Vantage Black Sticks Men named for Oceania Cup

A diverse Vantage Black Sticks Mens team has been named to compete at next months 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 Vantage Black Sticks Men and Women 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.

Vantage 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 Canterburys 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.

"Im 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 Vantage Black Sticks Womens team for the Oceania Cup will be announced later this week.

CLICK HERE for more on the 2017 Oceania Cup

VANTAGE BLACK STICKS MEN - OCEANIA CUP

11-15 October - Sydney, Australia

SHIRT # / PLAYER NAME / REGION / POSITION / AGE / CAPS

2 / Cory BENNETT / North Harbour / Defender / 26 / 59

3 / David BRYDON / Canterbury / Defender / 21 / 24

13 / Marcus CHILD / Auckland / Midfielder / 26 / 103

1 / James COUGHLAN / North Harbour / Midfielder / 27 / 79

23 / Nick ELDER / Southern / Midfielder / 24 / 13

19 / Daniel HARRIS / North Harbour / Striker / 20 / -

8 / Richard JOYCE / North Harbour / Goalkeeper / 25 / 26

12 / Sam LANE / Canterbury / Striker / 20 / 25

20 / Devon MANCHESTER / Auckland / Goalkeeper / 27 / 113

5 / Harry MISKIMMIN / Capital / Defender / 22 / 20

26 / Leo MITAI-WELLS / Midlands / Striker/Midfielder / 22 / 29

30 / George MUIR / North Harbour / Midfielder/Striker / 23 / 73

24 / Arun PANCHIA (c) / Auckland / Defender/Midfielder / 28 / 227

14 / Jared PANCHIA / Auckland / Striker / 23 / 64

31 / Hayden PHILLIPS / Central / Midfielder / 19 / 32

18 / Brad READ / Capital / Defender / 22 / 3

7 / Nick ROSS / Southern / Midfielder / 27 / 63

32 / Mac WILCOX / Central / Striker / 21 / 12



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