Hockey: Sharper Sticks Hager's desire

Coach: Mark Hager is still tinkering with his combinations.

Black Sticks coach Mark Hager isn't exactly in a happy place with where his team is at right now and that doesn't have to be a bad thing.

"We need to get sharp ourselves. We're probably not where I'd like us to be at the moment," says Hager before the hosts begin their quest for their maiden Hawke's Bay Cup bragging rights in the three years of the HB Festival of Hockey.

"I don't think we're connecting as a unit at the moment but, again, that's to be expected because we had two different teams and the same 18 playing together so it'll take us a few games before we gel."

No doubt from today Hager will roll out his top players in a bid to clinch their maiden title.

"We have to play well. That's the No1 priority in the old cliche of one game at a time," he says, impressing the need for his women to do well in the round-robin phase of their pool play to build incrementally towards the quarterfinals.

"Quarterfinal first up because if you don't win that then you're out," says Hager, wanting captain Stacey Michelsen and her players to simply tick the right boxes in a year when all roads lead to Rio in a few weeks.

He has made four changes to the contingent that went to Argentina in February - midfielder Anita Punt, goalkeeper Sally Rutherford, striker Charlotte Harrison and defender Julia King come back into the equation for the Hawke's Bay Cup.

It's an opportune time for Hager to tweak his systems towards Rio, with the four-nation Darwin series in May leading to the Champions Trophy in Britain in June.

Injecting former captain Kayla Whitelock into the engine room is one of those experiments.

"It gives her an opportunity to play there and get better and get used to that pressure of international hockey again."

However, he has the option of pushing Whitelock or Stacey Michelsen to provide some oomph at the coalface.

Nevertheless, Hager is at pains to emphasise it isn't about relying on any individual but rather coming out as a collective if they are to win any competition.

"It's a fantastic opportunity for us to play in a tournament against oppositions we don't normally play," he says, happy to be in line for some insight on the Black Sticks women's Olympic pool rivals China and South Korea.

The Black Sticks side will play their particular game but will stop short of exposing trade secrets such as penalty-corner and circle free-hit tactics.

"In saying that everyone knows us so we have little to hide," Hager says.

For the third annual Hawke's Bay Cup from today to Sunday, April 10:

TOURNEY DETAILS

POOLS

A: Australia, South Korea, Japan, Canada.

B: New Zealand, China, India, Ireland.

SCHEDULE

Today:

11am: South Korea v Canada.

1pm: Australia v Japan.

3pm: Black Sticks v India.

5pm: China v Ireland.

Tomorrow:

11am: Japan v Canada.

1pm: Australia v South Korea.

3pm: Black Sticks v China.

5pm: India v Ireland.

-Tuesday:

12pm: South Korea v Japan.

2pm: Australia v Canada.

4pm: China v India.

6pm: Black Sticks v Ireland.

Thursday:

Quarterfinals

10am: Pool A 1st v Pool B 4th.

12.15pm: Pool B 2nd v Pool A 3rd.

2.30pm: Pool B 1st v Pool A 4th.

4.45pm: Pool A 2nd v Pool B 3rd.

Saturday, April 9:

Semifinals

11.30pm: Losers QF1 v Losers QF2.

1.45pm: Losers QF3 v Losers QF4.

4pm: Winners QF1 v Winners QF2.

6.15pm: Winners QF3 v Winners QF 4.

Sunday, April 10:

10.30am: 7-8 Losers SF1 v Losers SF2.

12.45pm: 5-6 Winners SF1 v Winners SF2.

3pm: 3-4 Losers SF3 v Losers SF4.

5.15pm: 1-2 Winners SF3 v WSF4.

WORLD RANKINGS

3rd: Australia.

4th: Black Sticks.

5th: China.

9th: South Korea.

10th: Japan.

13th: India.

15th: Ireland.

19th: Canada.