# 2003 Women's Australian Hockey League

The 2003 Women's Australian Hockey League was the 11th edition women's field hockey tournament. The tournament was held in various cities across Australia, and was contested from 7 March through to 13 April 2003.
VIS Vipers won the tournament for the first time after defeating QLD Scorchers 4–3 in penalties, after the final finished as a 3–3 draw. Canberra Strikers finished in third place after defeating WA Diamonds 4–3 in the third and fourth place playoff.

## Participating teams

* Canberra Strikers
* NSWIS Arrows
* Territory Pearls
* QLD Scorchers
* Adelaide Suns
* Tassie Van Demons
* VIS Vipers
* WA Diamonds

## Competition format

The 2003 Women's Australian Hockey League consisted of a single round robin format, followed by classification matches.
Teams from all 8 states and territories competed against one another throughout the pool stage. At the conclusion of the pool stage, the top four ranked teams progressed to the semi-finals, while the bottom four teams continued to the classification stage.
The first four rounds of the pool stage comprised two-legged fixtures between states. As a result, matches in rounds five to seven of the pool stage were worth double points, due to the single-leg format.

### Point allocation

Points :
| W | WD | LD | L |
| 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
Every match in the 2003 AHL needed an outright result. In the event of a draw, golden goal extra time was played out, and if the result was still a draw a penalty shoot-out was contested, with the winner receiving a bonus point.

## Results
### Preliminary round

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | WD | LD | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | QLD Scorchers | 11 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 39 | 17 | +22 | 36 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Canberra Strikers | 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 13 | +21 | 36 | Semi-finals |
| 3 | VIS Vipers | 11 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 30 | 16 | +14 | 31 | Semi-finals |
| 4 | WA Diamonds | 11 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 23 | 20 | +3 | 26 | Semi-finals |
| 5 | NSWIS Arrows | 11 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 18 | 20 | −2 | 18 | |
| 6 | Adelaide Suns | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 16 | 29 | −13 | 12 | |
| 7 | Tassie Van Demons | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 15 | 32 | −17 | 9 | |
| 8 | Territory Pearls | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 13 | 41 | −28 | 0 | |

