks Report Smith  11' Kavanagh  14' Blakeney  27' Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

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28 February 2008 11:00 Southern Hotshots 3–2 WA Thundersticks Dry  37' Reece  70' Cleghorn  81' Report Kavanagh  35' Brown  55' Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

28 February 2008 13:00 NSW Waratahs 0–1 Tassie Tigers Report Richardson  49' Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

28 February 2008 15:00 QLD Blades 8–0 NT Stingers Eglington  3' Dwyer  4' Burns  30' Elder  37', 53' Butler  37' M. Bates  63', 68' Report Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

28 February 2008 17:00 Canberra Lakers 1–4 VIC Vikings Bishop  4' Report Geraghty  8' T. Brooks  33' Doerner  44', 47' Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

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1 March 2008 11:00 QLD Blades 3–2 Canberra Lakers Elder  18', 60' Burns  45' Report Davidson  38' Jorgensen  49' Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

1 March 2008 13:00 VIC Vikings 0–0 WA Thundersticks Report Penalties 5–4 Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

1 March 2008 15:00 Tassie Tigers 4–1 NT Stingers Ockenden  1', 46' Guest  23', 26' Report Robertson  16' Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

1 March 2008 17:00 NSW Waratahs 1–3 Southern Hotshots Sutherland  54' Report Schubert  31', 43' Reece  45' Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

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2 March 2008 11:00 WA Thundersticks 4–2 Tassie Tigers Blakeney  11' Bausor  29', 32' Smith  62' Report Richardson  18' Ockenden  44' Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

2 March 2008 13:00 Canberra Lakers 4–3 NSW Waratahs Turner  12' Backhus  47', 79' Davidson  48' Report Sutherland  8' M. Paterson  15' Livermore  18' Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

2 March 2008 15:00 VIC Vikings 2–5 QLD Blades Pollard  15', 28' Report Eglington  5', 48' Dwyer  35' T. Bates  52' Elder  58' Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

2 March 2008 17:00 NT Stingers 2–3 Southern Hotshots Abbott  29', 69' Report Schubert  7' Hughes  12' Magee  46' Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

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4 March 2008 11:00 Canberra Lakers 4–2 NT Stingers Hinde  2' MacKinnon  17', 59' Davidson  40' Report Lockley  3' Robertson  23' Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

4 March 2008 13:00 Southern Hotshots 4–3 Tassie Tigers Magee  22' Hughes  46' Reece  65' Schubert  78' Report Guest  20', 31' Cock  34' Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

4 March 2008 15:00 NSW Waratahs 0–1 VIC Vikings Report Doerner  70' Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

4 March 2008 17:00 WA Thundersticks 2–3 QLD Blades Kavanagh  4', 43' Report Dwyer  43' De Young  54' Eglington  80' Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

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5 March 2008 11:00 Southern Hotshots 0–4 VIC Vikings Report Kleinschmidt T. Brooks  38' Pollard  55' Mirecki  70' Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

5 March 2008 13:00 NT Stingers 0–7 NSW Waratahs Report Poulton  5' I. Paterson  25' Orchard  27', 61' Naylor  30' Matheson  42' Butturini  44' Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

5 March 2008 15:00 WA Thundersticks 1–0 Canberra Lakers Blakeney  13' Report Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

5 March 2008 17:00 QLD Blades 4–5 Tassie Tigers Burns  6' De Young  9' T. Bates  15', 47' Report Cock  13', 35', 44' Richardson  58' Guest  78' Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

Classification round

Fifth to eighth place classification

	Crossover				Fifth Place
	7 March 2008
	Southern Hotshots	3
					8 March 2008
	NT Stingers	2
					Southern Hotshots	1
	7 March 2008
					NSW Waratahs	5
	Canberra Lakers	2
	NSW Waratahs	4
					Seventh Place
					8 March 2008
					NT Stingers	0
					Canberra Lakers	4

Crossover

7 March 2008 11:00 Southern Hotshots 3–2 NT Stingers Cleghorn  23', 50' Magee  66' Report Brown  61' Bransgrove  70' Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

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7 March 2008 13:00 Canberra Lakers 2–4 NSW Waratahs Backhus  26' Hinde  70' Report Livermore  38' Sutherland  44' Naylor  65' Butturini  70' Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

