Dalefield on the way up

Hockey

Dalefield will be looking to build on the steady improvement they made last season when they open their 2013 Wellington premier men's division hockey campaign with a match against Hutt at Clareville on Sunday, starting at 1.30pm.

Originally Dalefield was scheduled to play Indians tomorrow as well but that match has now been deferred and will be played at a later date.

That Dalefield will be the underdogs against the power Hutt side is guaranteed but under the expert coaching of former Black Stick Greg Clarke they are quite capable of making a close game of it.

Seasoned campaigners Chris Mason and Orin Lockyer will certainly add steel to the Dalefield defence while youngsters Daniel van Woerkom, Mitchell Blackwood, Dion Field and the Workmans, Liam and Tane, are sure to be prominent.

Missing this weekend will be another couple of up-and-comers in Joseph Robertson and Alex Sumenko-Bucknell, who are both on duty with the national under-18 squad, while other familiar faces not playing this season are Willie Schaefer, who has retired and Andy Ewington, who is making a name for himself in Ireland.