#### Fixtures

* 7 March 2003 18:00 (ACST)
| Territory Pearls | 2–4 | QLD Scorchers |
| Bain 50' Bennett 56' | Report | Faulkner 3', 15', 62' Willims 66' |
* Stadium: Vodadone Hockey Centre, Darwin
* 8 March 2003 13:00 (ACDT)
| Adelaide Suns | 1–4 | VIS Vipers |
| Patrick 67' | Report | Dobson 49', 63' Monkivitch 65' Towers 68' |
* Stadium: Pines Hockey Stadium, Adelaide
* 8 March 2003 15:00 (AEDT)
| NSWIS Arrows | 2–3 (a.e.t.) | Canberra Strikers |
| Rivers 10' Sargeant 32' | Report | Powell 1', 74' Arrold 12' |
* Stadium: Lithgow Hockey Stadium, Lithgow
* 8 March 2003 17:00 (AWST)
| WA Diamonds | 4–0 | Tassie Van Demons |
| Dalby 10' Kaufmann 54', 69' Napier 59' | Report | |
* Stadium: Perth Hockey Stadium, Perth
* 8 March 2003 20:00 (ACST)
| Territory Pearls | 1–5 | QLD Scorchers |
| Bain 65' | Report | Paterson 17' Cole 28' Hudson 33', 51' Smith 45' |
* Stadium: Vodadone Hockey Centre, Darwin
* 9 March 2003 13:00 (AEDT)
| NSWIS Arrows | 1–2 | Canberra Strikers |
| White-Muik 15' | Report | Nightingale 17' Arrold 60' |
* Stadium: Lithgow Hockey Stadium, Lithgow
* 9 March 2003 13:00 (ACDT)
| Adelaide Suns | 1–2 | VIS Vipers |
| Militz 54' | Report | Harvey 13' Eastman 28' |
* Stadium: Pines Hockey Stadium, Adelaide
* 9 March 2003 15:00 (AWST)
| WA Diamonds | 3–2 (a.e.t.) | Tassie Van Demons |
| Dalby 41' Napier 43' Halliday 80' | Report | Paget 16' Judge 24' |
* Stadium: Perth Hockey Stadium, Perth
* 14 March 2003 18:00 (AWST)
| WA Diamonds | 2–1 | Territory Pearls |
| Halliday 45' Dalby 68' | Report | Bunce 14' |
* Stadium: Perth Hockey Stadium, Perth
* 15 March 2003 13:00 (AEDT)
| VIS Vipers | 0–1 (a.e.t.) | Canberra Strikers |
| | Report | Powell 74' |
* Stadium: Albury Hockey Centre, Albury
* 15 March 2003 13:30 (AEDT)
| Tassie Van Demons | 0–2 | Adelaide Suns |
| | Report | Souter 35' Bakurski 49' |
* Stadium: Tasmanian Hockey Centre, Hobart
* 15 March 2003 16:00 (AEST)
| QLD Scorchers | 5–0 | NSWIS Arrows |
| Allen 28' Willims 32' Faulkner 47', 69' Holmes 55' | Report | |
* Stadium: Queensland State Hockey Centre, Brisbane
* 15 March 2003 18:00 (AWST)
| WA Diamonds | 3–2 | Territory Pearls |
| Dalby 25' Liddelow 27' Napier 60' | Report | Bain 13', 38' |
* Stadium: Perth Hockey Stadium, Perth
* 16 March 2003 11:30 (AEDT)
| Tassie Van Demons | 0–3 | Adelaide Suns |
| | Report | Bakurski 2', 63' Marles 6' |
* Stadium: Tasmanian Hockey Centre, Hobart
* 16 March 2003 13:00 (AEDT)
| VIS Vipers | 1–3 | Canberra Strikers |
| Dobson 57' | Report | Taylor 20' Jennings 24' Rayner 49' |
* Stadium: Albury Hockey Centre, Albury
* 16 March 2003 14:00 (AEST)
| QLD Scorchers | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | NSWIS Arrows |
| Hudson 10', 82' | Report | Sargeant 15' |
* Stadium: Queensland State Hockey Centre, Brisbane
* 22 March 2003 13:00 (AEDT)
| VIS Vipers | 5–1 | Territory Pearls |
| Towers 10' Johnston 26', 69' Dobson 30' Smith 37' | Report | Kozak 52' |
* Stadium: State Netball & Hockey Centre, Melbourne
* 22 March 2003 13:00 (AEDT)
| NSWIS Arrows | 1–2 (a.e.t.) | Tassie Van Demons |
| James 10' | Report | Pickup 67' Judge 78' |
* Stadium: International Hockey Complex, Newcastle
* 22 March 2003 14:00 (AEDT)
| Canberra Strikers | 4–0 | Adelaide Suns |
| Powell 6', 13' Arrold 46' Roberts 46' | Report | |
* Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra
* 22 March 2003 16:00 (AEST)
| QLD Scorchers | 2–0 | WA Diamonds |
| Faulkner 47' Hudson 64' | Report | |
* Stadium: Queensland State Hockey Centre, Brisbane
* 23 March 2003 11:30 (AEDT)
| NSWIS Arrows | 5–1 | Tassie Van Demons |
| Rivers 20', 22', 36' Netzler 28' Banning 57' | Report | Clement 5' |
* Stadium: International Hockey Complex, Newcastle
* 23 March 2003 12:30 (AEDT)
| Canberra Strikers | 4–1 | Adelaide Suns |
| Gallagher 15', 15' Nightingale 58' Powell 60' | Report | Callow 67' |
* Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra
