2023 Season Round Up

The boys came into the 2023 season with a lot of buzz, excited for a fresh young team and how far they could go this year. A few new additions coming into the year, the team bonded quickly. Early pre-season friendly victories meant the boys came into the start of the season humming.The hive earned a couple of victories early on including a 5-1 drubbing of archrivals Taka to kick the season off to a flyer. The boys built off this good start in the harbour comp and settled into a firm top 4 position early in the season. As with all sporting seasons a few hiccups came into the fold, with injuries causing minor disruptions to the squad. Massive shout out to Issac who got his first call up to the Blacksticks. A reflection of all the hard work and dedication he has attributed to the game. Isaac, along with Jarryd Russell, two players who reached an Incredible 100 caps for the side this season. They have both played significant roles in getting the side to where it is today.

A few poor mid-season results especially in the inter-city comp caused a few concerns going into the later stages of the season.

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There was a sad goodbye as Manager Rasmika left the team to travel the world - an amazing servant to the club and team over the years. A couple of new managers came into the fold really getting the boys together and buzzing as they built towards crunch time. Big thanks to Daniel Young and Daniel Eastwood for their commitment to the hive this season. See you back next year lads!

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An inconsistent middle sector of the season led to the team falling out of contention in the intercity competition. Getting the double over Taka as well as a massive 9-2 win over HDF, a team we have been unable to beat over the years, really got the confidence up heading into the finals. Eventually beating North Harbour Indians 2-0 to finish 9th into intercity building towards the big semi against HDF in the harbour comp. Despite a strong performance the boys came up just short losing 3-1 to a strong HDF team that would go on to beat ECB in the final.

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Overall, it was a good year for the P1 men playing some quality hockey and with such a young team, next year we will look to build on the strong performances we showed this year and challenge across both competitions. Massive congratulations to all 16 of our boys who were selected to represent Harbour across both the P1 and P2 teams for the upcoming NHC tournaments. 

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2022 Season Round Up

The ABC Premier Men took a step in the right direction during their 2022 season. With unfinished business due to an early finish to last year, the Premier men’s side hit the turf running and were ready to make their mark. A strong start to the season with a few new faces on the side, allowed our boys to set new benchmarks in terms of the style and quality of hockey that was played throughout the 2022 season. Unfortunately, the team faced a few disruptions throughout the year which led to more opportunities for our up-and-coming P2s to have a shot in P1. Highlighting the unconditional support this team has from the wider club. As our players continue to challenge themselves and develop each year, it is clear to see the future for the ABC men's side will be one to watch.

 

In this year’s team we named James Coughlan, Netesh Sukha, Ben Sellar, Taimana Iversen, Isaac Houlbrooke, Jarryd Russell, Ryan Gray, Ryan Harrison, Matty Peel, Calum Grassick, Milan Patel, Peter Morris, Nick White, Callum Dempster, Josh Bowden, Nohan Hensman and Ryan Parr. We faced a few challenges this year which saw us relying on our wider ABC family to field a team. We called on experienced players in Luke Cracroft-Wilson, Matt Cornwall, Olly Chambers, Timothy Kerr, Brodie Harrison, Gerard Tan, Hamish Kendall and Sam Gordon. We also had the opportunity to debut many players for the prem team with Nick Sparg, Taine Kearney, Archie Postles, Alesh Sukha, Xavier Bradshaw, Sam Shotter and Eshaan Patel taking the field. Across the season we had 33 players make up the premier team, it was amazing to see each player step up to the challenge.

 

Thank you to TK for taking on the lead coaching role, your time and dedication is appreciated and thank you to James Coughlan for your continued coaching and support to the team. Thank you also to our squad of supporters which continues to grow with parents, partners, families, and friends turning up rain or shine to support the boys. We love seeing you all on the side line and love hearing all the cheering and encouragement.

 

Unfortunately, this year we missed out on making a North Harbour semi-final, but  moved up a placing in this season’s Intercity competition finishing 9th overall.

 

Congratulations to Netesh Sukha, Isaac Houlbrooke, James Coughlan, Callum Dempster and Ryan Gray on your selection in the North Harbour P1 NHC team. Congratulations to Jarryd Russel, Brodie Harrison, Sam Gordon, Nohan Hensman, Taimana Iversen and Josh Bowden on your selection in the North Harbour P2 NHC Team. Congratulations to Milan Patel and Ryan Parr on your selection in the North Harbour U18 Men’s team and subsequently the Junior Blacksticks. Congratulations to Netesh Sukha and Isaac Houlbrooke who are part of the NZ Performance Network.

