OHA has work cut out against leaders

OHA coach Nick Leslie believes his side is close to playing its best hockey, but needs to improve its defence to upset unbeaten North-West Graduates at 3pm today.

The 2017 men’s Premier League grand finalists meet in contrasting form, with OHA falling 6-4 to Derwent after a 5-5 draw with Canterbury.

“Defensively we have not been following our processes recently and it showed in the number of goals we conceded, so it is a great chance to bounce back against Graduates,” Leslie said.

“Our one-on-one defensive lapses have been costing us, specifically in the area of clean eliminations, so it is important that we stay on task for all four quarters this week.”

The Ships meet NorthWest at the perfect time, with key trio Jai Walker-Kidd, Alistair White and Graham Brennan missing.

Coach Stephen McMullen was reluctant to discuss White’s red card offence that forced him to miss the big clash but said it would be a challenge without his midfield influence.

“We have good depth and it’s an opportunity for one of the reserve guys to step up,” McMullen said. “Alistair is disappointed, but he has a wise head on his shoulders, so this won’t affect him at all.”

Fresh from improving their ladder positions last week, Derwent and Canterbury will meet at 1.30pm, with the Strikers minus Vaughn Bowen.

In come Linden McCarthy and Jacques Draschkowitz-Wade for Derwent, which will need to curb Sam McCulloch’s impact on the contest.

University’s stuttering start to the season can get back on track with a defeat of Diamond-Backs at 4.30pm.

The Students slipped out of the top four with their late capitulation against the Lions, and Tyler McDonald and Ashby Bingham return at the expense of Ed Pascoe and Josh Commins this week.