Geraldton’s own Brayden King and Josh Bowen set to play in Mid West Festival of Hockey

The Mid West Festival of Hockey will be headlined by a clash between Perth Premier League sides Reds and Hale on Saturday afternoon featuring local talents Brayden King and Josh Bowen. Heading into round seven of the Premier League season, last year’s grand finalists the Reds currently sit in eighth place with two wins, one draw and three losses. Hale are in fourth with three wins and three draws. Hale co-captain and Geraldton local Brayden King said he was looking forward to playing in front of his hometown. “Yeah, I think it’s pretty exciting for Gero to have a game like this come back and it’s definitely pretty special to always go back to where you started and play a game.” The last time two Premier League teams played in Geraldton was back in 2014, the match featured Hale and Peel Rebel’s. “I think it’s very important, from the sounds of it, hockey in Gero is having a bit of a tough time,” he said. King said the emergence of women’s footy had hurt interest in hockey, particularly in Geraldton. “It’s pretty exciting, they just got two new turfs to really put hockey forward and back on the map for people to get interested in playing.” Aside from their playing duties, King and Bowen will also help nurture the next generation of Mid West hockey players, running a clinic on Saturday morning for under-12s and under-15s. The four-day festival will conclude with a panel breakfast at Skeetas featuring current and past Olympians.