Hockey: Black Sticks Men named for Oceania Cup in Sydney

Black Sticks captain Arun Panchia. Photo / File.

A diverse Black Sticks Men's team has been named to compete at next month's Oceania Cup in Sydney.

The Oceania Cup runs from 11-15 October at the Sydney Olympic Park Hockey Centre where New Zealand will be joined by hosts Australia and Papua New Guinea.

Held every two years, the Oceania Cup is the continental championship for the Oceania region with the winner of each gender automatically qualifying for the 2018 Hockey World Cup.

Both the Black Sticks Men and Women have already qualified for the World Cup, with the women's event in London (July, 2018) and the men's in India (November, 2018).

Each nation will play each other in the pool rounds before the top two ranked nations face off in the gold medal match for the Oceania Cup title.

Black Sticks head coach Darren Smith has named a talented side led by captain Arun Panchia who is the most experienced player in the group having played 227 international tests.

Goalkeeper Devon Manchester and midfielder Marcus Child are the only others to have played over 100 games but they are joined by some exciting young athletes.

Daniel Harris will make his New Zealand debut after impressing during the recent Ford National Hockey League where he scored five goals and helped North Harbour lift the Challenge Shield for the first time since 2009.

Harris will combine for a dangerous striker combination with Canterbury's Sam Lane who is in hot form having finished top goal scorer at the Ford NHL with 13 goals from six games.

Rio Olympian James Coughlan returns to the side having taken a break earlier in the year and missing the Hockey World League Semi Final in Johannesburg.

"We have a number of players who are unavailable for selection due to European club commitments and injury, so this will be a test for this group to step up and make their mark," Smith said.

"The Oceania Cup will be a tough challenge and we certainly know that Australia in particular pose a huge threat all across the turf.

"I'm looking forward to seeing our guys in action, in particular Daniel Harris who had a great Ford NHL tournament showing skill, work rate and form for the champion side North Harbour.

"There were a number of talented players not only with North Harbour but across the whole Ford NHL competition which was pleasing to see."

A Black Sticks Women's team for the Oceania Cup will be announced later this week.

VANTAGE BLACK STICKS MEN - OCEANIA CUP
11-15 October - Sydney, Australia
SHIRT # PLAYER NAME REGION POSITIONAGECAPS
2 Cory BENNETT North Harbour Defender2659
3 David BRYDON Canterbury Defender2124
13 Marcus CHILD Auckland Midfielder26103
1 James COUGHLAN North Harbour Midfielder2779
23 Nick ELDER Southern Midfielder2413
19 Daniel HARRIS North Harbour Striker20-
8 Richard JOYCE North Harbour Goalkeeper2526
12 Sam LANE Canterbury Striker2025
20 Devon MANCHESTER Auckland Goalkeeper27113
5 Harry MISKIMMIN Capital Defender2220
26 Leo MITAI-WELLS Midlands Striker/Midfielder2229
30 George MUIR North Harbour Midfielder/Striker2373
24 Arun PANCHIA (c) Auckland Defender/Midfielder28227
14 Jared PANCHIA Auckland Striker2364
31 Hayden PHILLIPS Central Midfielder1932
18 Brad READ Capital Defender223
7 Nick ROSS Southern Midfielder2763
32 Mac WILCOX Central Striker2112