# 2017 Men's Australian Hockey League

The 2017 Men's Australian Hockey League was 27th edition of the men's Australian Hockey League. The tournament was held between 28 September and 8 October 2017, in Perth, Western Australia. A total of 10 teams competed for the title.
Like the 2016 edition, invitational teams from India and New Zealand competed in the tournament.
The VIC Vikings won the tournament for the fourth time and the second year in a row, following a 3–0 penalty shoot-out win over the QLD Blades after the final finished a 1–1 draw. The NSW Waratahs won the bronze medal after defeating the India Development side 3–2 in the third place match.

## Competition format

Teams were split evenly into pools A and B where they compete in a single round-robin format.
At the conclusion of the initial pool stage, the top two teams in each pool progress to the medal playoffs in Pool C, while the remaining six teams progress to the classification matches in Pool D.
In Pool C, teams carry over points earned in previous matches and contest the teams they are yet to play. Final ranking in Pool C determines the final tournament standing from fifth to tenth place.
In Pool D, teams carry over points earned in previous matches and contest the teams they are yet to play. The top two teams then progress to the final, while the bottom two teams contest the third and fourth place playoff.

## Participating teams

| Dates | Event | Location | Qualifier(s) |
| Host state | Host state | Host state | WA Thundersticks |
| 29 September – 8 October 2016 | 2016 Men's AHL | Perth, WA | Canberra Lakers NSW Waratahs NT Stingers QLD Blades SA Hotshots Tassie Tigers VIC Vikings |
| Invitational Teams | Invitational Teams | Invitational Teams | IND Development NZLDevelopment |

## Results
### First round
#### Pool A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | VIC Vikings | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 5 | +11 | 10 | Medal Round |
| 2 | QLD Blades | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 8 | +13 | 9 | Medal Round |
| 3 | Tassie Tigers | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 8 | +7 | 7 | |
| 4 | SA Hotshots | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 23 | −16 | 3 | |
| 5 | NZL Development | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 19 | −15 | 0 | |
* 28 September 2017 10:30
| VIC Vikings | 8–2 | SA Hotshots |
| Ciriello 30' Kleinschmidt 33', 47', 50' Arunasalam 41', 51' Pollard 42' Scanlon 57' | Report | Larwood 12' Willson 14' |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 1 Umpires: Murray Grime (AUS) Ben de Young (AUS)
* 28 September 2017 12:30
| Tassie Tigers | 3–4 | QLD Blades |
| Arthur 12', 45+', 48' | Report | Wotherspoon 19' Rintala 27', 39' Bell 50' |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 1 Umpires: James Unkles (AUS) Matthew Claxton (AUS)
* 29 September 2017 13:00
| VIC Vikings | 4–0 | NZL Development |
| Ford 23', 29', 31' Hendry 50' | Report | |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 1 Umpires: Zeke Newman (AUS) Aaron Gotting (AUS)
* 29 September 2017 17:00
| Tassie Tigers | 6–0 | SA Hotshots |
| McHugh 10' Arthur 20', 31' McCambridge 28', 48' Mackey 50' | Report | |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 2 Umpires: Tim Pullman (AUS) Ben Hocking (AUS)
* 30 September 2017 15:00
| QLD Blades | 6–1 | NZL Development |
| Boyde 8', 57' Swann 16' Beale 30', 36' Elder 33' | Report | Thomas 16' |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 1 Umpires: Murray Grime (AUS) Matthew Claxton (AUS)
* 1 October 2017 17:00
| Tassie Tigers | 1–1 | VIC Vikings |
| McCambridge 20' | Report | Ciriello 22' |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 1 Umpires: Daniel Johnston (AUS) Gurbaj Singh (IND)
* 2 October 2017 17:00
| SA Hotshots | 4–0 | NZL Development |
| Mitchell 5', 59' Brown 20' Bowden 44' | Report | |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 2 Umpires: James Unkles (AUS) Ben Hocking (AUS)
* 2 October 2017 19:00
| QLD Blades | 2–3 | VIC Vikings |
| Anderson 26' Bell 57' | Report | Arunasalam 9' Ciriello 54' Kleinschmidt 55' |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 2 Umpires: Matthew Claxton (AUS) Gurbaj Singh (IND)
* 3 October 2017 17:30
| NZL Development | 3–5 | Tassie Tigers |
| Lett 53' Hyde 56' Andrews 60+' | Report | Dick 21' Arthur 36', 47', 50' Ockenden 54' |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 1 Umpires: Ben de Young (AUS) Stephen Rogers (AUS)
* 3 October 2017 19:30
| QLD Blades | 9–1 | SA Hotshots |
| Weyer 6', 59' Beale 12' Elder 19', 29', 56' Rintala 26', 43', 44' | Report | Willson 48' |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 1 Umpires: Murray Grime (AUS) James Unkles (AUS)

