Young Northland players acquit themselves well

Northland's under-18 boys' and girls' hockey teams put in some top performances against challenging opposition at their national premier tournaments.
The under-18 girls, featuring Northland NHL players Elley Millar and Melissa Simpson, played their six-day tournament in Wellington, where they finished in sixth spot out of 16 teams after going down 2-0 to Waikato on Saturday.
Northland started the tournament with a 3-0 win over Mid/South Canterbury, followed by another three-goal win over Nelson, whom they defeated 6-3.
Canterbury proved tougher, and the girls drew 1-1, before suffering their first loss to Wairarapa, going down 4-1.
Northland fought back in their second crossover match to beat Otago 2-0 but despite just one loss, they were left to play off for fifth position. They came off second best to the stronger Waikato team however, and settled for sixth.
North Harbour were the eventual winners of the girls' tournament, beating Auckland 2-0 in the playoff for first and second.
Northland under-18 boys were tested at their national premier tournament in Auckland.
After a heavy 5-1 loss to Wellington, followed by a 4-3 loss to Otago last Monday, Northland came back with a determined 4-1 victory over Nelson and then beat Tauranga by three goals.
Their 2-1 loss to Manawatu set them up to face Wairarapa in the play off for 11th and 12th spot. They were too good for Wairarapa winning 6-1 to claim 11th position.
Auckland took out the boys' under-18 national title when they defeated Wellington 3-2.