Talent there to win cup, Smaill says
GRAEME Smaill is confident his team can get the job done today.
He knows it is capable of doing so in three weeks as well.
That said, the enormity of the task facing the Dunedin City Royals is not lost on the head coach.
He guided the team, as Dunedin Technical, to Kate Sheppard Cup glory in 2018.
Five of this year’s crop played in that campaign.
They all know what it takes to win the cup, and to go to Auckland to do so.
Today is not the biggest stage just yet, but the semifinal against Northern Rovers at McFetridge Park is pretty big all the same.
They are a quality team.
But Smaill believes in the topend talent he has to face Rovers.
‘‘I mean the starting side is as good as what we’ve had, I believe,’’ he said.
‘‘We’re probably not as strong off the bench as we were in 2018.
That’s probably the only difference.
‘‘So there’s been a big workload. You’ll notice we don’t make too many subs, unless we have to. We try to get the job done with those 11, unless they’re showing too much fatigue and then we’ll make changes.
‘‘This side’s good enough to win the Kate Sheppard Cup. If we are clinical in those moments that present themselves in front of goal, we’re going to be a handful for any team.’’
Certainly there is plenty of quality among that starting lineup.
It possesses the bulk of the Southern United team that won the South Central Series last year, while also containing plenty of biggame experience.
Shontelle Smith, the Maia Jackman Trophy winner from 2018, remains a key player.
She is joined by the likes of Chelsea Whittaker, who scored three goals in Southern United’s final game to clinch the title last year.
There are goal scorers in Margi Dias and Emily Morison, an exceptional creator in Toni Power, as well as a rocksolid centre back duo in Kelsey Kennard and Hannah MackayWright.
Leading them is captain Rose Morton, who has shown her class at both national and international levels.
Yet that class is evident on the other side too.
The Rovers are an amalgamation of Forrest HillMilford United, which Tech beat in the 2018 final, and Glenfield Rovers.
Both were powerhouses of the women’s game as separate entities, having won the cup title in 2016 and 2017 respectively.
Rovers have just capped an unbeaten season to win the Northern League, and boast a lineup littered with national agegroup representatives.
Smaill knows that will be tough to match. However, he backed up the idea that several of his players were perhaps overlooked for similar honours at the same age.
‘‘It’s probably well known that’s the view we have down here.
‘‘It’s certainly my view. Without naming players there’s definitely some players that have come through Dunedin Tech, Royals and Southern United sides that should have been given a crack at agegroup national representation.
‘‘They probably, up north, think we’ve just got a chip on our shoulders about it.
‘‘But if they take away some unconscious bias, I think they’d probably acknowledge they’ve let a few slip through their fingers over the years.’’
The game begins at 2pm.
The winner will play the either Auckland United or Palmerston North Marist in the final.
OTAGO players Jacob Duffy and Michael Rippon will be busier this winter than they might have thought.
The pair have been named in a strong New Zealand A squad which will tour India next month.
The squad features seven players with international experience including the Otago duo.
Duffy has played eight T20s and two ODIs for the Black Caps, while Rippon made his New Zealand debut in T20 against Scotland last month.
The leftarm wrist spinner has previously played for the Netherlands at international level.
The squad will leave for India late next week and will play three fourday games and well
To tour India
as three oneday matches, all against India A.
Tom Bruce and Robbie O’Donnell have been named cocaptains.
The squad features five players with a chance to represent New Zealand A for the first time — Chad Bowes, Matt Fisher, Ben Lister, Robbie O’Donnell and Joe Walker.
Central Districts and former Otago coach Rob Walter will lead the coaching group.