Workman confident of juniors' chances

Hockey Wairarapa regional development officer Jesse Workman is optimistic of Wairarapa making a bold showing at the week-long Hatch Cup national under-13 boys hockey tournament to be played at Clareville, starting this Sunday.

Wairarapa are ranked 16th of the 24 teams based on 2010 results but Workman believes they have a good chance of making the quarter-finals.

He said some impressive pre-tournament results showed the local side were benefiting immensely from having two experienced coaches in Grant Brewster and Kerry Hare, Brewster having taken the Wairarapa under-15 girls team to fourth place in their national event last year.

While Workman considers their all-round strengths to be the biggest plus for Wairarapa, he said the side contained several outstanding prospects in the likes of Adam Maloney, Gus Wakeling, Morgan Taylor, Henry Phelps and Michael Brewster.

Workman said Sunday's action would be crucial for Wairarapa as they were scheduled to face defending champions South Canterbury at 11am and another of the favourites in Auckland at 5.15pm.

"These are two very tough games but, with some vocal home town support, I am sure we can bag two from two," Workman said.

The Hatch Cup tourney is set to pump a lot of money into the region, with 24 teams of 20 people (16 players, a coach, assistant coach, manager and a camp mum), 32 umpires, hordes of parents and other supporters and Hockey New Zealand staff all needing accommodation, entertaining and feeding for the week.

"It is a great chance to display our region and show what a terrific place it is to live," Workman said, noting that each team would have a liaison person assigned to them to ensure they were given first-hand information on how to make the most of their stay.

Workman also expressed confidence in the facilities at Clareville being up to scratch, saying the recent addition of a second artificial turf and the building of new clubrooms made the amenities about as good as any in the country.

Current seedings for the 2011 tournament are, in order: South Canterbury, Bay of Plenty, North Harbour, Canterbury, Wellington, Hawke's Bay, Horowhenua, Auckland, Tauranga, Northland, Waikato, West Coast, Manawatu, Taranaki, Northland, Wairarapa, Thames Valley, Marlborough, Southland, Nelson, Central Otago, Otago, Mid Canterbury, Buller.

Meanwhile, Hockey Wairarapa are to hold their annual awards evening at the Clareville pavilion on November 8.

Nominations for the different categories are now being sought and can be made though a form on the HW website.

Guest speaker will be former Black Sticks player and coach Peter Miskimmin, who these days is chief executive officer of SPARC.