Southern Storm midfielder Kate Kernaghan gets in some
practice at the McMillan Centre in Dunedin. Photo by Jane
Dawber.
Southern hockey teams tend to attract two types of
players - those at the start of their career and those coming
to the end of it.
Promising midfielder Kate Kernaghan is very much at the
beginning of her journey. The confident 18-year-old turned
out for the New Zealand Under-16 team and is a player with a
bright future. It is just that future appears to be
elsewhere.
The St Hilda's pupil is planning on applying for a sporting
scholarship at the University of Waikato. She would be happy
to continue playing her hockey in the province if similar
opportunities to those in Hamilton were on offer in Dunedin,
she said.
"Otago University doesn't offer any sporting scholarships, so
it is quite hard to stay in Dunedin when you want to further
your career."
Kernaghan will not be the first to move in search of greener
pastures. The Southern Men lost three of their most promising
players last year when Hugo Inglis, Nick Ross and Blair
Tarrant all left the region to play for other associations.
Inglis and Tarrant have since been selected for the Black
Sticks and Ross is part of the national development squad.
It is a talent drain which needs plugging if the southern
sides are going to be more competitive in the National Hockey
League.
This year's league gets under way at the weekend, with the
Southern Storm opening its campaign against defending
champion Central in Palmerston North on Saturday and Capital
on Sunday.
It is Kernaghan's second season with the Storm and there is
more optimism in the camp this time around, she said.
"I think it will be much better than last year because there
won't be any Black Sticks at this tournament. So that gives
us a more of a chance and makes it a bit more even.
"It will be interesting."
Experienced Australian coach Mark Stafford has taken over the
reins from Mark Smithells this season and is well aware of
the size of the task ahead.
The Storm has not won an NHL match since it beat Auckland 2-1
to avoid the wooden spoon in 2007.
The Dunedin-based team snaffled a draw against Northland last
year, but in the playoff for seventh and eighth it crashed to
a 6-0 defeat to the same opponent.
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