IN a quiet round for the Premier League Hockey competition, Kinross-CYMS will be buoyed by the return of NSW state representatives Madie Smith and Chloe Barrett when the students tackle the consistent Dubbo Blue Jays on Saturday.
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Both the men’s and women’s PLH competitions are in the midst of a two-week break that coincides with the Easter and Anzac Day long weekends, but having deferred their round six clash two weeks ago, Kinross-CYMS and Dubbo will go head-to-head in the only top flight hockey game in the region this weekend.
But the timing couldn’t be more perfect for Kinross-CYMS.
With his side winless and anchored to the bottom of the 2014 women’s PLH ladder, Shea was thrilled to have the representative duo back on deck and predicted both Smith and Barrett to lead the way for Kinross-CYMS on Saturday.
“Without doubt,” Shea fired ahead of the 3.20pm clash at the Orange Hockey Centre this weekend.
“Any time you have players return from national level hockey they make a huge impact on the side.”
Kinross-CYMS will, however, be missing Ellen Van Hoek and Annabel Probert for the important clash with Dubbo, a side currently in eighth place with two wins from five games.
“That’s just the way it works with these make up games,” Shea said of the omissions to his line-up.
The experienced mentor was wary of the weekend’s opposition, however.
“Dubbo haven’t been playing too badly,” he added, with the Blue Jays starting 2014 with wins over Orange Ex-Services (5-3) and defending premiers Bathurst St Pat’s (4-3).
“They’ve got a number of good players and most of their results have been reasonably close. It’s like any game, though, if we work hard and execute well we’ll be in with a chance.