Midlands hockey teams have had important hit outs in Tauranga as the national championships loom.
The men's and women's teams will return to the Tauranga Hockey Centre in less than two weeks for their respective Ford NHL Tournament, but on Sunday played Tauranga-Bay of Plenty teams. The latter will play in the association national championships the same week in Tauranga.
The Midlands men's team were 8-0 winners on Sunday but coach Mark Borgers was not concerned with the result.
"The purpose was not just winning, it is also connecting with the regions and it was important to play there," Borgers says.
"We just need to tick boxes before the tournament. We pulled a man as if we were down for 10 minutes, so we needed to deal with that. You do some things right you do some wrong and then you discuss that.