Fifteen Black Sticks Men have been named to play in the Lanco International Super Series in Perth, from 20-23 October.
Created by Hockey Australia, the new nine-a-side tournament introduces new rules and a fast and furious format which will see the Black Sticks take on Australia, Pakistan and India.
Black Sticks Men’s coach Shane McLeod says it will be a much quicker game that will put players through their paces.
“The speed in which these games will be played will really benefit the team as a whole; the format is quite different to a usual game of hockey and will be challenging to the defenders. Our involvement in this tournament has allowed us to play our wider squad,” says Black Sticks men’s coach Shane McLeod.
The rules for the tournament include 15 minute halves, bigger goals, one player from each team will be required to stay in the forward half to create more space and the rules around penalty corners and strokes have been simplified to make it more broadcast friendly and easier to understand for new viewers.
Goalkeeper Hamish McGregor and debutant Kane Russell have both been named in the team and this tournament will provide an opportunity for development and to gain international experience. Only nine of the players from the Oceania Olympic Qualifier were also named in this team.
“This kind of tournament will be a sharp learning curve for our less experienced players; however with no ranking points at stake it is a relatively easy entrance to international hockey against very experienced national sides,” says McLeod.
The tournament is being held in conjunction with the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) thanks to the support of the Australian Federal and State Governments.
The Black Sticks matches in the Lanco International Super Series will be televised LIVE on Sky! Check out the schedule here
The Black Sticks Men and Women are currently in Hobart training ahead of the Oceania Olympic Qualifier which starts Thursday 6 October. All games will be streamed live online on the Hockey Australia website here.
Check out the team list here!
Hockey New Zealand Media release
