Many Black Sticks may use the Korea series to solidify their spots ahead of two major tournaments, but few will be as determined as Jordan Grant.
The New Zealand women's side face Korea tonight and tomorrow afternoon at Auckland Grammar, with Grant possessing a particular desire to impress the coaching staff.
The 22-year-old recently left Christchurch to move to Auckland and increase her chances of nailing down a place in the Black Sticks squad, encouraged to train with national coaches and numerous teammates.
While she has encountered some drawbacks after heading north, Grant hopes a good performance against Korea will make the move worthwhile.
"It's quite different," she said of her new home. "The traffic for a start, I'm trying to get used to it - I have to leave an hour at least before trainings to make sure I get there on time.
"But it's so good having [coach] Mark [Hager] and [assistant] Sean [Dancer] up here. I'm used to training with three players in Christchurch - me, Kayla [Whitelock] and Rachel McCann - and up here there's like 22 of us."
Being immersed in the national set-up on a daily basis will hopefully have its advantages when the squad is selection for both next month's Hawkes Bay festival of hockey and, more importantly, the World Cup in the middle of the year.
"I think that's a goal for all of the girls, but definitely for me," Grant said. "It's the pinnacle event in hockey this year, so we're all striving to get a spot into the team."
Grant's inclusion seemed unlikely only a couple of months ago, when she was plucked from the national development squad and thrust into action at the three-nation tournament in San Diego.
That went well enough for the versatile midfielder/striker to earn promotion to the New Zealand squad on a fulltime basis, a call-up that came as a complete surprise.
"I was really stoked with my performance [in the US] but I never for once though it would happen," she said. "I settled in quite well and I think the step up was just about getting used to the pace."
That transition will continue against Korea, with Grant taking modest goals into the series.
"I probably just want to play the best that I can play. That's been making me practise on my tackling a lot, so hopefully I can go good at that in the games."
- By Kris Shannon of APNZ
