Hockey: Waikato injects booster shot

The sticks will be out as the Midlands Intercity hockey season starts tomorrow. Action from last year's women's clash between Mount and Thames Valley. Photo / File

The Midlands Intercity hockey league begins tomorrow, spiced up by Waikato clubs' return to the regional competition.

The incoming teams - five women's and five men's - will improve the competition's quality and lift the standard.

Waikato decided several years ago to pull out because of a perceived lack of quality in the league.

The Katikati Hockey Club has reappeared after being in recess for a generation, back after 27 years. Katikati will be guided by player-coach Franki Traini, who arrived in New Zealand from South Africa three years ago.

The Katikati Cougars will introduce to the league a third women's team from Tauranga.

Katikati's revival has allowed the talent to be spread more evenly throughout Tauranga. At least two players have switched to Katikati from dominant Otumoetai, while one has transferred from Mt Maunganui.

Experience will be brought to Katikati's ranks by goalie Veronica Romagnoli and defender Debbie Masters from Otumoetai, plus Sandra Kindley from Mt Maunganui. All three represented New Zealand at the Trans-Tasman masters international fixture in Melbourne last month.

Otumoetai women's team captain Katrina Carson has moved to Christchurch and Tambra Trist to Brisbane but they have gained Nikki Harnett, Abbie Johnston, Claire Bell and Jol McGarvey.

The Otumoetai side will have their work cut out to repeat their five-year hold on the Intercity trophy from 2009 to 2013.

Mt Maunganui women's vintage coach Alan Galletly has stepped down to make way for Narayan Singh, formerly coach of Mount Men's team. Singh aims for a different style of hockey with the ultimate aim of becoming more competitive.

Champion men's club Otumoetai have gaps in their line-up. Talented Toby Harris has left town, while Jonno Simmonds and Craig Fowler are injured.

Returning coach Aaron Buchanan tips bright futures for youngsters Garric du Toit, Liam Burn and Tobias Myers.

Mt Maunganui have lost eight players, including captain Aaron Hodges, who has moved across the Tasman, and retired midfielder Barry Watson. Gains include Ian Gurdan from Otago, back Denym Clark and goalkeeper Wade Bennett from Tauranga Boys' College.

Tauranga Old Boys rejoined the Intercity League last year under coach Gene Coates-Reid and will continue to build a squad of locally recruited players including Mark Page, stalwart Mark Pryde and new captain Logan Zeinert.

Talented goalie Kahn Miller has left the region for job reasons. The squad has a largely youthful look, bolstered by the arrival from Otumoetai of Mark Aldcroft.

In this year's Intercity women's competition, three Tauranga clubs, two Bay of Plenty sides, one Counties Manukau entry and one from Thames Valley will be joined by five from Waikato.

Two pools of six in the opening round will be whittled down to the top six for the championship round, then semifinals on August 15 and the final on August 22.

The men's 15-club competition includes four from Counties and five from Waikato. It will have four initial pools of three, the seeding of which has drawn adverse comment from Tauranga coaches.

A championship round involving the top two qualifiers from each pool follows, with semis and the final on the same August dates as the women.