* 23 March 2003 13:00 (AEDT)
| VIS Vipers | 3–2 | Territory Pearls |
| Dobson 26' Towers 32' Brazenor 59' | Report | Kozak 2' Caden 59' |
* Stadium: State Netball & Hockey Centre, Melbourne
* 23 March 2003 13:00 (AEST)
| QLD Scorchers | 1–2 | WA Diamonds |
| Hudson 46' | Report | Liddelow 3' Walker 39' |
* Stadium: Queensland State Hockey Centre, Brisbane
* 28 March 2003 19:30 (ACST)
| Territory Pearls | 1–4 | NSWIS Arrows |
| Bain 48' | Report | Harris 18', 34', 69' Rivers 50' |
* Stadium: Alice Springs Hockey Association, Alice Springs
* 29 March 2003 15:00 (AEDT)
| Tassie Van Demons | 1–4 | VIS Vipers |
| Pickup 57' | Report | Harvey 21' Towers 30', 33' Johnston 67' |
* Stadium: Tasmanian Hockey Centre, Hobart
* 29 March 2003 16:00 (AEDT)
| Canberra Strikers | 2–0 | WA Diamonds |
| Taylor 20' Powell 66' | Report | |
* Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra
* 29 March 2003 18:00 (ACDT)
| Adelaide Suns | 2–4 | QLD Scorchers |
| Callow 36', 60' | Report | Pamenter 25' Allen 32' Brown 57' Hudson 63' |
* Stadium: Pines Hockey Stadium, Adelaide
* 29 March 2003 19:30 (ACST)
| Territory Pearls | 0–2 | NSWIS Arrows |
| | Report | Rivers 17' Netzler 60' |
* Stadium: Alice Springs Hockey Association, Alice Springs
* 30 March 2003 14:00 (AEST)
| Tassie Van Demons | 0–2 | VIS Vipers |
| | Report | Stanford 33' Johnston 44' |
* Stadium: Tasmanian Hockey Centre, Hobart
* 30 March 2003 14:00 (ACST)
| Adelaide Suns | 2–4 | QLD Scorchers |
| Patrick 33' Bakurski 60' | Report | Faulkner 1' Allen 20' Hudson 46' Holmes 65' |
* Stadium: Pines Hockey Stadium, Adelaide
* 30 March 2003 14:30 (AEST)
| Canberra Strikers | 3–1 | WA Diamonds |
| Powell 12' Taylor 31' Jennings 39' | Report | Napier 35' |
* Stadium: National Hockey Centre, Canberra
* 7 April 2003 12:00 (AEST)
| NSWIS Arrows | 1–0 | Adelaide Suns |
| James 54' | Report | |
* Stadium: Tasmanian Hockey Centre, Hobart
* 7 April 2003 14:00 (AEST)
| VIS Vipers | 5–2 | WA Diamonds |
| Towers 7', 15' Grunden 28' Trost 32' Brazenor 42' | Report | Liddelow 39' Calton 68' |
* Stadium: Tasmanian Hockey Centre, Hobart
* 7 April 2003 18:00 (AEST)
| Tassie Van Demons | 2–4 | QLD Scorchers |
| McLeod 38' Judge 60' | Report | Smith 7', 63' Allen 26' Skirving 70' |
* Stadium: Tasmanian Hockey Centre, Hobart
* 7 April 2003 20:00 (AEST)
| Canberra Strikers | 5–1 | Territory Pearls |
| Powell 20', 22', 52' Gallagher 33', 55' | Report | Smith 41' |
* Stadium: Tasmanian Hockey Centre, Hobart
* 8 April 2003 14:00 (AEST)
| NSWIS Arrows | 0–2 | VIS Vipers |
| | Report | Towers 5' Johnston 68' |
* Stadium: Tasmanian Hockey Centre, Hobart
* 8 April 2003 16:00 (AEST)
| WA Diamonds | 4–1 | Adelaide Suns |
| Dalby 28', 63' Hammond 45' Young 60' | Report | Handley 50' |
* Stadium: Tasmanian Hockey Centre, Hobart
* 8 April 2003 18:00 (AEST)
| QLD Scorchers | 4–3 (a.e.t.) | Canberra Strikers |
| Holmes 17' Pamenter 33' Paterson 41' Faulkner 76' | Report | Nightingale 35' Gallagher 46' Powell 63' |
* Stadium: Tasmanian Hockey Centre, Hobart
* 8 April 2003 20:00 (AEST)
| Tassie Van Demons | 5–0 | Territory Pearls |
| Clement 29', 40' Judge 33', 62' McLeod 37' | Report | |
* Stadium: Tasmanian Hockey Centre, Hobart
* 10 April 2003 10:00 (AEST)
| Territory Pearls | 2–3 | Adelaide Suns |
| Markey 56' Smith 69' | Report | Callow 31', 65' Bakurski 66' |
* Stadium: Tasmanian Hockey Centre, Hobart
* 10 April 2003 12:00 (AEST)
| VIS Vipers | 2–4 | QLD Scorchers |
| Towers 12', 21' | Report | Cole 18' Hudson 26', 69' Holmes 46' |
* Stadium: Tasmanian Hockey Centre, Hobart
* 10 April 2003 14:00 (AEST)
| Tassie Van Demons | 2–4 | Canberra Strikers |
| Clement 5' Judge 45' | Report | Gallagher 2' Powell 14', 57', 64' |
* Stadium: Tasmanian Hockey Centre, Hobart
* 10 April 2003 16:00 (AEST)
| NSWIS Arrows | 1–2 | WA Diamonds |
| Sargeant 51' | Report | Dalby 21' Kaufmann 39' |
* Stadium: Tasmanian Hockey Centre, Hobart

