Northland aim high this time

Northland's National Hockey League Men's side have their first test tomorrow  in a pre-tourney hit out against a hardened Auckland outfit.
Assistant coach Vicki Gribble said the team were slowly coming together, after looking a "bit sad" when they began training about a month ago, ahead of next month's NHL at North Harbour.
"The main reason we were worried is we had two of our senior players - Bream Bay's Brad Cotton and Malcolm Rawnsley - looking to go overseas at the end of the club season. They have had a delay with the club in England and they are still going, but not until after the NHL. They are not very happy about it but we are," Gribble said.
Gribble coached last year's men's team, when Northland finished seventh, and this year she is assistant coach to Mike Delaney. The duo are hoping for an improved placing, with the help of some imported players - but they will not be confirmed until later.
Wellington's Greg Payntor, who played goal keep for Northland in 2009 and was a key figure in the team, was keen to return but was waiting on clearance from Wellington.
"We are also looking at two Aussie players but last year we had teed up a couple and they pulled out five weeks before the tournament - so we will wait and see."
In the meantime, a good mix of youthful players and "old faces" will line up tomorrow  at ITM Rosvall Stadium against Auckland, who finished the 2009 NHL in fifth spot. There was also the possibility of a few imports from North Harbour putting on the Cambridge blue jersey for the match.
"Auckland will be a good gauge for us at this stage of our preparation. Last year we didn't realise until we got to the tournament that we could beat our opposition. This year we want to have a good look at our opposition and have some belief we can beat them before we get there," Gribble said.
Northland will also contest the Northern Region Tournament during the first week of September, when they will face Auckland, North Harbour and Midlands.
The first weekend of NHL starts on September 11-12 at various locations - Auckland, North Harbour and Palmerston North, before the main week-long tournament starts, on September 18, at North Harbour. Northland women's NHL side will play Auckland in a pre-tournament game, in Whangarei in Whangarei.
Northland team to play Auckland at ITM Rosvall Stadium, at 12.30pm (from): Dave Adams, Brad Cotton, Malcolm Rawnsley, Chad Cahalane, Sam Webb, John Child, Lief Nechwatal, Brent Markwick, Jimmy Watene, Toby Peacock, Alex Nicholson, Sean Laidlaw, Gaurav Correa, James Delaney, Tom Keogh, Mark Thorne, Sean Dole (Auckland based player of origin). North Harbour imports (tbc). Northland's final 12-man squad will be named on August 9.
The Hatch Cup for under-13 boys and the under-13 girls Collier Cup matches between Northland and Auckland will also be contested tomorrow  from 11am, at the hockey stadium.