Donovan looks for beer beneath froth of winning start
A fresh approach has enabled Canterbury to begin the men’s Premier League hockey season with four wins from the opening five weeks, level with ladder leader Derwent.
Lions co-coach Craig Donovan’s entertaining quips have drawn comparisons with Nick Cummins, known as the Honey Badger, of rugby union and reality TV fame.
“It feels like a month full of Sundays since Canterbury men have started a year this well. We’re excited but we need to make sure we are not all froth and no beer,” Donovan said.
The Lions meet Derwent at 8pm tonight without skipper Sam McCulloch who is in Western Australia competing with the Kookaburras Olympic squad.
“Hopefully Sam goes off like a bull in a china shop, but for us, Sam and Lachie Rogers are missing and will be dutifully replaced by Simon O’Conor and James Moroney.
“Derwent are like a bottomless quarry with their great depth, so we’ll look to tweak a few things to our game plan so that we’re firing on all cylinders.”
Derwent handed Canterbury its only loss to date, a 2-1 result in the opening round of the season and looks to be back to full strength with Stuart Webb and Ewan Vickery available.
OHA is hot on the leading pair’s heels and will fancy its chances of bridging the gap in the coming weeks, with news that defender James Thomas has returned to Hobart permanently.
The Ships face Diamondbacks from 3pm on Sunday and coach Nick Leslie says it’s great to have Thomas back.
North-West Graduates and University complete the fixtures, meeting at 11.45am tomorrow with the Students regaining Jono Hodgson as they search for their maiden 2021 win.