Reading’s women finished the first phase of the English league season in spectacular style as they defeated second-placed Hampstead & Westminster 3-0 last weekend.

Reading’s goals came from Lorna Mackenzie, Caroline Spence and Anna-Rose Gabbitass and saw them move above Wimbledon into fourth. The game also provided goalkeeper Nicki Cochrane with her third clean sheet of the season.

It gives them a nice winter boost ahead of the new year which will see them make their debut in the Euro Hockey League next Easter with a date against Mannheimer HC on the agenda.

Surbiton are the pace-setters so far in the league with 29 points from the 33 available, meaning they will be the side to beat when it comes to the top six phase in the new year.

There, East Grinstead and Durham University have also made the cut as the league splits in half.

Surbiton’s men made it 11 wins out of 11 to conclude the first stage of the English Premier Division with a 100% record last Saturday.

They firmly extinguished any hopes Reading had of a top-six finish with a 10-1 win with eight different goalscorers including Gareth Furlong netting a hat-trick of corners.

Nick Bandurak scored the last of their goals to maintain his record of scoring in every game to date and consolidate his position as leading scorer.

It leaves them seven points clear of second-placed Wimbledon after their 8-1 win at Oxted, including a hat-trick for Louis Tipper.

Old Georgians, meanwhile, were 7-0 winners over Cardiff & Met to sit in third place in the table going into the winter break, adding to their famous progression in the EHL in October.

Both Surbiton and OGs are looking forward to Easter where the former will face Club de Campo de Madrid whole the latter are drawn to face reigning champions Gantoise.

For the English competition, the league splits in the new year into top six and bottom six groupings with Hampstead & Westminster, Holcombe and Oxted completing the upper echelons.

Xan de Waard and Tom Boon have been named the FIH Players of the Year for 2025 following their super years.

SCHC’s de Waard delivered yet another outstanding campaign for the Netherlands, blending vision, technical precision and leadership at the highest level.

Her pivotal contributions and consistent clutch performances throughout the FIH Hockey Pro League season and the EuroHockey Championships, both of which ended in triumphs for the world number one Dutch side, have reinforced her status as one of the world’s premier midfield talents.

Key highlights of her year include a commanding role in the Netherlands’ success at the Euros as the Dutch side won a record-extending 13th title at the continental competition.

She was also a standout presence in the FIH Hockey Pro League, consistently delivering against elite opposition, and as the captain, drove her team’s momentum and success.

Under her stewardship the Dutch women’s side picked up their fifth Pro League title in six seasons of the competition’s history, finishing the season eight points clear of the second placed Argentina. 

On the men’s side, Royal Léopold’s Tom Boon once again showed why he remains one of the most dangerous forwards in international hockey for the Belgian Red Lions.

With a blend of razor-sharp goal-scoring instincts and the ability to deliver in the big moments, he has been central to Belgium’s success for over a decade.

Boon was in rampant goal-scoring form during the FIH Hockey Pro League 2024/25 season. Mid-way through the season there were multiple players vying for the top-scorer title, but Boon’s second half burst left his competitors in the dust, as he ended the season with 21 goals, 9 clear of Sam Ward in second place

His goals and assists proved decisive in Belgium finishing second in the competition, which matched their best result in the competition since winning the title in season two.

Tom Boon’s leadership presence through both seasoned experience and present-day impact anchors Belgium’s attacking ambitions and competitive edge on the world stage.

His pivotal role in Belgium’s performance and enduring standard of excellence make him a worthy recipient of the FIH Player of the Year Award.

Rot-Weiss Köln and Germany goalkeeper Jean-Paul Danneberg has been named the FIH Goalkeeper of the Year awards following his sublime EuroHockey Championship performances in Mönchengladbach.

He was player of the match in the final as Germany lifted the trophy in dramatic fashion — a victory sealed in shoot-outs in which Danneberg played a starring role.

His composure and ability to make saves in the biggest pressure moments were pivotal both in winning gold and securing qualification for the coming World Cup.

Alongside his continental triumph, Danneberg’s performances in the FIH Hockey Pro League also underlined his class. Week after week, he faced world-class opposition, commanding his circle, orchestrating defence, and producing momentum-shifting saves with consistency.

His level of performance across the major events has marked him out as the premier goalkeeper in the world this season.

With his elite performances between the sticks directly influencing Germany’s success, Jean-Paul Danneberg is a fitting recipient of the FIH Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year Award.

He took the prize ahead of England and Old Georgians star James Mazarelo and Oranje-Rood and Argentina’s Tomi Santiago.

On the women’s side, New Zealand’s Grace O’Hanlon took the top prize ahead of the Netherlands’ Anne Veenendaal and China’s Liu Ping.

After a couple of wild weeks in the men’s Hoofdklasse, Oranje-Rood have emerged at the winter break with a three-point lead ahead of comeback kings Pinoké.

It follows a highly competitive autumn phase of the competition with the top seven all showing form at different times.

Oranje-Rood secured their narrow advantage thanks to a 2-1 win in their Brabant derby with Den Bosch last weekend with Struan Walker netting the winner in the 49th minute.

The Scot has been one of the stories of the season; he was not initially on the Eindhoven club’s radar until Nick Bandurak’s move to the club fell through.

Bandurak suggested they look at Walker in his place and he has since struck 16 goals in 12 matches, including all four last week against SV Kampong.

Pinoké stormed back up to second as they recovered from 4-1 down with 16 minutes to go to beat Rotterdam 5-4 on Sunday with Miles Bukkens and Joep Troost scoring twice each.

It drops Rotterdam to third while Bloemendaal sit in fourth after a 2-0 win over HDM.

EHL FINAL8 sides AH&BC Amsterdam (sixth) and Kampong (seventh) have ground to make up as they currently sit outside the top four with the league taking a break until the end of February.

Irish champions Railway Union go into the winter break in third place of the women’s EY Hockey League with ground to make up on league leaders Loreto in the new year.

Railway are the only side to take points off their fellow Dublin outfit thus far with a 1-1 draw early in November; they subsequently drew with fellow top three side UCD to sit on 21 points after 11 rounds of matches.

Loreto, meanwhile, have an eight-point advantage over both of those clubs with nine wins out of 10 so far.

For Railway, it has been a season with plenty of transition during the summer with key internationals Róisín Upton and Sarah Hawkshaw both moving to Braxgata in Belgium while Katie Mullan has been limited to just a trio of appearances so far.

But they have been boosted by one of Ireland’s most exciting young talents Hollaí Quinn with the 16-year-old scoring six times in the league since moving from Corinthian.

She is part of the Irish Under-21 panel along with Matilde Errico while the likes of Niamh Gowing and sisters Sarah and Orla Patton are other vital components of the panel.

They are drawn to play Scotland’s Watsonians in the EHL Women’s FINAL12 next Easter.