#### Pool B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | NSW Waratahs | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | +7 | 12 | Medal Round |
| 2 | IND Development | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 7 | Medal Round |
| 3 | WA Thundersticks | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 9 | −1 | 6 | |
| 4 | NT Stingers | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 4 | |
| 5 | Canberra Lakers | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 11 | −7 | 0 | |
* 28 September 2017 14:30
| Canberra Lakers | 0–3 | NSW Waratahs |
| | Report | Sharp 48' McEwen 56' T. Craig 59' |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 1 Umpires: Stephen Rogers (AUS) Gurbaj Singh (IND)
* 28 September 2017 16:30
| WA Thundersticks | 3–1 | NT Stingers |
| Mitton 10' Wickham 11' Flynn 51' | Report | Taylor 56' |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 1 Umpires: Zeke Newman (AUS) Tim Pullman (AUS)
* 29 September 2017 19:00
| WA Thundersticks | 1–4 | IND Development |
| Flynn 56' | Report | Qureshi 6' Yousuf 30' Rohidas 45' Talwinder 50' |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 1 Umpires: Stephen Rogers (AUS) Daniel Johnston (AUS)
* 30 September 2017 17:00
| Canberra Lakers | 2–3 | NT Stingers |
| Gupte 33' Sutherland 35' | Report | Wookey 24' Farmilo 36', 52' |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 1 Umpires: Ben Hocking (AUS) Ben de Young (AUS)
* 30 September 2017 19:00
| NSW Waratahs | 1–0 | IND Development |
| B. Govers 37' | Report | |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 1 Umpires: Aaron Gotting (AUS) James Unkles (AUS)
* 1 October 2017 19:00
| Canberra Lakers | 2–3 | WA Thundersticks |
| Turner 30' J. Staines 53' | Report | Main 14' Mitton 16' Wickham 59' |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 1 Umpires: Zeke Newman (AUS) Ben de Young (AUS)
* 2 October 2017 13:00
| NT Stingers | 1–1 | IND Development |
| Lockley 34' | Report | Umar 6' |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 2 Umpires: Murray Grime (AUS) Daniel Johnston (AUS)
* 2 October 2017 15:00
| NSW Waratahs | 2–1 | WA Thundersticks |
| B. Govers 50' T. Craig 53' | Report | Mitton 12' |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 2 Umpires: Tim Pullman (AUS) Stephen Rogers (AUS)
* 3 October 2017 13:30
| IND Development | 2–0 | Canberra Lakers |
| Yousuf 5' Qureshi 46' | Report | |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 1 Umpires: Daniel Johnston (AUS) Ben Hocking (AUS)
* 3 October 2017 15:30
| NSW Waratahs | 2–0 | NT Stingers |
| B. Govers 43' K. Govers 45+' | Report | |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 1 Umpires: Aaron Gotting (AUS) Tim Pullman (AUS)

