Hockey
The Wairarapa connection all got rave reports from coach Sean Dancer after Trust House Capital thrashed Central Mavericks 10-0 in their national hockey league pre-season match, watched by a large and appreciative crowd at Clareville on Sunday.
The Lett brothers, Dane and Trent, and Ben van Woerkom play for clubs based in the capital but previously turned out for Dalefield at premier division level and were regular members of Wairarapa age group sides.
Dancer described national development squad member Dane Lett as a "real tradesman who gets the job done, no matter what level he is playing at" and he was delighted with the manner in which Junior Black Stick Trent Lett responded to the challenge of starting in midfield.
"It didn't faze him at all. He's got similar qualities to Dane in that he does what he is asked, no fuss, no bother."
As part of an attacking unit which continually cut the opposition defence to shreds, Van Woerkom, who is also a Junior Black Stick, had plenty of chances to excel, and Dancer had only good things to say about his ability to make space for himself on and off the ball.
"Ben moves well, he gets himself into good positions," he said.
Reflecting on the match as a whole, Dancer was quick to emphasise that little should be read into the final scoreline when assessing the prospects of the two teams in the national league.
For starters, Central Mavericks were missing some key players and that clearly affected their performance, particularly in defensive situations.
"They were a bit slow to come forward and close the gaps, and our guys were quick to capitalise. They won't be giving us anything like that much space when it comes to the serious stuff. They are always hard to beat then, you'd never want to underestimate them."
Dancer was happy with the way his side hit their straps in what was their first hit-out together for the 2013 season.
With Black Caps Phil Burrows and Alex Shaw constantly illustrating their organisational skills, Capital scored five goals in each half. They impressed hugely with the speed and accuracy of their passing, with many of their more spectacular attacking moves being launched from deep inside their own territory.
"Just about everything in hockey these days has to be done at pace and I thought we were pretty effective in that regard," Dancer said. "Having guys like Phil and Alex there is huge, they are world class and give you that extra edge."
For Dancer, winning the national league title is clearly the prime objective for his Trust House Capital team in 2013. "We definitely have a side capable of going all the way, so anything less won't be good enough."