Down low: Victoria’s Jayden Gulson.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Echuca-Moama export Jayden Gulson played a key role as Victoria finished second in the 2023 Hockey Australia Country Championships at Shepparton.
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The eight-day event saw the best country players from across the country converge on the Goulburn Valley.
Gulson, 26, featured in all seven matches played by the Victoria Country side, which culminated with a 1-0 loss to Western Australia in the gold medal final on Saturday.
Brayden Dalton’s penalty corner sealed the coveted prize for the Sandgropers.
Victoria opened the tournament with a 6-0 defeat of the Australian Defence Force and then dispatched South Australia 7-0.
Duking it out: Australian Defence Force’s Matthew Robinson jostles with Victoria talent and Echuca-Moama product Jayden Gulson.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
A 2-1 loss to Queensland in game three halted the momentum before the Vics earned a point courtesy of a 2-2 draw with Western Australia.
Victoria would have to be content with third place in the Pool stage of the event after a 1-0 loss to NSW, but it was more than enough to earn a semi-final clash.
Despite going in as outsiders to second-ranked Queensland, Victoria upset the Maroons 2-1 thanks to a double from Jayden Schram.
That set the scene for the decider against Western Australia, who produced the shock result of the tournament, beating NSW 4-2.
The gold medal contest was a tight tense tussle until Dalton scored in the 40th minute.
In the women’s final, Queensland sealed a thrilling overtime win against New South Wales.
It was the second time since 2019 that Shepparton had hosted the championships.
Goulburn Valley Hockey Association president Cameron Druitt said it was significant for the region, playing on fields that 10 months ago were submerged by water.
“This is showing our kids that they can play for their state, represent Vic Country, travel the country and be in a high performance program,” Druitt said.
“It’s just great exposure, it’s a wonderful atmosphere and hopefully we can get a bunch of people through the gates that haven’t been here before to see what hockey is really about.”
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