Hockey: Complications for league deciders

By TERRY MADDAFORD

The cutback on Air New Zealand flights has hit this weekend's national league finals and playoffs.

The key women's playoff for fifth and sixth between North Harbour and Otago - with the loser to face the promotion-relegation battle - will now be played on Sunday as the curtainraiser to the men's final at Rosedale Park.

Originally, all final-day matches in the Lion Foundation league were scheduled for Saturday, but two weeks ago the New Zealand Hockey Federation, fearing a clash, decided that if teams from associations within the same region were to host finals they would play one on each weekend day.

That issue was then complicated when the North Harbour men won the right to host their final and the Harbour women finished fifth, and won the right to host the fifth/sixth playoff.

Auckland will host the women's final against Canterbury and have insisted they play, as scheduled, at 2 pm on Saturday at Auckland Grammar School.

The Otago women must now fly to Auckland on Friday night, play North Harbour on Sunday at 1 pm and wait until 2 pm Monday to return home.

With several players at university, and facing exams next week, it is a far from perfect scenario, but one that NZH feels is the best in the circumstances.

Further fuelling the feeling between Auckland and North Harbour was the suggestion (from Auckland) that as they are likely to bring a fair share of the support to Sunday's final, they should pick up a share of the gate.

North Harbour have rejected that.

And there is even a suggestion from some of the Auckland women that they would prefer to play at North Harbour on Saturday as part of a three-match promotion (with gatetakings shared) because the Rosedale Park surface is better than the new pitch at Auckland Grammar.

The men's final pits the season's two unbeaten teams - North Harbour beat Auckland in a penalty stroke tiebreaker after a 1-1 draw in round robin play - in what should be a cracker.

Also on Saturday, Wellington will be at home for the men's playoff for third against Canterbury, while Northland will have the home advantage in the battle for fifth and sixth against Midland Express.

In the women's playoff for third, Manawatu are at home to Wellington.

Meanwhile, the New Zealand under-21 men's team play Malaysia this afternoon in their first game at the strong junior World Cup in Hobart.