### Second round
#### Fifth to tenth place classification
##### Pool D

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | WA Thundersticks | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 7 | +9 | 15 |
| 2 | NT Stingers | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 9 | +3 | 12 |
| 3 | Tassie Tigers | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 8 | +8 | 9 |
| 4 | Canberra Lakers | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 14 | −3 | 3 |
| 5 | NZL Development | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 18 | −7 | 3 |
| 6 | SA Hotshots | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 17 | −10 | 3 |
* 5 October 2017 10:00
| NZL Development | 2–3 | WA Thundersticks |
| Hanks 9' Thomas 25' | Report | Mitton 11' Wickham 18', 23' |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 2 Umpires: Gurbaj Singh (IND) Aaron Gotting (AUS)
* 5 October 2017 10:00
| Tassie Tigers | 1–2 | NT Stingers |
| McCambridge 3' | Report | Duguid 39' Farmilo 49' |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 1 Umpires: Ben Hocking (AUS) Matthew Claxton (AUS)
* 5 October 2017 12:00
| SA Hotshots | 1–4 | Canberra Lakers |
| Johns 53' | Report | Sutherland 5', 19' B. Staines 35' Turner 50' |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 2 Umpires: James Unkles(AUS) Daniel Johnston (AUS)
* 6 October 2017 10:00
| NZL Development | 2–4 | NT Stingers |
| Thomas 20' Andrews 23' | Report | Hayward 15', 17', 35' Farmilo 44' |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 2 Umpires: Ben de Young (AUS) Daniel Johnston (AUS)
* 6 October 2017 10:00
| Tassie Tigers | 3–1 | Canberra Lakers |
| Edwards 14' McCambridge 43' Welch 49' | Report | B. Staines 21' |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 1 Umpires: Gurbaj Singh (IND) Matthew Claxton (AUS)
* 6 October 2017 12:00
| SA Hotshots | 1–5 | WA Thundersticks |
| Willson 25' | Report | Flynn 12', 13' Mitton 20', 57', 58' |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 2 Umpires: Ben Hocking (AUS) Aaron Gotting (AUS)
* 7 October 2017 10:00
| NZL Development | 4–2 | Canberra Lakers |
| Hyde 10' Harris 14' Andrews 48' Lett 59' | Report | Day 18', 49' |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 1 Umpires: Matthew Claxton (AUS) Aaron Gotting (AUS)
* 7 October 2017 14:00
| SA Hotshots | 1–2 | NT Stingers |
| Willson 58' | Report | Hayward 2' Wookey 5' |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 1 Umpires: Daniel Johnston (AUS) Gurbaj Singh (AUS)
* 7 October 2017 18:00
| Tassie Tigers | 1–2 | WA Thundersticks |
| Arthur 44' | Report | Mitton 20' Flynn 32' |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 1 Umpires: James Unkles (AUS) Ben Hocking (AUS)

#### First to fourth place classification
##### Pool C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | VIC Vikings | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 8 | +4 | 7 | Final |
| 2 | QLD Blades | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 5 | +5 | 6 | Final |
| 3 | NSW Waratahs | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 4 | |
| 4 | IND Development | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 10 | −8 | 0 | |
* 5 October 2017 16:00
| QLD Blades | 4–2 | NSW Waratahs |
| Elder 2' Rintala 8' Anderson 42', 47' | Report | T. Craig 6' K. Govers 30' |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 1 Umpires: Murray Grime (AUS) Tim Pullman (AUS)
* 5 October 2017 18:00
| VIC Vikings | 5–2 | IND Development |
| Webster 1' Ciriello 18', 34', 49' Kleinschmidt 32' | Report | Rohidas 40', 45' |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 1 Umpires: Ben de Young (AUS) Stephen Rogers (AUS)
* 6 October 2017 16:00
| QLD Blades | 4–0 | IND Development |
| M. Pembroke 5' H. Pembroke 20' Rintala 42' Anderson 54' | Report | |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 1 Umpires: Tim Pullman (AUS) James Unkles (AUS)
* 6 October 2017 18:00
| VIC Vikings | 4–4 | NSW Waratahs |
| Ciriello 28', 31' Hammond 35' Gilmour 52' | Report | K. Govers 9' Dawson 25' Orchard 42' B. Govers 45' |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 1 Umpires: Ben de Young (AUS) Stephen Rogers (AUS)

