North presence big in Oceania Cup campaign

After promising performances against the world-class Argentina and China teams, the Black Sticks women are gearing up for a huge Oceania Hockey Cup campaign.
Northland's Ella Gunson and Stacey Michelsen will win their fifth caps after making their debuts against Argentina, while Anna Thorpe will line up for her fourth cap.
At 19 and with 60 caps, fellow Northlander Charlotte Harrison  is rated as one of the more experienced  players heading into the tournament at Invercargill's Turnbull Thomson Stadium.
Five junior Black Sticks including Gunson and Michelsen  plus Katie Glynn, Lucy Talbot and Gemma Flynn were among the 18 chosen.
The junior contingent joined their teammates today  at Dunedin for a four-day camp, on the back of a hefty Junior World Cup tournament at Boston, in the United States, where the Kiwi girls placed 10th.
It will be the first time the Black Sticks have been together since their July series against Argentina and China. 
The Oceania Cup gets under way next Tuesday and will provide plenty of incentives for New Zealand, Australia and Samoa contesting the prestigious event.
While the overall winners gain direct entry to the 2010 World Hockey Cup in Argentina, the losing side will have to depend on other teams' results in their qualifying matches to reach the World Cup.
As Oceania Cup holders, the Black Sticks are determined to take the direct route to the World Cup as well as maintain their title. However, it  would not be an easy task, coach Mark Hager said.
The Black Sticks' coach recently watched Australia in the final of the Champions Trophy in Sydney where they lost on penalty strokes to Argentina.
"Watching Australia was very useful - they are playing very well at the moment but the girls are up for the challenge," he said.
While they would be tough, and ranked fifth in the world,  the Aussies  were not unbeatable so long as the Kiwis, ranked 11, performed to their true potential, Hager said.
"Defensively, Australia are very strong - they only conceded three goals during the whole Champions Trophy tournament," he said.
"They are also very capable of scoring a lot of goals if you allow them but we just have to put our game plans into place and hope they work.
"If we play to our potential we will have the ability to question their defensive structure, and our forward line are up to competing against the best in the world."

Hager hoped the young forward line-up - with the likes of Krystal Forgesson, Gemma Flynn, Thorpe, Katie Glynn, Michelsen, Anita Punt and Harrison -    would work in favour of the Kiwis.
"We are hoping their youth and enthusiasm will get them over the line," he said.
Meanwhile, Samoa was an unknown to Australia and NZ, Hager said.
"It's a game we expect to win - and have to, to reach the final - but we will giving them the respect they deserve," Hager said.
NZ play Australia next Wednesday, followed by Samoa on Thursday and the final will be contested on Saturday, August 29.
The Black Sticks men are also competing at the Oceania Cup, backing up their test series against Malaysia.
* Oceania Cup 2009 Black Sticks Women's Team: Kayla Sharland, Emily Naylor, Krystal Forgesson, Kate Saunders, Katie Glynn, Stacey Carr, Ella Gunson, Beth Jurgeleit, Clarissa Eshuis, Lucy Talbot, Stacey Brannigan, Gemma Flynn, Anna Thorpe, Kate Mahon, Charlotte Harrison, Bianca Russell, Stacey Michelsen, Anita Punt.