BADMINTON - Nuttall is banking on home advantage

The Northland badminton association will be out to prove that size isn't everything by hosting the Big Frog North Island Open this weekend.
Big badminton events rarely leave Auckland these days, and if they do it's usually to Hamilton or Wellington. So the tournament represents a rare chance for Northland sports fans to see top-class players in action.
While the recession may have restricted the number of players in this weekend's tournament, the quality of the competition has not been seen in Northland for years.
Fifteen players have entered the men's singles event, including two players who will soon be competing for places in New Zealand's Commonwealth Games team, Waikato's Bjorn Seguin and former Southland player James Eunson.
The women's competition may be smaller but is also likely to feature some entertaining matches, and if the results follow the event's seeding, the final is likely to be a repeat of last year's under-23 national championship finals at Easter, which saw Southland's Anna Rankin beat Auckland's Clare Chapple.
Although Northland's most famous badminton player John Moody - who is still the No.1-ranked Kiwi - is now living in Sydney and won't be back for the event, his heir-apparent Dean Nuttall, will be here.
Nuttall, who left Whangarei four years ago to move to Auckland to train with the national squad, is thrilled to see Northland hosting a top event.
"Last year they had an open up there but it wasn't as well-backed as this year's, and combining it with the North Island champs means that a lot of the top players will be there, so let's hope the public come along to see it as well," he said.
Nuttall, who is expected to break into the top five ranked players in the country, is hopeful of making the final but will face a tough test to get there.
If he gets through his first-round match, he will face an obstacle in former Bay of Plenty player Brent Miller and then a likely semifinal up against No.1 seed Seguin.
Returning home will allow Nuttall to spend time with his family - on court, too. He will join forces with his father David in the men's doubles. "We normally play together in a tournament every year just for some fun so that's what we do for some father-and-son laughs," Nuttall said.
He also will play with his sister Michelle in the mixed doubles.
The involvement of satellite broadband providers Big Frog has helped the event, but also the association's top effort at hosting last year's under-19 test series against Australia has been a big factor in getting the championships this year, Northland president Aaron Spense said. "I think it was more of a reflection of the work (executive officer) Delwyn (Clements) did with the Pan Pacific Championships here last year, such a good job was done that we got the opportunity to host a major event," Spense said.
The first two rounds of the singles will be played at Badminton Hall at Porowini Ave from 7pm tomorrow , with the doubles and mixed doubles starting on Saturday morning. The finals are scheduled to start at about 5pm on Saturday evening.