Hockey: Towns retains Champions team for Oceania Cup

National men's coach Kevin Towns, taking a steady approach to next month's Oceania Cup and Olympics qualifying, has resisted making changes to the team who played in last month's Champion's Challenge tournament.

All 18 players have been retained for the three-test Oceania Cup against Australia, which will be played in Christchurch and Wellington from September 17-21. The tests also double as the Olympic qualifying series for the Oceania region.

Two players who carried groin injuries during the Champions Challenge - Hayden Shaw and Ryan Archibald - will be monitored, but have not been bracketed.

While a conservative approach has been taken in the naming of this team, Towns says several other players, including James Nation, Lloyd Stephenson and Dharmesh Puna are still part of the thinking.

The national league begins shortly after the Oceania Cup and will provide another opportunity for fringe players to push for selection. An enlarged squad of 35 will be named after the league, as New Zealand continues to build towards next year's Athens Olympics.

Towns has now recovered from health problems which prevented him travelling to the Champion's Challenge and will play a full coaching role leading up to and during the Oceania Cup.

New Zealand team: Ryan Archibald (Auckland), Gareth Brooks (Canterbury), Phillip Burrows (Wellington), Bryce Collins (Canterbury), Dean Couzins (Auckland), Dion Gosling (Auckland), Bevan Hari (Auckland), Casey Henwood (North Harbour), Blair Hopping (North Harbour), David Kosoof (North Harbour), Wayne McIndoe (Auckland), Umesh Parag (Wellington), Mitesh Patel (Wellington), Kyle Pontifex (Wellington), Hayden Shaw (Canterbury), Darren Smith (North Harbour), Simon Towns (Auckland), Paul Woolford (Auckland).

- NZPA