Hockey: Black Sticks playing for Olympic places

The Black Sticks start their seven-match Asian tour against China tonight. Photo / Natalie Slade

The Black Sticks women begin their seven-match Asian tour against China tonight, with competition in the squad just as fierce as what the opposition could provide.

The series against China and Korea are the last chance for the players to press their claim for Olympic selection before the squad to compete in the Games is announced next month.

With 20 players taken to the Far East but only 16 spots available on the plane to London, several players' Olympic dreams will be dependent on how they perform in the next two weeks.

Coach Mark Hager left little doubt as to what was the most important aspect of the trip.

"Selection is a huge thing on this tour," he said. "I still think we've probably got four or five spots open, and that's why we're taking 20 away.

"We've got a lot of players that are very similar and they need to step up and show that they can go to the Olympic Games."

While previous performances would obviously have some influence, Olympic spots could be won and lost over the next fortnight, Hager said. And, with the race for selection going to the wire, it was not only the games which would have a bearing - proficiency at practice would also come under the microscope.

"I think every week and every training session you can put yourself up for selection or put yourself out of contention. If people don't play well, they're going to play themselves out - and if people play well then they'll give themselves an opportunity to get a birth.

"It's not by doing anything special - it's just by playing more consistently and playing well for longer periods during games."

Hager thought the opponents on this tour would provide an ideal gauge against which to measure his players' prospects. The Black Sticks (ranked sixth in the world) drew their only game against China (fifth) this year, while managing a draw and a loss in two games with Korea (eighth) in January.

"We're playing fast, quick opponents, and if you're going to get found out or shine these are the two sort of teams you want to play to challenge yourself."

Aside from finalising his squad for the Games, Hager had a couple of other aims for the tour - chief among them, getting the side back on track after an underwhelming effort in their last international action.

New Zealand hosted two Four Nations tournaments last month and, after winning the first, the team went slightly off the boil in the second while still managing to finish runner-up to Australia.

"I think we were disappointed with the way we played in that second Four Nations," Hager said. "We probably took it for granted and we thought it was going to just keep rolling on, rather than doing the hard one per centers.

"Hopefully, we learned a lot of lessons from that."

Seven matches in 10 days are a perfect way to assess whether his players have indeed learned their lesson, while also providing another taste of what life will be like at the Olympics.

Hager said he would probably have to wait until after the tour to tell whether the Black Sticks are at the desired stage of their Olympic build-up, but he was hopeful that proved to be the case.

"This will tell us where we're at. I'd like to think we'll come away from this series about 85 or 90 per cent, with only 10 per cent to really build on."

Black Sticks team for Asia tour:

Kayla Sharland, Emily Naylor, Krystal Forgesson, Katie Glynn, Petrea Webster, Sally Rutherford, Ella Gunson, Samantha Charlton, Julia King, Clarissa Eshuis, Bridget Blackwood, Rhiannon Dennison, Samantha Harrison, Cathryn Finlayson, Gemma Flynn, Charlotte Harrison, Melody Cooper, Bianca Russell, Stacey Michelsen, Anita Punt.