Six Giants make team

Six Giants players have been included in the Hutt Valley men's softball side to play at the national provincial championships in Auckland from January 9 to 12.
Pitchers Richard Clarke and Justin Karaitiana, Canadian Michael Grant and Blair Thompson, Ryan Shannahan and Terry Waitere are part of a 13-strong squad which will also have an all-Giants management team with Tony Nixon as coach, Russell Thompson as assistant coach and Bryan Hourigan as manager.
And the Giants involvement could have been even greater had not two of their star players, Mark Quinn and Corie Karaitiana, been unavailable through other commitments.
Nixon will be coaching the Hutt Valley side for the first time and he is confident they will acquit themselves well against opposition from Auckland, Wellington, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand under-19s and North Harbour.
He has faith in the ability of his pitching staff, Clarke, Karaitiana and Cardinals's Jerol Lajpold, to keep opposing batting line-ups under wrap and believes his own side's greatest attribute could well be their hitting power.
"We have a lot of players who can put the ball over the fence on a regular basis and that can be a huge asset in a tight game," Nixon said.
Both Butler and Byrne are former Black Sox players.