TIGERS READY TO HIT FIELD

ALMOST two years have passed since the Tassie Tigers’ squads last competed in the Hockey One League, because of Covid-19.

But the state’s best-performing national sides will return to the field over the coming days in a competitive mini-series against travelling Institute of Sport athletes and Queensland sides.

New Tasmanian Institute of Sport head coach Tim Strapp says the series came about as institute coaches sought an additional competitive environment.

“The mini-series really began as a training camp between the South Australian Sports Institute and the Tasmanian Institute of Sport, and grew from there,” Strapp said.

“With borders being open, Western Australia and Queensland jumped on board, and it’s great to have the Tassie Tigers involved, too, with the Hockey One League initially postponed.

“This series is really about having our athletes play in some competition outside of their local club hockey, which is something a lot of these players have not had for almost two years, and it gives institute coaches an opportunity to see how their development is going.”

The Tigers’ men’s side will be missing its Kookaburras stars but includes Hayden Beltz, Josh Mardell, Josh Brooks and Gobind Gill, while the women will be at almost full strength.

The Queensland side will play as a standalone team, while institute athletes from SA, WA and Tasmania will form a combined team.

Saturday will feature six matches, with the main fixtures including Queensland against the Tigers’ women from noon, with their men’s sides competing from 3pm.