Hockey star at crossroads

Kayla Whitelock has played in 219 internationals, scoring 54 goals. Photo / Christine Cornege

Kayla Whitelock will be out of action for six months, and must decide if she will return.

Decision time is arriving for experienced New Zealand hockey international Kayla Whitelock.

The Black Sticks skipper is off to Japan shortly after the Commonwealth Games next month, with her husband, Crusaders flanker George Whitelock.

He starts a contract with the Panasonic Wild Knights after the Super rugby season ends in August.

Whitelock, an outstanding midfielder whose international career started in 2003, is keeping an open mind on whether she will return to the Black Sticks.

But it is possible her last hurrah will be in Glasgow at the Commonwealth Games, where New Zealand will seek to go one better than their silver medal in Delhi in 2010.

New Zealand will contest the eight-nation Champions Trophy in Mendoza, Argentina, from late November and probably at least one home series as preparation, and Whitelock is an unlikely starter for those.

But the Rio Olympics in 2016 are in the back of her mind.

"I guess coming so close in London [finishing fourth, after losing a penalty shootout in their semifinal to eventual winners the Netherlands] you still have that drive to try and get a medal," she said last night.

"Part of me wants to be at Rio, but obviously I'm getting older as well."

After 219 internationals and 54 goals for the Black Sticks, the 28-year-old Whitelock's form is as good as it has ever been.

If she felt it was fading, that would be a different story. But she's an integral and influential figure in the Black Sticks, respected both for her leadership and her play.

"Probably in the last two or three years I've been performing the best and most consistently I've ever played.

"That's probably down to the style Mark [coach Mark Hager] has brought into this group, but it's also not having injuries, so I've been able to do all the training."

If Whitelock does decide to call time, it won't be an easy decision.

"It's been part of my life for so long.

"But the main focus is the Commonwealth Games and then I'll really reassess from there to be honest."

If she was to carry on, Whitelock wanted a break anyway, "so the six months when George is in Japan works out perfectly".

"I'm looking forward to something a bit different, and spending time together in the same place for a while will be cool," she said.

The Black Sticks squad for the Commonwealth Games will be named tomorrow. It is expected to be similar, if not identical to that which finished fifth at the World Cup in The Hague this month.