SENTINEL HOMES TRANS-TASMAN SERIES MEDIA GUIDE

The Sentinel Homes Trans-Tasman series features four doubleheaders between the Vantage Black Sticks and the Kookaburras and Hockeyroos in the build-up to the Tokyo Olympics. All eight matches will be played at the new turf in Palmerston North.

The series is possible due to the opening of the trans-Tasman bubble in mid-April, allowing quarantine-free travel between the two countries. The matches will be the first internationals in New Zealand since the FIH Pro League was interrupted by Covid-19 in March last year. The Black Sticks squads for the Tokyo Olympics will be named in the week after the Trans- Tasman series.

Match schedule: Thursday 27 May 5.30pm Vantage Black Sticks Men v Kookaburras 7.30pm Vantage Black Sticks Women v Hockeyroos Friday 28 May 5.30pm Vantage Black Sticks Men v Kookaburras 7.30pm Vantage Black Sticks Women v Hockeyroos Sunday 30 May 1pm Vantage Black Sticks Women v Hockeyroos 3pm Vantage Black Sticks Men v Kookaburras Tuesday 1 June 5.30pm Vantage Black Sticks Women v Hockeyroos 7.30pm Vantage Black Sticks Men v Kookaburras Format: Matches are played in four 15-minute quarters. If a match is drawn, it will result in a best of five shootout followed by a sudden death shootout if needed. TV coverage: All eight matches will be broadcast live on either SKY Sport 2 or SKY Sport 9 as well as free to view on SKY Sport Next. Venue: The Massey University facility is a state of the art artificial hockey turf at the Manawatū campus that was opened in June 2020.

The international size turf is the third of its kind in Palmerston North and was built as a result of a partnership between Massey University, Palmerston North City Council and Hockey Manawatū.

The turf was laid by international company Polytan and mimics the one it built in Japan for the Tokyo Olympics, which is hailed as one of the most technologically advanced surfaces in the world. The electronic speed testing equipment that is installed within the turf is world leading.

The matches will be the first internationals in Palmerston North since 2014 when the Black Sticks women played the USA.

Teams (full squad lists on pages 4-7) Four uncapped players feature in the Vantage Black squads of 22 to face in the Sentinel Homes Trans-Tasman series.

Likely to make their debuts are Wellington defender Oliver MacIntyre and the Hawke’s Bay pair of Sean Findlay (midfielder) and Sam Hiha (striker), while striker Tyler Lench is the only uncapped player in the women’s squad.

The Black Sticks Men will welcome back prolific goalscorer Nick Wilson who last played for his country five years ago at the Rio Olympics. The squads also feature six women (Ella Gunson, , , Rose Keddell, and ) and five men (Steve Edwards, Shea McAleese, , and ) with more than 200 caps.

Recent history between the two teams:

2019 Oceania Cup – Women

The last time the Black Sticks Women played the Hockeyroos was in the Oceania Cup in Rockhampton in September 2019, where the Kiwis won the series to qualify for Tokyo.

5 September New Zealand 3 (Megan Hull, Amy Robinson, Stacey Michelsen) Australia 1

7 September Australia 3 New Zealand 2 (Olivia Merry, Ella Gunson)

8 September New Zealand 1 (Olivia Merry) Australia 1. 2019 Oceania Cup – Men At the same time the Kookaburras won the men’s Oceania Cup with two wins and a draw.

5 September Australia 4 New Zealand 0

7 September New Zealand 2 (Jacob Smith, ) Australia 2

8 September Australia 2 New Zealand 0.

What’s next for the Vantage Black Sticks?

The Vantage Black Sticks will head to to face the Hockeyroos and the Kookaburras in a two-match series on 26 and 27 June. The two doubleheaders are the postponed FIH Pro League matches between the two nations that were originally scheduled to be played around Anzac Day this year. FIH Pro League – Australia v New Zealand Perth Hockey Stadium at Curtin University Saturday 26 June Kookaburras v Vantage Black Sticks Men 12.30pm local time (4.30pm NZT) Hockeyroos v Vantage Black Sticks Women 3pm local time (7pm NZT) Sunday 27 June Kookaburras v Vantage Black Sticks Men 12.30pm local time (4.30pm NZT) Hockeyroos v Vantage Black Sticks Women 3pm local time (7pm NZT)

23 July – 8 Postponed Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan Aug 2021 Hockey schedule https://olympics.com/tokyo- 2020/en/schedule/hockey-schedule

Feb to May FIH Pro League – first NZ matches Home and away 2022 Black Sticks Women v China (5 Feb 2022) Full women’s draw https://tms.fih.ch/competitions/1296/reports/matches

