U-18 hockey reps in top form

Wairarapa will be looking to build on some impressive lead-up form when they contest the national under-18 girls hockey tournament in Dunedin next week.
In eight pre-tourney games Wairarapa have lost just the once and that was to Wellington, a team they had beaten previously this season.
Coach Richard Fenwick believes that defeat, which saw Wairarapa crumble to a 7-2 loss after leading 2-0, could well prove to be a blessing in disguise as it showed what can happen at the top level when teams lose their focus.
"Complacency can always be a problem when teams keep on winning, and I think that defeat came at just the right time for us," he said. "We didn't apply ourselves well enough and Wellington capitalised."
Wairarapa followed that Wellington defeat with a 2-0 win over Hawke's Bay and it is the Bay they will meet first up in pool games in Dunedin. Then will follow matches against Tauranga, Central Otago and Northland.
Fenwick himself is loathe to say it because teams can change dramatically in strength from year to year but it seems a far easier pool than Wairarapa struck last year when they had Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury as their rivals there.
But it didn't stop them from qualifying for the championship playoffs where they finally finished up in fourth position.
With the 2006 squad containing a number of Capital age group players and many members of the Dalefield squad which is competing so well in the Wellington premier division club competition, there is good cause to regard them as an even stronger side than that of last year.
Fenwick sees that as a fair call, but he is aware that having strength is one thing, utilising it well over a week of tournament play is another.
"The teams that do well are those who consistently perform to their potential and that's the test for us," he said. "We pretty much did that last year and we have to do it again."
On the domestic scene Dalefield are still looking for their first win in the 2006 Wellington premier division competition and they will be hoping to do just that when they play Harbour City-Tawa at Clareville on Saturday.
A Dalefield victory would be a huge upset in that the last time these two teams met Harbour-City Tawa won 7-2 but there is no question Dalefield have made considerable improvement since then and should offer much sterner opposition on this occasion.
With no chance of a top four spot Dalefield have the luxury of being able to throw caution to the wind and they are sure to place the emphasis on attack.
The Dalefield women were to play Hutt tomorrow, but that match has been postponed because of a clash with an age group tournament.