Black Sticks Named for Oceania Olympic Qualifier in Hobart

21 September, 2011 Media release Black Sticks named for Oceania Olympic Qualifier in Hobart The Black Sticks national coaches have named their teams for the 2011 Oceania Olympic Qualifier to be played in Hobart from 6-9 October, 2011. The Oceania region has two Olympic allocations courtesy of world rankings for both men and women and with Fiji having pulled out it gives Australia and New Zealand automatic qualification to the London Olympics. The qualifier will now be a three test series between the two rival teams. The national coaches say the qualifier will be more about getting further test experience against Australia and gaining valuable world ranking points. Black Sticks Women’s coach Mark Hager has named an experienced team, selecting the same 18 players who beat Australia in pool play and went on to win bronze at the 2011 Champions Trophy in July in Amsterdam. “This will be a hard fought series against a top team - there is so much rivalry between these two sides. With us ranked sixth and Australia ranked seventh, we will need to win the series in order to hold our position,” says Hager. Black Sticks Men’s coach Shane McLeod has chosen a very experienced men’s team with players like Phil Burrows, Blair Hopping and Dean Couzins – all who rack up a total 730 test caps. This will be the opportunity to take on world champions Australia, which will be invaluable in their build up to the Champions Trophy being held at North Harbour in early December. “This Olympic qualifier forms a key component of our preparation towards Champions Trophy and will allow us to test our game against a world champion, gold medal team. Australia play with pace and aggression; they are clinical in attack and punish other teams for their errors. We will need to match their aggression and pace; increase our scoring opportunities and finish off the opportunities we create,” says McLeod. Both teams will be Auckland based in the week prior to the Oceania Cup. “To have the team centralised for a week will help us work on our set plays and game strategy before we leave for Hobart,” says McLeod. The Black Sticks 2012 London Olympic teams will be announced in June next year. Click here for the tournament schedule . Both teams depart on Saturday 1 October – the Black Sticks Men at 4.35pm and the Black Sticks Women at 7.20am - from Auckland International Airport. The teams are named on the following pages. Black Sticks Women – Oceania Cup, 6-9 October Hobart, Australia Shirt # Player Name NHL Team Position Age Caps 1 Kayla Sharland Central Midfielder 25 139 2 Emily Naylor Central Midfielder 25 163 3 Krystal Forgesson Auckland Striker 29 128 5 Katie Glynn Auckland Striker 22 58 8 Sally Rutherford Midlands Goalkeeper 30 15 9 Alana Millington Northland Defender 23 21 12 Ella Gunson Northland Defender 22 53 16 Clarissa Eshuis Midlands Defender 24 93 17 Lucy Talbot Auckland Defender 22 50 20 Sam Harrison Auckland Midfielder 20 59 21 Cathryn Finlayson Midlands Striker 22 35 22 Gemma Flynn Midlands Midfielder 21 81 23 Anna Thorpe Northland Striker 27 52 27 Sophie Devine Canterbury Defender 22 21 28 Charlotte Harrison Northland Striker 22 124 30 Bianca Russell North Harbour Goalkeeper 33 28 31 Stacey Michelsen Northland Midfielder 20 68 32 Anita Punt Capital Midfielder 23 63 Average age: 24 Average caps: 70 Team Management Head Coach Mark Hager Assistant Coach Greg Nicol Assistant Coach Chris Leslie Manager Debbie Balme Physiotherapist Fiona O’Connor Performance Analyst Ian Hicks Black Sticks Men – Oceania Cup, 6-9 October Hobart, Australia Shirt # Player Name NHL Team Position Age Caps 5 Andy Hayward Midlands Defender 26 109 6 Simon Child Auckland Forward 23 149 7 Blair Hopping Midlands Defender 31 237 8 Dean Couzins Auckland Defender 30 234 9 Blair Hilton Capital Forward 22 59 12 Bradley Shaw Canterbury Defender 28 121 15 Stephen Graham Midlands Goalkeeper 26 25 17 Kyle Pontifex Capital Goalkeeper 31 127 18 Phillip Burrows Auckland Midfielder 31 259 22 Blair Tarrant Southern Defender 21 39 25 Shea McAleese Central Midfielder 27 137 26 Matt L’Huillier Capital Defender 24 11 27 Stephen Jenness Capital Forward 21 29 28 Richard Petherick Midlands Defender 25 76 29 Hugo Inglis Southern Forward 20 60 30 Ben Collier Central Midfielder 27 125 31 Steve Edwards North Harbour Midfielder 25 129 32 Nick Wilson Central Forward 21 90 Average age: 26 Average caps: 112 Team Management Head Coach Shane McLeod Assistant Coach Darren Smith Assistant Coach Sean Dancer Manager Keith Rowley Physiotherapist Peter Lee Performance Analyst Ian Hicks [ENDS] For more information contact: Julia King 027 291 2873 Communications Manager Hockey New Zealand .

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