Seventh and eighth place

8 March 2008 11:00 NT Stingers 0–4 Canberra Lakers Report Backhus  45' Dent  50' Hinde  57' M. Hotchkis  61' Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

Fifth and sixth place

8 March 2008 13:00 Southern Hotshots 1–5 NSW Waratahs Kelly  31' Report M. Paterson  14', 23', 39' Sutherland  58' Booth  70' Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

First to fourth place classification

	Semi-finals				Final
	7 March 2008
	QLD Blades	3
					8 March 2008
	Tassie Tigers	1
					QLD Blades	2
	7 March 2008
					WA Thundersticks	4
	VIC Vikings	1
	WA Thundersticks	2
					Third Place
					8 March 2008
					Tassie Tigers	1
					VIC Vikings	3

Semi-finals

7 March 2008 15:00 QLD Blades 3–1 Tassie Tigers Wilson  46' Eglington  46', 54' Report Tremayne  64' Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

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7 March 2008 17:00 VIC Vikings 1–2 WA Thundersticks Doerner  53' Report Hulbert  22' Blakeney  30' Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

Third and fourth place

8 March 2008 15:00 Tassie Tigers 1–3 VIC Vikings Guest  8' Report J. Brooks  1' Doerner  56' Geraghty  67' Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

Final

8 March 2008 17:00 QLD Blades 2–4 WA Thundersticks Elder  2' Eglington  69' Report Dancer  22' Charlesworth  54' Smith  59' Hopkins  63' Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra

Awards

Player of the Tournament	Top Goalscorer	Player of the Final
Bevan George	Luke Doerner	Aaron Hopkins

Statistics

Final standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	WD	LD	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
	WA Thundersticks	9	6	0	1	2	23	11	+12	19	Gold Medal
	QLD Blades	9	7	0	0	2	33	19	+14	21	Silver Medal
	VIC Vikings	9	6	1	0	2	26	11	+15	20	Bronze Medal
4	Tassie Tigers	9	4	0	0	5	21	24	−3	12
5	NSW Waratahs	9	3	0	0	6	22	20	+2	9
6	Southern Hotshots	9	5	0	0	4	21	27	−6	15
7	Canberra Lakers	9	4	0	0	5	23	22	+1	12
8	NT Stingers	9	0	0	0	9	7	42	−35	0

Source: Clearing House

Goalscorers

There were 176 goals scored in 36 matches, for an average of 4.89 goals per match.

9 goals

• Luke Doerner

8 goals

• Troy Elder

7 goals

• Nathan Eglington
• David Guest

5 goals

• Troy Sutherland
• Jamie Dwyer
• Grant Schubert
• Geoffrey Cock
• Peter Blakeney
• Fergus Kavanagh

4 goals

• Garry Backhus
• Iain Davidson
• Glenn Turner
• Mark Paterson
• Thomas Cleghorn
• Gregory Reece
• Travis Brooks
• Andrew Smith

3 goals

• Kenji Hinde
• Brent Livermore
• Timothy Bates
• Jacob Burns
• Liam de Young
• Eugene Magee
• Edward Ockenden
• Marcus Richardson
• Joshua Pollard

2 goals

• Paul MacKinnon
• Matthew Butturini
• Matthew Naylor
• Simon Orchard
• Desmond Abbott
• Gary Robertson
• Michael Bates
• Scott Hughes
• Paul Ancher
• Jason Brooks
• Declan Geraghty
• Aaron Kleinschmidt
• Alistair McLennan
• Daniel Mirecki
• Christopher Bausor
• Brent Dancer
• Aaron Hopkins

1 goal

• Benjamin Bishop
• Craig Dent
• Daniel Hotchkis
• Matthew Hotchkis
• Christopher Jorgensen
• Seyi Onitiri
• Darryn Booth
• Eli Matheson
• Ian Paterson
• Benjamin Poulton
• Douglas Bransgrove
• Liam Brown
• Adrian Lockley
• Dean Butler
• Jason Wilson
• Joel Dry
• Peter Kelly
• Robert Porter
• Nicholas Tremayne
• Kiel Brown
• Jonathon Charlesworth
• Phillip Hulbert

Source: Clearing House