Vantage Black Sticks carry form into Oceania Cup

Head coach Mark Hager has named an in-form Vantage Black Sticks Womens side to contest next months Oceania Cup in Sydney.

The team of 18 includes 11 players who competed in Sundays Ford National Hockey League final between Midlands and Northland.

Versatile defender Stacey Michelsen is the most capped player with 235 tests to her name while she is joined by eight others who have played over 100 games.

There are likely to be two significant milestones chalked up during the event with Samantha Charlton just one match away from her 200th test while goalkeeper Sally Rutherford is currently on 147 caps.

North Harbour defender Stephanie Dickins and Midlands defender/midfielder Tarryn Davey have both been rewarded for an impressive performance throughout the week at the Ford NHL.

"We have a few changes from our team which played at the World League Semi Final in Belgium and I think it shows the quality of depth we have with competition for spots," Hager said.

"Steph Dickins and Tarryn Davey in particular were great contributors for their teams at the Ford NHL and they will bring athleticism for us along with fitness, speed and versatility.

"While we have already qualified for the World Cup we will be going to the Oceania Cup with plenty of motivation and team goals in the lead up to the Hockey World League Final in Auckland this November."

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 Vantage Black Sticks Women and Men have already qualified for the World Cup, with the womens event in London (July, 2018) and the mens 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.

CLICK HERE for more on the 2017 Oceania Cup



- This story has been automatically published using a media release from Hockey NZ