Women's champion efforts rewarded

Having Caryn Paewai in any hockey side is a boost, even blokes in the Hawke's Bay will attest to that.
But having the former Black Sticks player as player/coach is not the sole reason why Akina Rovers' senior women's hockey team have had a sterling season.
Instilling a sense of commitment and discipline with a diligent attitude towards training meant the team from Hastings finished with an unblemished record and their four trophies are a testimony to their enviable feat.
"We're all training hard and we all turn up on game days," Blanche Paewai, Caryn's younger sister, told SportToday.
"The younger girls were away with the rep team earlier in the season but generally we've always had continuity," Blanchett said.
The Akina women beat Napier Technical White 4-3 in penalty strokes after the sides were locked 1-1 in regulation time at the Kelt Capital Hockey Stadium in Park Island, Napier, last Saturday.
In doing so, Akina picked up the club champions' title for winning the overall two-round competition.
They also added the Champions Cup for clinching the first round title half way through the season, the mini-round robin silverware and also etched their name on the trophy for the team holding the most points in the season.
In last Saturday's final game, Akina right inner Michelle O'Hara drew first blood before Tech White centre forward Leanne Sutherland levelled terms.
"We beat them 5-1 three weeks ago and won every other game against them in the season but on Saturday they brought their A game," Blanche Paewai said of Tech's reversal of form.
Four of the Akina players also made the cut for the Central region squad to compete in the annual National Hockey League starting later this month.
They are Caryn Paewai, former cricketer Erin Weber who has returned from Hamilton where she was studying and playing, Havelock North High School pupil Tinesha Carey, who gave up a promising equestrian stint to purse a career in hockey and last month was the non-travelling reserve for the Youth Olympics team to Malaysia, and Vanessa Mortelli.
So what's the Akina team's motivation next winter?
Blanche Paewai said agreed it was a case of either emulating this season's feat or inevitably going down with a loss.
"We've got some players who are going to have children and some who will go to university so the challenge will always be there with some new players coming in," Paewai said of the Akina club who have previously fielded two teams.