Dalefield struggle to find premier players

Dalefield have appointed a high-profile coach for their premier men's hockey side but whether former Black Stick Greg Clarke will ever get the chance to put them through their paces is open to debate.

The problem is: if Dalefield are to continue in Wellington's top league they need to know they have a full complement of players on hand, and that is still unclear.

Club captain Murray Nielsen admits time is running out for the team to prove they can come up with enough players capable of competing in one of the country's toughest club competitions.

"It's getting very close to the point where we have to say a definite yes or no, we have to act quickly," he said, adding that a reasonable number of local players (13) had already indicated they were prepared to make themselves available and there were about eight or nine more who were thinking about it.

Adding to the need for a quick decision was that if it was favourable, a series of fundraisers would need to be organised with the naming rights for the team the big drawcard.

Nielsen said the acquisition of Clarke as coach was a major coup for Dalefield and his CV would support those sentiments.

As a player, Clarke represented Canterbury (1989-1994) and Wellington (1992-1998) and was a NZ squad member (1992- 1994).

As a coach he was in charge of the national under-16s in 2004 and 2005 and has tasted success at national league level with Canterbury and Central Mavericks.

On the club scene, Clarke coached Burnside to win the Canterbury senior women's title in 2006 and Hutt to win the Wellington division one men's crown in 1999.

Amongst the definite non-starters for Dalefield will be Junior Black Stick Dane Lett and his brother, Trent, both of whom are playing for the Wellington-based Victoria University club, and Wellington national league player Jesse Workman, who will play for a Melbourne club.