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UNSW elite athletes the heroes in exciting weekend

It was a big weekend for two members of UNSW's Elite Athlete Program

Published on the 18 November 2019

It was a big weekend for two members of UNSW's Elite Athlete Program - Environmental Management student Carly Leeson and  Actuarial Studies / Commerce student and UNSW's Male Athlete of the Year Tim Brand both brought out some much needed heroics at the perfect times for their teams.

Competing in the grand final of Hockey One - Australia's new hockey national league - in Melbourne on Saturday afternoon, Tim Brand led the charge for NSW Pride with an incredible hat-trick of goals in the first half.

The competition has made some exciting new additions to the traditional rules of hockey, one of which is the opportunity for players to attempt a 'conversion' after scoring a field goal. A conversion is a set shot at goal by the same player who scored the field goal, taking on the keeper in a penalty style attempt.

Brand nailed two penalty goals and a conversion on the weekend to set up a sensational win for his team. Fellow UNSW elite athlete Kurt Lovett was also part of the team that went through the entire season undefeated to finish with a dominant 8-3 win over the Brisbane Blaze to claim the inaugural title.

And then on Sunday, Carly Leeson was handed nearly an impossible task, coming in to bat at number nine for her Melbourne Renegades side with the team in a lot of trouble and needing 32 runs to win off 17 balls.

Leeson, better known for her bowling, had bowled a tight couple of overs against her old team the Sydney Sixers and wasn't necessarily expected to be needed with the bat, coming so far down the order. But the Sixers were taking wickets with alarming regularity and the required run rate was edging up towards 12 an over. 

Leeson made her intentions known with a six and a four in quick succession showing her determination to try to win this game. She was run out with two balls remaining thanks to a incredible direct hit from Lauren Smith, but her spirited batting had inspired her batting partner Courtney Webb and with five runs required for victory from the final ball, Webb smashed it over the boundary for six and to win the game.

Thanks to Leeson's sensational 16 runs from 10 balls at a crucial moment in the game, her team was victorious and now moves into the competition's top four. It was incredible batting against very formidable opponents and Leeson and her team will be aiming to continue down that path and hold on to their top four position with semi finals less than three weeks away.