Ready for big bully-off
NEW HOCKEY ERA: RANDBURG ASTRO SEES THE LAUNCH OF NEW LEAGUE
Franchises have been put together via a US-style draft.
The times of top local hockey players being starved of opportunities may be coming to a end with the arrival of the Premier Hockey League at the Randburg Astro today.
Six men’s and six women’s teams, playing as franchises that are owned by the South African Hockey Association, will play each other once in a league stage that will take place over the next four weekends before the top four teams progress to the semifinals, to be followed by the grand finals on Sunday, September 25.
The teams are named after famous tourist areas in South Africa and are representative of all nine provinces. This year, two of the 12 participating teams will be the SA Under-21 men’s and women’s teams, allowing them to prepare for the FIH junior World Cups which take place later this year. The SA Under-21 men will play as the Golden Gate Gladiators and the SA Under-21 women as the Namaqualand Daisies.
Because the teams have been put together via a draft system, long-standing provincial teammates will find themselves on opposing sides. Four marquee players were also allocated to each franchise by the national men’s and women’s coaches.
A fine example of this is veteran international star Shelley Russell, who is turning out for the St Lucia Lakers and will face eight of her Southern Gauteng team-mates tomorrow morning when they play against the Madikwe Rangers.
The 29-year-old, with over 200 international caps, is expecting some ribbing.
“Playing against the Rangers will mean I’m predominantly up against players I’m used to playing with. I just hope they have a go at the youngsters rather than me,” Russell joked.
“But this whole concept is very exciting, it has awesome potential. The most excellent part of it is getting to know new players, different styles of playing and coaching structures.”
The 12 teams are coached by the best in the country as well, with Sihle Ntuli, Steve Evans, Garreth Ewing, Krinesan Moodley, Mark Saunders, Cheslyn Gie, Lindsey Wright, Robin van Ginkel, Patrick Tshushani, Pietie Coetzee-Turner, Lenise Marais and Ryan Pillay all taking charge of teams, allowing the country’s top players to experience different coaching styles.
“This is probably the most exciting development ever in South African hockey, everybody is extremely excited and this tournament will mean a lot in the development of our younger players,” national goalkeeper Rassie Pieterse, one of the marquee players for the Maropeng Cavemen, said.
“All the teams have a good mix of senior and international players, so the youngsters will learn a lot,” Pieterse added.