Black Sticks optimistic of a good performance against Aussies in Oceania Cup – Hockey News
The Men’s and Women’s hockey teams of New Zealand are quite optimistic to put in a good performance against the Aussies in the forthcoming three-day Oceania Cup. The Black Sticks and Australia have already earned a berth in the 2012 London Olympics after
Fiji decided not to take part in the qualifiers.
The event comprised of only two teams will commence from October 6 in Hobart, Australia. It is vital to mention here that the New Zealand Men’s team has not defeated the Aussies for the last 13 years in the Oceania Cup. However, the skipper is quite confident
to break the curse over past failures.
Black Sticks Men’s Captain Phil Burrows while speaking to the media stated that they were looking to end the spell of their failures in order to establish their worth for the Olympics. He said, “We haven't beaten the Kookaburras since 1998, so we're looking
for a win. If we could get a win sometime, we'd be pretty happy. We know they are going to be a great side and we know we have to play really well and hope they don't”
He continued that he had been playing in the national side for long time and they did not have a direct ticket to the Olympics. He anticipated that it will be a great series and they will try hard to win the event. In his views, the victory in one game out
of a total of three will also be a reasonable finish for them.
On the other side, Liam De Young the skipper of the Australian Men’s team was of the opinion that it was difficult to get a place in the team, as many seasoned players were playing in the squad including Luke Doerner and Eddie Ockenden. He added that they
had a squad of 30 players for the Oceania Cup. "We've had over 30 players play for Australia this year, so with such a large group of players it's tough to get a game,” Young maintained.
He continued saying that they were one of the best squads in all of the sports in the country therefore they will not be in position to lose their peak.
Skipper of the Black Sticks Women’s team Kayla Sharland was also in a confident state of mind stating that they will attempt to win the test series against Hockeyroos. They had not lifted any series against the Australian Women and that it will be a big
challenge for them. The victories in United States will help them in the Oceania Cup.
Madonna Blyth, the Hockeyroos captain commented that she was ready to play the game after passing through a tough phase of a hamstring injury.
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