Dalefield duo become Capital gain

Two Dalefield players have been selected in the Capital national league men's hockey squad for 2010.
Jesse Workman and Dane Lett are among 23 players named by Capital head coach Sean Dancer _ also the assistant Blacks Sticks coach _ after trials which were open to hopefuls from the Wellington, Wairarapa, Nelson and Marlborough regions.
It is the first time for many years Wairarapa and Dalefield have had two players included in Capital's premier men's squad which also includes four Black Sticks and several New Zealand A or Black Stick development players.
Workman and Lett were part of the Central NHL team last season _ and the season before _ when they both played their club hockey in Manawatu. But a switch to the Dalefield club this year made them eligible for Capital selection.
Workman has also been a New Zealand Maori representative over the past two seasons and has already been selected in that team for the Oceania Cup tournament later this year.
Capital were the beaten finalists in the 2009 NHL, losing to North Harbour in the final after being up 2-1. Whether Workman and Lett will get to wear the Capital colours on the NHL stage won't be known until early next month, when Dancer reduces his squad to 18. Before that they face a busy schedule, travelling to Wellington every Monday and Wednesday for compulsory training sessions, as well as undertaking their own optional gym or individual training routines on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
Contesting a mini-tournament in Taupo is also on the agenda and they also have to find time to fulfil their training and playing commitments with the Dalefield club.
Workman and Lett were among seven Dalefield players who trialed for the Capital NHL squad, with Rowan Yeo, Mark Scully, Liam Workman, Nick Finlayson and Trent Lett also performing well but failing to get the nod.
Trent Lett and Finlayson have, however, been asked to be part of a development squad which will train on occasions with the NHL squad in order to improve their skills and groom them as future players at that level.
On the local hockey front, Dalefield reclaimed the number one spot in the Wairarapa division one women's competition with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Featherston on Saturday.
Featherston did, however, make their presence felt, leading 1-0 at halftime and forcing Dalefield to pull out all stops in the second half. They got the equaliser midway through that spell and there was just five minutes of play remaining when they scored the winner. Ana Playle was a standout for Dalefield with her high workrate, while Catherine Smith was impressive for Featherston on defence.
Coming off the bye from the previous weekend, East Coast blew away the cobwebs with a sound 10-2 thrashing of bottom-of-the-table Red Star White. Leading 6-0 at the break, East Coast added a further four goals in the second half, while Red Star White managed to pick up a consolation two goals. Justine Robertson bagged a double hat-trick for East Coast, with other scorers being Rewa Pomare (2), Laura Rhymer and Rochelle Retter.
Points in the division one competition are: Dalefield 21, Featherston 19, East Coast 14, Red Star 10 and Red Star White 3.
There is now a two-week break for all senior hockey in Wairarapa due to the school holidays and the hosting of the national under-15 boys' tournament at the Trust House Clareville complex.