##### Third and fourth place

* 8 October 2017 13:15
| NSW Waratahs | 3–2 | IND Development |
| T. Craig 39' Orchard 55' Sharp 56' | Report | Simranjeet 3' Yousuf 9' |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 1 Umpires: Stephen Rogers (AUS) Ben de Young (AUS)

##### Final

* 8 October 2017 17:45
| VIC Vikings | 1–1 | QLD Blades |
| Ciriello 51' | Report | Beale 36' |
| Penalties |||
| Webster Pollard Ford Kleinschmidt | 3–0 | Beale Weyer Wotherspoon |
* Perth Hockey Stadium: Pitch 1 Umpires: Murray Grime (AUS) Tim Pullman (AUS)

## Awards

| Player of the Tournament | Topscorer(s) | Player of the Final | GK of the Tournament | Play the Whistle |
| Mark Knowles | Kieron Arthur Chris Ciriello | Robert Bell | Johan Durst | QLD Blades |

## Statistics
### Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Final Result |
| | VIC Vikings | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 12 | +14 | 15 | Gold Medal |
| | QLD Blades | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 30 | 11 | +19 | 16 | Silver Medal |
| | NSW Waratahs | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 11 | +6 | 16 | Bronze Medal |
| 4 | IND Development | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 15 | −4 | 7 | |
| 5 | WA Thundersticks | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 13 | +5 | 15 | |
| 6 | NT Stingers | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 12 | +1 | 13 | |
| 7 | Tassie Tigers | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 20 | 13 | +7 | 10 | |
| 8 | Canberra Lakers | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 19 | −8 | 3 | |
| 9 | NZL Development | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 28 | −16 | 3 | |
| 10 | SA Hotshots | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 34 | −24 | 3 | |

### Goalscorers

There were 168 goals scored in 35 matches, for an average of 4.8 goals per match.
9 goals
* Kieron Arthur
* Chris Ciriello
8 goals
* Trent Mitton
7 goals
* Joel Rintala
5 goals
* Troy Elder
* Sam McCambridge
* Aaron Kleinschmidt
* Liam Flynn
4 goals
* Tom Craig
* Blake Govers
* Isaac Farmilo
* Jeremy Hayward
* Jacob Anderson
* Daniel Beale
* Kurtis Willson
* Tom Wickham
3 goals
* Troy Sutherland
* Amit Rohidas
* Affan Yousuf
* Kieran Govers
* Reuben Andrews
* Dylan Thomas
* Kiran Arunasalam
* Russell Ford
2 goals
* James Day
* Ben Staines
* Glenn Turner
* Armaan Qureshi
* Simon Orchard
* Lachlan Sharp
* Cam Hyde
* Dane Lett
* Oscar Wookey
* Robert Bell
* Scott Boyde
* Corey Weyer
* Daniel Mitchell
1 goal
* Niranjan Gupte
* Jake Staines
* Simranjeet Singh
* Talwinder Singh
* Mohammad Umar
* Matthew Dawson
* Nic McEwen
* Joe Hanks
* Daniel Harris
* Robert Duguid
* Adrian Lockley
* Jared Taylor
* Hugh Pembroke
* Matthew Pembroke
* Matthew Swann
* Dylan Wotherspoon
* Fraser Bowden
* Simon Brown
* Harry Johns
* Luke Larwood
* Jeremy Edwards
* Kurt Mackey
* Ian McHugh
* Eddie Ockenden
* Jack Welch
* Will Gilmour
* Casey Hammond
* Max Hendry
* Josh Pollard
* Andrew Scanlon
* James Webster
* Frank Main
Source: Hockey Australia