Black Sticks Men v India (5 Feb 2022) Full men’s draw https://tms.fih.ch/competitions/1295/reports/matches

3 –17 July FIH Women’s World Cup Terrassa, Spain and 2022 Amstelveen, Netherlands 28 July – 8 Birmingham, England August 2022 13 – 29 FIH Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar and January Rourkela, India 2023 Vantage Black Sticks Women squad of 22

Shirt no. Name Caps (goals) Position 1 63 (1) Defender 2 Olivia Shannon 25 (3) Striker 4 Olivia Merry 232 (112) Striker 5 78 Defender 7 Kayla Whitelock 256 (63) Midfielder 12 Ella Gunson 221 (10) Defender Samantha Charlton (vice- 13 captain) 251 (8) Midfielder 14 Tyler Lench Striker 15 Grace O'Hanlon 61 Goalkeeper 16 Elizabeth Thompson 187 (12) Defender 17 Stephanie Dickins 24 (1) Defender 19 Tessa Jopp 23 (1) Midfielder 20 Megan Hull 31 (1) Defender 21 Alia Jaques 13 (1) Striker 22 Katie Doar 15 Midfielder 24 Rose Keddell 207 (16) Midfielder 25 95 (13) Midfielder 27 Holly Pearson 19 Striker 31 Stacey Michelsen (captain) 287 (34) Midfielder 33 Julia King 123 (8) Midfielder 34 Hope Ralph 8 (2) Striker 42 Georgia Barnett 35 Goalkeeper

Hockeyroos squad of 27

Shirt no. Name Caps (goals) Position 1 Sophie Taylor 34 (1) Defender 2 Rosie Malone 51 (11) Striker 3 171 (26) Midfielder 4 Amy Lawton 14 (3) Midfielder 5 121 Goalkeeper 6 Penny Squibb 10 (1) Defender 7 3 Goalkeeper 8 Georgia Wilson 38 Midfielder 10 75 (16) Defender 11 Meg Pearce Midfielder 12 Greta Hayes 9 Midfielder 13 Edwina Bone 202 (5) Defender 14 64 (7) Midfielder 15 82 (4) Midfielder 16 Courtney Schonell Midfielder 18 182 (18) Midfielder 19 51 Goalkeeper 20 Karri Somerville 2 Defender 21 Renee Taylor 82 (8) Midfielder 22 127 (1) Defender 23 Kalindi Commerford 50 (8) Midfielder 24 83 (15) Striker 26 Emily Chalker 244 (82) Striker 27 223 Goalkeeper 30 Grace Stewart 86 (25) Striker 31 Laura Barden 44 (5) Defender 32 60 (13) Striker

Vantage Black Sticks Men squad of 22

Shirt no. Name Caps (goals) Position 2 Oliver MacIntyre Defender 3 David Brydon 53 Defender 4 77 (2) Defender 7 130 (4) Midfielder 9 Sam Hiha Striker 10 Steve Edwards 220 (23) Midfielder 11 Jacob Smith 86 (12) Striker 12 Sam Lane 65 (20) Striker 14 134 (26) Midfielder 15 George Enersen 61 Goalkeeper 17 128 (21) Defender 21 Kane Russell 161 (70) Defender 22 Blair Tarrant (captain) 212 (4) Defender 23 Dylan Thomas 27 (2) Midfielder 24 Sean Findlay Midfielder 25 Shea McAleese 310 (33) Defender 27 Stephen Jenness 250 (91) Striker 28 58 (8) Midfielder 29 Hugo Inglis (vice-captain) 232 (66) Midfielder 30 George Muir 141 (18) Striker 32 Nick Wilson 170 (76) Striker 34 Leon Hayward 7 Goalkeeper

Kookaburras squad of 22

Shirt no. Name Caps (goals) Position 1 49 (11) Midfielder 2 101 (29) Midfielder 4 70 (3) Defender 5 54 (24) Striker 6 Matthew Dawson 140 (12) Defender 7 Nathan Ephraums 4 Striker 9 Jacob Anderson 23 (9) Striker 10 Josh Beltz 41 (3) Defender 11 (co-captain) 366 (71) Defender 12 Jake Whetton 203 (64) Midfielder 13 98 (85) Striker 14 Dylan Martin Midfielder 15 Josh Simmonds 19 (1) Defender 16 Tim Howard 61 (1) Defender 17 (co-captain) 191 (25) Midfielder 22 109 (21) Midfielder 23 Daniel Beale 177 (28) Midfielder 24 145 Goalkeeper 25 173 (79) Midfielder 29 40 (16) Striker 30 181 Goalkeeper 32 156 (65) Defender