# 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.
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 | Semi-finals |
| 3 | WA Thundersticks | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 8 | +9 | 13 | Semi-finals |
| 4 | Tassie Tigers | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 18 | +1 | 12 | Semi-finals |
| 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 | |

#### 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
* 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
* 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
* 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 |
| | 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
* 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
* 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
* 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 | Crossover | Fifth Place | Fifth Place |
| 7 March 2008 | 7 March 2008 |
| Southern Hotshots | 3 |
| Southern Hotshots | 3 | 8 March 2008 | 8 March 2008 |
| NT Stingers | 2 | 8 March 2008 | 8 March 2008 |
| NT Stingers | 2 | Southern Hotshots | 1 |
| 7 March 2008 | 7 March 2008 | | Southern Hotshots | 1 |
| 7 March 2008 | 7 March 2008 | NSW Waratahs | 5 |
| Canberra Lakers | 2 | NSW Waratahs | 5 |
| NSW Waratahs | 4 | | |
| NSW Waratahs | 4 | Seventh Place | Seventh Place |
| | | 8 March 2008 | 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
* 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 | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| 7 March 2008 | 7 March 2008 |
| QLD Blades | 3 |
| QLD Blades | 3 | 8 March 2008 | 8 March 2008 |
| Tassie Tigers | 1 | 8 March 2008 | 8 March 2008 |
| Tassie Tigers | 1 | QLD Blades | 2 |
| 7 March 2008 | 7 March 2008 | | QLD Blades | 2 |
| 7 March 2008 | 7 March 2008 | WA Thundersticks | 4 |
| VIC Vikings | 1 | WA Thundersticks | 4 |
| WA Thundersticks | 2 | | |
| WA Thundersticks | 2 | Third Place | Third Place |
| | | 8 March 2008 | 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
* 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 | |

### 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