A month out from under-21 nationals North Island hockey teams have gained valuable turf time together during a tri-series in Rotorua.
Under-21 men's and women's teams representing Midlands, Central and Capital took to the turf throughout Easter weekend and produced evenly contested match-ups.
The Midlands under-21 women beat Central 3-1 and drew 1-all with Capital, thanks to a last-minute equaliser, before going on to win a shootout.
Head coach Nicky Smith said her side were in "development mode".
"We're working on a few things, trying a few new things and it's good that the girls are trying it. It doesn't always come off but we're working towards [the national] tournament. So, there are lots of things to improve on but the fact that we are practising them and trying to do the right thing is promising at this stage in our build-up.
"I don't think we played our best hockey today and I think Capital will be disappointed to concede at the end. The positive point of view is that we kept going until the end with that never-say-die attitude, although things weren't quite going our way with the ball we kept working hard to the end," Smith said.
With several new faces in the team this year she said one of the work-ons was the players' combinations on the turf.
Midlands under-21 players Sophie Cowles runs the ball against Capital during the Easter tri-series in Rotorua. Photo / Ben Fraser
"Just them getting used to playing with each other, connecting and communication, and working on different structures to give us options at tournament. [The level of competition at nationals is] always tough. It's a new team from last year so we don't quite know what to expect, but it's normally a pretty high standard and we're looking forward to a competitive tournament," she said.
Meanwhile the Midlands under-21 men drew 2-all with Central on Friday before producing a comprehensive 2-0 win against Capital on Sunday.
One of the Rotorua locals in the side, Ethan Martin, said the side improved after drawing their first game.
"We were a bit rusty on Friday afternoon, a few boys weren't up to scratch, but we definitely sorted it out today and it was a good performance.
"It was just bringing a bit more energy to the start of the game, we didn't have as much energy as we would like in the first two quarters on Friday. Today we definitely brought it out and it showed on the scoreboard," Martin said.
He liked his side's chances at the nationals.
"We've got a good bunch of boys that are working together now so we should pull through. This is my fifth year at the tournament and [the level of competition] is definitely very high compared to club level.
"It's good to come home and play in front of the home crowd, we had a good turnout," he said.
