Easter weekend sees the suspension of play in the Wellington premier division hockey competitions but there will be no rest for the Dalefield teams participating there.
Rather, the men's and women's squads will be in action in what are being labelled as exhibition games at Clareville on Saturday although you get
the impression their opposition will be taking things rather more seriously than that.
The matches are part of the Dalefield club's 100th birthday celebrations and will feature the current premier division teams against players who have turned out for Dalefield at that level in the past.
And when you look at the composition of the two invitation XI's it's easy to see why the premier division sides should be more than a tad nervous about the end results.
Included in the men's line-up will be Gareth Pringle, Gavin Champion, Michael Hicks, Wayne Robinson, Troy McGregor, Todd Sugrue, Daniel Juno, Joseph Crawford, Josh Rogers and Cody Linton and they will have a confident Laurie Juno as coach.
"Yep, I reckon we can take them out," Juno said yesterday when asked to assess his team's prospects of success.
"We've got enough young guys there to make up for the old, tired ones & we're aiming for a win."
Player-coach of the women's invitation XI is Tania Scott and, like Juno, she is anticipating her side giving every bit as good as they receive.
"Fitness will probably be an issue but we've got the brains, we'll talk them out of it," she quipped.
Among those who will join Scott on Saturday are Wendy Hull, Carla Burt, Laura Crawford, Sara Crofoot, Kiri Playle, Leanne Daley, Justine Robertson, Charmaine Robertson, Megan Parker, Lily Parker, Tara Hall, Jess Davies and Jodi Graham.
For Tania Scott and Kiri Playle it will be a chance to earn bragging rights over sisters Ana-May Playle and Janeen Bruce and the same for Jess Davies over Alice Davies. "A bit of family rivalry should add spice to things," Scott said.
The centenary celebrations will actually get under way on Saturday morning when registrations are taken at the Dalefield Hall and then photographs of the different eras will be taken there on Sunday morning.
Past and present players will have another opportunity to demonstrate their fitness (or otherwise) at Clareville on Sunday afternoon with the centennial dinner being held at Solway Park that night.