### Classification round
#### Fifth to eighth place classification

| Crossover | Crossover | Fifth Place | Fifth Place |
| 12 April 2003 | 12 April 2003 |
| NSWIS Arrows | 4 |
| NSWIS Arrows | 4 | 13 April 2003 | 13 April 2003 |
| Territory Pearls | 1 | 13 April 2003 | 13 April 2003 |
| Territory Pearls | 1 | NSWIS Arrows | 2 |
| 12 April 2003 | 12 April 2003 | | NSWIS Arrows | 2 |
| 12 April 2003 | 12 April 2003 | Adelaide Suns | 1 |
| Adelaide Suns | 4 | Adelaide Suns | 1 |
| Tassie Van Demons | 1 | | |
| Tassie Van Demons | 1 | Seventh Place | Seventh Place |
| | | 13 April 2003 | 13 April 2003 |
| | | Territory Pearls | 0 |
| | | Tassie Van Demons | 3 |

##### Crossover

* 12 April 2003 08:30 (AEST)
| NSWIS Arrows | 4–1 | Territory Pearls |
| Sargeant 11' Harris 16', 28', 38' | Report | Bell 25' |
* Stadium: Tasmanian Hockey Centre
* 12 April 2003 10:30 (AEST)
| Adelaide Suns | 4–1 | Tassie Van Demons |
| Bakurski 6' Marles 33', 70' Patrick 52' | Report | Colrain 29' |
* Stadium: Tasmanian Hockey Centre

##### Seventh and eighth place

* 13 April 2003 08:30 (AEST)
| Territory Pearls | 0–3 | Tassie Van Demons |
| | Report | Clement 24', 28' Geeves 47' |
* Stadium: Tasmanian Hockey Centre

##### Fifth and sixth place

* 13 April 2003 10:30 (AEST)
| NSWIS Arrows | 2–1 | Adelaide Suns |
| Brooks 12' White-Muik 40' | Report | Callow 60' |
* Stadium: Tasmanian Hockey Centre

#### First to fourth place classification

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| 12 April 2003 | 12 April 2003 |
| QLD Scorchers | 3 |
| QLD Scorchers | 3 | 13 April 2003 | 13 April 2003 |
| WA Diamonds | 0 | 13 April 2003 | 13 April 2003 |
| WA Diamonds | 0 | QLD Scorchers | 3 (4) |
| 12 April 2003 | 12 April 2003 | | QLD Scorchers | 3 (4) |
| 12 April 2003 | 12 April 2003 | VIS Vipers (pen.) | 3 (5) |
| Canberra Strikers | 0 | VIS Vipers (pen.) | 3 (5) |
| VIS Vipers | 1 | | |
| VIS Vipers | 1 | Third Place | Third Place |
| | | 13 April 2003 | 13 April 2003 |
| | | WA Diamonds | 3 |
| | | Canberra Strikers | 4 |

