While the Lithgow Panthers men and St Pat’s women were ultimately crowned champions, before then there were moments at the Bathurst, Orange and Lithgow hockey complexes which grabbed the attention of Premier League fans.

Here are 10 of the more memorable moments from the season, in no particular order.

NATURALLY grand final day had to make it right?

It was a day which saw torrential rain and huge puddles on the turf but – wait for it – that did not put a dampener on things.

In the women’s decider, St Pat’s beat Lithgow Panthers 5-2 to end a five-year title drought.

The 10 minutes just after half-time opened the game up as the Saints blasted in three goals in quick succession.

“I am very proud, very, very proud. You put a lot of time into this, a lot of love and care and to see it finally come to fruition, it’s like ‘Thank goodness’. That was just awesome,” Saints coach Jaden Ekert said.

The men’s decider saw Lithgow Panthers beat Souths 6-2 to make it five premierships in six years.

Souths scored first as it looked to end a title drought, but led by a standout performance from Brandon Horner, the Panthers fought back.

“He scores goals from anywhere and he’s outstanding up front feeding the ball and doing his thing,” Panthers Nic Milne said of his team-mate.

THOUGH the men’s Premier League Hockey competition saw a drop in participating teams, the women’s draw saw the return of Orange CYMS.

And what a return it was.

CYMS last stood alone as a side in the women’s competition in 2007 before merging with Kinross a year later. Those two sides played as one until the end of 2014.

People were unsure how competitive CYMS would be after such an absence, but with former Hockeyroos star Jade Georgiou (nee Warrender) in its ranks and a player with Australian Hockey League experience like Meredith Bone, the Orange team impressed.

CYMS made it all the way to the preliminary final an even then only went down 3-2 in golden-goal extra-time to eventual premiers St Pat’s.

“To go down the death in the preliminary final – that’s an amazing achievement. That’s an extraordinary reflection of the players and the effort they have put in during the year,” CYMS coach Pete Shea said.

WHILE Souths finished season 2018 as the bridesmaids once again – losing to Lithgow Panthers in Lithgow for the third consecutive season – before then the two blues did enjoy a moment of triumph.

It came in round four when, for the first time in five years, Souths beat Lithgow Panthers at the Lithgow Hockey Complex.

The two blues posted an 8-2 triumph over a Panthers team which had scored 20 goals in their two prior games.

“I’m extremely happy with how the match went today, this was probably the best match we have played in years,” Souths coach Ray Winwood-Smith said. 

IT is no great secret that there is an intense rivalry between the two Lithgow men’s teams and that Panthers has enjoyed more success than Zig Zag.

But in round 11 Zig Zag enjoyed one of its greatest wins over its local rival, downing Panthers 9-0.

Yes Panthers was below full strength and Zig Zag’s line up included fielded Commonwealth Games gold medallist Lachi Sharp, but it was still a memorable moment.

Zig Zag captain Luke Sheppard had a field day as he finished with four goals.

“We came into this game really pumped – it’s always a good game between us and Panthers,” Sheppard said. 

“We played really strong and had a really good win.”

WHEN looking back on the premiership winning season of the St Pat’s women, there is little doubt a crucial moment came in a game they did not in fact win.

It was a 3-all draw against Bathurst rivals Souths – one in which the two blues scored three times in the final four minutes – which spurred the Saints on for the rest of the season.

Though the result was a bitter disappointment for the Saints, who had controlled the most of the contest, Souths players will have fond memories of that day.

Emma Siejka in particular enjoyed it as she scored the match-winner in the final minute.

“We made a final attack down the right hand side, the cross was sent in and I just took a slog at it,” she said.

“I was stoked because at first I didn’t know if it had gone in. I dived, fell as I hit it, and then suddenly all the girls are around me saying it went in.”

CONFEDERATES is a side which has often been described as ‘gallant in defeat’, but in 2018 the work done to develop its junior players began to pay off.

Ultimately Feds missed out on the finals, but along the way its success stories included snapping a six-year winless streak against Ex-Services.

Feds goalkeeper Kathryn Cox was the star as her side posted a 3-0 win in round seven. It was her team’s first win over the blue and golds since re-entering the competition back in 2012.

“We were able to create chances up front by capitalising on good defence and midfield work, and we were able to finish them,” coach Fiona Reith said.

BATHURST City and women’s Premier League Hockey grand finals seem to always go hand-in-hand, but in 2018 the powerhouse club exited the title race in the minor semi-final.

And who was it that prevented City from reaching its fifth consecutive decider? Orange CYMS’ Libby Smith.

It was Smith who scored a 74th minute golden goal in extra-time in the elimination match at Bathurst to hand CYMS a thrilling 4-3 win.

“I pretty much just had Pete’s [coach Pete Shea] voice in the back of my head saying ‘Hit the thing’. That’s all it’s been at training, hit the ball, hit the ball,” Smith said.

“It was so good when it went in, it was the best feeling ever … It’s always a tough game with them, they always put up a real good fight.” 

IT took them 17 attempts, but Orange Wanderers finally posted its first men’s Premier League Hockey win over St Pat’s in 2018.

In the first 16 meetings Pat’s had the impressive record of 13 wins and three draws against the Orange outfit, but in round 14 that unbeaten streak came to an end.

Wanderers posted a 4-1 win over the blue and whites at Bob Roach Field, Luke Skelton’s strike with a tick over three minutes left on the clock sealing the memorable moment.

“When they scored [their goal] I looked at the clock and saw less than 10 minutes to go. I thought ‘Right, they need one goal every five minutes’ I think we can hold them out. But I didn’t feel safe, it was a really good contest,” Wanderers defender Logan Dolbel said.

THE old cliche ‘anything can happen in a derby’ seems to be trotted out regularly each Premier League Hockey season, but Orange CYMS and Confederates proved it can be true.

Twice in season 2018 CYMS looked headed for victory in a women’s Premier League Hockey match against Confederates, and twice the green and golds had to settle for a draw.

In round six it was Eva Reith-Snare who found the back of the net to equalise in the dying stages while in round 13, Confederates’ Dubbo-based recruit Phoebe Bloink Hollier slashed a 62nd minute goal to force the deadlock.

THE men’s Premier League Hockey season was only a round old when Souths coach Ray Winwood-Smith offered an opinion which really stirred the pot.

With Parkes unable to field a side due to lack of numbers, and both Bathurst City and Dubbo having withdraw the season prior, it left five teams to battle it out in 2018.

It led Winwood-Smith to question the future of the men’s competition.

“I think the Premier League Hockey men’s comp is a dying comp. I don’t think it’s got many years left,” he said.

“You have a five-team comp, which is good in the sense that it will be close and competitive. But if we lose another team this year, or next year, then the comp falls over.

“It might come back to a town comp. If we didn’t have Premier League Hockey and it came back to that then that might be a good thing, I don’t know.”