A fresh UGS Presidents XI shows off local talent against WA Country team in Narrogin’s exhibition game

An epic contest put up by the Presidents XI kept their opponents scoreless at the Upper Great Southern Hockey Association Presidents XI and WA Country exhibition game in Narrogin on Saturday night. The annual match was a 4-0 avalanche in the home side’s favour, followed by the traditional shootout as part of the spectacle. Presidents XI’s Shawn Heil, who plays for All Blacks, landed the game’s opening goal in a deadly first quarter penalty corner, with the corner being recalled three times. WA Country dove into battle mode, desperate to even the score with original Upper Great Southern player Liam Sweeney the visiting team’s captain. A penalty corner was soon flagged for the visitors, the Presidents XI defence one man down when Brad Staphorst broke before the push, removing him from play and opening a perfect goal opportunity. Despite the ideal circumstances, goalkeeper Graeme Treloar did not let their ball pass his pads and kept WA Country at bay, which rolled into a scoreless second term for both sides. The third quarter was looking like a similar result as the teams attacked and blocked relentlessly in a high speed stick fight, and State player Raine Fisher was served a yellow card. WA Country dominated the play, earning a host of penalty corners and keeping their stick to the ball most of the time but failing to convert their efforts onto the scoreboard. Seconds before the siren, Sam Broad struck a sneaky shot through Country’s defences from the top of the area, doubling the lead heading into the final quarter. After his breakthrough, Broad managed to outrun and outsmart his opponent to receive unmanned passes before slamming home a third goal for his team. The Presidents XI did not hold back despite their impressive lead and continued to capitalise on their opportunities as the clock counted down before their 4-0 win was sealed by Shaun McKay. Presidents XI captain and fifth time exhibition game player Dane Angwin said he was proud of how the team played and was surprised to secure such a massive win. “If you asked me before the game I wouldn’t have said we’d win 4-nil, it was definitely a game of momentum,” he said. “Once we got the third goal we were pretty on top of them but it was a grind until then. “I’d like to think we always put on a good show but this was our most dominate performance, we gelled really well. “It was a different looking Presidents XI this year compared to previous years, we were purely made up of local guys and didn’t have any ring-ins. “There was a good mix of experience and youth in the team with three debutants. “It was a great chance for this group and association to show what it was capable of and there was no better way to do that than by knocking off the State country side.” Country WA had success in the shootout as eight of their 10 players hit the back of the net — Fletcher Taylor, Sweeney, Raine Fisher, Ky Fisher, Myles Cain, Alex Liddiard, Jack Tosana and Lewis Barritt all beating Treloar. The home team spread their one-on-ones over Country WA’s two goalies, Lex Krige and Codi Peipi, as McKay and Dylan Mulcahy missed their first try but scored on their second, while Oli Harding landed his first but failed the next. Marcel Corasaniti hit two goals and Kyle Angwin fell short for his one shot. Dane Angwin had a rewarding second effort after the ball ricocheted off the goalie and got it back on his stick and into the net with half a second to go. WA Country finished 8-6 ahead in the shootouts.