##### Semi-finals

* 12 April 2003 12:30 (AEST)
| QLD Scorchers | 3–0 | WA Diamonds |
| Faulkner 37', 49' Pamenter 58' | Report | |
* Stadium: Tasmanian Hockey Centre
* 12 April 2003 14:30 (AEST)
| Canberra Strikers | 0–1 | VIS Vipers |
| | Report | Merrett 56' |
* Stadium: Tasmanian Hockey Centre

##### Third and fourth place

* 13 April 2003 12:30 (AEST)
| WA Diamonds | 3–4 | Canberra Strikers |
| Calton 23' Napier 33' Dalby 53' | Report | Gallagher 15' Powell 21', 28' Nightingale 59' |
* Stadium: Tasmanian Hockey Centre

##### Final

* 13 April 2003 14:30 (AEST)
| QLD Scorchers | 3–3 | VIS Vipers |
| Cole 18' Smith 49' Holmes 63' | Report | Johnston 26', 30' Harvey 58' |
| Penalties |||
| | 4–5 | |
* Stadium: Tasmanian Hockey Centre

## Awards

| Player of the League | Top Goalscorer | Player of the Final |
| Carmel Bakurski | Katrina Powell | Rachel Imison |

## Statistics
### Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | WD | LD | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| | VIS Vipers | 13 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 34 | 19 | +15 | 36 | Gold Medal |
| | QLD Scorchers | 13 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 45 | 20 | +25 | 40 | Silver Medal |
| | Canberra Strikers | 13 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 38 | 17 | +21 | 39 | Bronze Medal |
| 4 | WA Diamonds | 13 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 26 | 27 | −1 | 26 | |
| 5 | NSWIS Arrows | 13 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 24 | 22 | +2 | 24 | |
| 6 | Adelaide Suns | 13 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 21 | 32 | −11 | 15 | |
| 7 | Tassie Van Demons | 13 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 19 | 36 | −17 | 12 | |
| 8 | Territory Pearls | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 14 | 48 | −34 | 0 | |

### Goalscorers

There were 221 goals scored in 52 matches, for an average of 4.25 goals per match.
17 goals
* Katrina Powell
10 goals
* Suzanne Faulkner
* Nicole Hudson
* Julie Towers
8 goals
* Nicole Dalby
7 goals
* Peta Gallagher
* Tamsin Johnston
6 goals
* Susannah Harris
* Megan Rivers
* Carmel Bakurski
* Anne-Marie Callow
* Linda Clement
* Samantha Judge
5 goals
* Shannon Bain
* Renae Holmes
* Louise Dobson
* Tate Napier
4 goals
* Emma Nightingale
* Megan Sargeant
* Renee Allen
* Karen Smith
3 goals
* Nicole Arrold
* Sarah Taylor
* Tammy Cole
* Lisa Pamenter
* Mignon Marles
* Donna-Lee Patrick
* Linda Harvey
* Maaike Kaufmann
* Shelly Liddelow
2 goals
* Dee Jennings
* Kellie-Lee James
* Bianca Netzler
* Natalie White-Muik
* Hanna Kozak
* Leah Smith
* Katrina Paterson
* Natalie Willims
* Sofie McLeod
* Emily Pickup
* Adele Brazenor
* Amanda Calton
* Emily Halliday
1 goal
* Kadi Rayner
* Rachael Roberts
* Joanne Banning
* Belinda Brooks
* Symone Bell
* Jane Bennett
* Victoria Bunce
* Michelle Caden
* Alison Markey
* Hope Brown
* Angela Skirving
* Kymberley Handley
* Rachel Militz
* Anna Souter
* Bernadette Colrain
* Nicole Geeves
* Lis Paget
* Rebecca Eastman
* Joanne Grunden
* Leah Merrett
* Jessica Monkivitch
* Ngaire Smith
* Seanna Stanford
* Renee Trost
* Elisa Hammond
* Kim Walker
* Fiona Young
Source: Hockey Australia