Oz strikers bolster Northland

Two Australian imports will play for the 2010 Mark Cromie Northland Women's Hockey team at next month's National Hockey League tournament.
Fringe Hockeyroo strikers Hollie Webster and Emma Cobbin were brought into the squad to bolster the Northland NHL squad following the loss of Charlotte Harrison, Ella Gunson and possibly Anna Thorpe to international representative duties with the Black Sticks at the World Cup in Argentina, at the end of August.
Thorpe injured her quadricep muscle before last month's Champions Trophy and will undergo a medical test on Wednesday to see if she is fit enough to contest the World Cup. If not it is possible she may get some gametime with Northland during the NHL, which gets underway on September 11-12.
Both Webster, 19, and Cobbin, 22, play for the New South Wales Institute of Sport team and were part of the Jillaroos Australian side who contested the Junior Hockey World Cup in Boston last year.
Coach Alan Lints said: "We had to allow for the losses of our Black Sticks ... while we play with big hearts we have to win games - and we need to start scoring goals to do that. Already our sessions have been based around attack and scoring goals."
An initial team of 12 players had to be submitted to Hockey New Zealand earlier this week, with the final squad of 18 to be named on August 23. Lints submitted the 12, but was reluctant to publicise it as he believed players not knowing who was in the squad would keep them on their toes, he said.
"We are training with 19 at the moment and will need to confirm our 18 next week ... most of the girls have a fair idea but the competition is great and training is going really well."
Meanwhile, ITM Rosvall Northland men's coach Mike Delaney confirmed 12 players from a 20-man training squad.
Delaney opted to include  Wellington's Greg Paynter and New South Wales State team players Rob Green and Troy Sutherland, in the initial 12, to create competition for the remaining six places, he said.
Northland Women (18 to be chosen): Jackie Armstrong, Tania Crene, Laura Douglas, Nicky Howes, Jade McLeod, Jo McQueen, Nicky Mathews, Elley Miller, Alana Millington, Brooke Neal, Jodie Nichol, Hannah Nink, Izzy Shelswell, Melissa Simpson, Hollie Smith, Jane Thomson, Rana Vette, Hollie Webster (IGP), Emma Cobbin (IGP).
Northland Men (initial 12): John Child, Sam Webb, Greg Paynter (GP), Rob Green (IGP), Troy Sutherland (IGP), Dave Adams, Malcolm Rawnsley, Mark Thorne (Player of Origin), Brad Cotton, James Delaney (PO), Toby Peacock, Tom Keogh (PO). The full squad also includes: Lief Nechwatal, Brent Markwick, Gaurav Correa, Sean Laidlaw, Alex Nicholson, Jimmy Watene, Chad Cahalane, Keeley Jonson.