Mikaela Patterson
“The Weekly Times”, Wednesday 7 November 2018, article
HOCKEYROOS sensation Mikaela Patterson, lawn bowls whiz Jack McShane and rising middle distance runner Jacob Leon are the fifth, sixth and seventh monthly winners in the 2018–19 TWT Club Six/Ryde Sports Foundation Sports Star of the Year Award.
Mikaela Patterson is one of the most exciting attacking midfielders on the national hockey scene and a fine ambassador for the famous Ryde-Hunters Hill Panthers Hockey Club.
22 year old Mikaela earned her international spurs last season when she made her debut for the Hockeyroos against Japan in Adelaide followed by a Four Nations tournament in the island nation.
A dynamo on the field, Patterson demonstrated her poise and skills against more seasoned opponents to push her claims for a regular spot.
The Panthers’ Senior Club Captain has now chalked up seven appearances for the Hockeyroos over the past twelve months and is currently on tour with the Australia A team in China.
It has been a rewarding period for the Panthers product who was earmarked for higher honours from an early age—representing NSW at school and junior level and figuring prominently in national championship winning teams and being named in the Hockey Australia Futures squad.
Mikaela was involved in the Australian junior hockey set-up for four years, playing a key role in the Australian Jillaroos side that claimed a bronze medal at the Women’s U/21 World Cup in Santiago, Chile, during 2016.
She was also a key member of the NSW Arrows team that captured the Women’s Australian Hockey League title with an epic 7-6 victory over Queensland Scorchers last month.
But while realising her dream of playing for the Hockeyroos, one of Mikaela’s proudest achievements was helping Ryde-Hunters Hill clinch an historic Sydney Women’s Hockey Metro League 1 premiership last season.
Tim Collier’s courageous Pantherettes produced a stunning display to bury title favourites Gordon-North Sydney 5-2 in the 2017 Grand Final at Sydney Olympic Park and bring home Ryde’s first-ever top grade women’s premiership since their promotion to the top tier Sydney Women’s Premier Hockey League eight years ago.
Inspired by Patterson—the best player on ground—the Ryde team displayed skill and courage to upset the highly fancied GNS and claim bragging rights.
Young Mikaela showed her class as she sparked the attack with her precision passing and elusive running to engineer a rousing triumph and stamp the Pantherettes as local heroes.