Northlander Stacey Michelsen will lead the New Zealand women's hockey side at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. Photo / Photosport.nz
Northland's presence at the Commonwealth Games will be in medal favourite team sports - women's sevens and hockey - as well as giving a helping hand on the bowling greens.
The 2018 Commonwealth Games commence tomorrowon the Gold Coast in Australia as New Zealand's hunt for gold, silver and bronze kicks into gear.
Portia Woodman shapes as a key figure in the New Zealand women's sevens side while Stacey Michelsen will lead the women's hockey side that also contains Brooke Neal, Ella Gunson, Samantha Harrison and Madison Doar.
Both teams are favoured to be right in the medal hunt though anything less than gold is not on the agenda for the players.
Meanwhile Ann Muir will be Sue Curran's "director" in the Lawn Bowls B2/B3 Pairs, pairing up with David Stallard. Muir will act as Curran's eyes on the greens, much like a caddie gives a golfer green reads and distances.
Michelsen said her side's goal is to go where no New Zealand hockey team has gone before.
"We certainly have a team goal of getting gold and we will certainly be disappointed if we come away with anything less than that," she said.
"There's a few girls who have been to Commonwealth Games before and never have won the gold. It's what we have our sights set on. The girls who haven't been there before definitely share that goal with us."
Here's a snapshot at Northland's Commonwealth Games athletes:
Portia Woodman
The 2015 World Rugby Women's Sevens Player of the Year Award and the 2017 World Rugby Women's Player of the Year will be a major factor in the Black Ferns' quest for gold.
Woodman, 26, has been in imperious form over the opening legs of the 2017-18 World Rugby Women's Sevens Series, scoring 22 tries to comfortably lead both the try scoring and point scoring leaderboards.
Stacey Michelsen
Michelsen shapes as an important figure for the Black Sticks as captain and their defensive linchpin.
The 27-year-old vastly experienced with 248 caps worth of international experience and is coming off a sublime 2017 where she was a finalist for the FIH Player of the Year award.
Brooke Neal
Neal is the second prong on the Black Sticks trident of Northland defenders. The 25-year-old is another experienced cog in the New Zealand setup with 135 caps and has been a fixture of the side for a while.
Neal was part of the 2016 Olympic team where they finished agonisingly short of a medal.
The third of Northland's defenders, Gunson again carries a wealth of experience and adds a lot of grit to New Zealand's defence.
Gunson, 29, joined the side in 2008 and has been to a pair of Commonwealth Games and Olympic Games with the Black Sticks.
Samantha Harrison
The 26-year-old striker will add to her 137 caps on the Gold Coast as one of the more tested players in the side.
Harrison joined the team in 2009 and is known for her goal-scoring exploits and continues to prove herself to be a great addition to the national squad.
Doar is the youngest member of the Black Sticks squad by some margin. At 18 years old, the Kamo striker has impressed coach Mark Hager with a string of impressive performances.
With just 11 caps she may be light on experience, but Doar brings a lot of energy and flair to the table.
When and where to watch them Hockey: The hockey programme runs through the duration of the Commonwealth Games, which kicks off with the opening ceremony tomorrow.
The Black Sticks start their quest for gold on Thursday against Scotland before further Pool B matches against Ghana (Friday), Canada (Sunday) and Australia (Monday).
New Zealand schedule: vs Scotland at 1:30pm (Duke - Freeview 13 and SKY 23) vs Ghana at 6:20pm (TVNZ Games Extra - Freeview 14 and SKY 59) vs Canada at 1:25pm (TVNZ Games Extra - Freeview 14 and SKY 59 ) vs Australia (time and channel TBA)
Sevens: The sevens programme starts on April 13 and runs for three days with the group stages being played on April 13-14 before moving to the playoffs.
New Zealand starts against Kenya and South Africa on April 13 before facing Canada on April 14. The finals run on April 15. Times and channels for coverage will be confirmed closer to the day.
New Zealand schedule: vs Kenya vs South Africa vs Canada