Labrador stocks boosted

AFTER winning the Memorial Cup, Labrador’s Brisbane Hockey League form looks set to continue with four key players earmarked to return to a side already full of confidence.

Adam Imer, Reece Geddes and Will Mathison will return today along with captain Joe Reardon who faces a last-minute fitness test after five weeks overseas on his honeymoon.

After taking out the Memorial Cup last week with a stack of young cubs, Imer expected the Tigerstix would have no issues maintaining their team chemistry as they prepare to battle Pine Rivers Saint Andrews at Carina.

“It will be interesting to see how the players fit in,” he said.

“The players who were out last week have been around the club for several seasons we won’t have any issues with that.”

Today’s clash marks the beginning of the BHL’s second round of fixtures with Labrador’s opposition currently sitting seventh on the ladder.

Imer, who returns to Labrador after spending last weekend in Cairns supporting his wife’s triathlon endeavours, said the Tigerstix had high expectations of what they could achieve in the remaining eight rounds of competition.

“Our goal at the start of the year was to make the grand final and that hasn’t changed,” he said. “If anything we probably have more belief now that we can.”

In the Gold Coast Hockey men’s division 1 competition, Kingscliff play Casuarina today followed by Labrador v Burleigh and Capri v Roosters tomorrow.

In the women’s competition, Labrador and Burleigh will face off while the Roosters and Mudgeeraba will do battle.