The ABC Premier Men’s team continues to move from strength to strength, as they continue to grow the team will soon see the results of their hard work. 2022 has been a challenging year, we will continue to learn and develop to be stronger than ever. Bring on 2023!

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2021 Season Round Up

The ABC Premier Men continued to build on from their 2020 season and began the year as a strong and united team. Despite being the most affected team by game deferrals and double headers the team pulled out some results to be proud of. A few to note were our 3-1 win against NSU and draw against Takapuna. The team faced a few injuries this season which led to more opportunities for our up-and-coming P2s to have a shot in P1. Our players continue to develop each year and their teamwork and determination is clear to see.

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In this year’s team we named James Coughlan, Netesh Sukha, Ben Sellar, Herewini Iversen, Taimana Iversen, Isaac Houlbrooke, Jarryd Russell, Matt Cornwall, Ryan Gray, Ryan Harrison, Matty Peel, Olly Chambers, Calum Grassick, Milan Patel and Peter Morris. We continue to see our P2 players having an opportunity to play up, for the prem team, this year we had Nohan Hensman, Nick White, Josh Bowden, Luke Cracroft-Wilson, Raniera Harris and Will Lacey as constant support through the season. And Brodie Harrison, Hamish Kendal, Timothy Kerr and Sam Gordon making their P1 debuts. The P2 players really showed their skills this season, was great to see everyone stepping up.

 

Thank you to James Coughlan for his time and dedication to coaching the team and thank you to TK for coming on board as assistant coach this year. Our supporters club continues to grow with parents, partners, families, friends and this year a baby with Matt becoming a Dad. Your support year on year, is like none other and we love seeing you all in Black and Yellow.  

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With Covid ending the season before finals day we were unable to play our North Harbour semi final against Hibiscus Dairy Flat, a disappointing end to a season that could have been one for the history books. ABC P1 Men finished 10th overall in the Intercity competition.

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Congratulations to Milan Patel who was named in the NZ U18’s and Netesh Sukha and Isaac Houlbrooke who are part of the NZ Performance Network.

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The ABC Premier Men’s team is on the verge of success and are determined to reach the top. We came out fighting in 2021 and will take this energy into next season to be better than ever. Bring on 2022!

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2020 Season Round Up

This year the ABC Premier Men were prepared to start the season fighting, we kicked off strong with a double header where we went down 2-1 vs NSU and won against NHISC. Unfortunately, that’s as far as we got before Covid lockdown hit, the team worked hard to keep up skills and fitness during this time. Coming into the season the 2nd time, the team was fired up a rearing to go. We had some great games but struggled to secure the win in a few cases. Despite this the team continued to improve each week, bringing new skill to the field and creating some tough competition for the opposition. On another hand Covid gave us the opportunity to not only focus on the game but reach out and check on each other during a difficult year. As a brotherhood, the bond between players has strengthened and the support for one another is clear to see.

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In this year’s team we named Dom Dixon, James Coughlan, Netesh Sukha, Raniera Harris, Ben Sellar, Herewini Iversen, Kiharoa Iversen, Taimana Iversen, Isaac Houlbrooke, Jarryd Russell, Luke Cracroft – Wilson, Matt Cornwall, Ryan Gray, Ryan Harrison, Matty Peel and Olly Chambers.

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It was great to see so many P2 players having the opportunity to play up for the Prems this year, special shout out to Damon Penver who stepped up as our keeper for the first half of the season. We also had Peter Morris, Nohan Hensman and Nick White playing up and congratulations to the Premier 2 players who made their debuts this year Milan Patel, Divan Parsot, Josh Bowden and Korban Eades. The P2 players really showed their skills this season, there is going to be some tough competition for selections next year. 

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Thank you to Garry Bishop for another year of commitment and support for the team. And as always, we had the best supporters around, whether we were home or away they were always there to cheer us on.

 

Despite the broken-up season we still had many highlights this year, the team travelled down to Pukekohe for the annual Honey Farmers Cup fixture where we were successful in bringing home the cup, 2nd year in a row. ABC finished 9th overall in the Intercity competition this year, 2 spots higher than last year. A true testament of the hard work the team continuously puts in and the drive to improve each week.  

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Congratulations to our players who made the Premier League team this year, Isaac Houlbrooke and Netesh Sukha in the Northern Tridents and Dominic Dixon in the Central Falcons. Good luck for the competition!

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The ABC Premier Men’s team continues to develop every season, this year we have had to learn how to keep ourselves motivated and in the game. The players are committed and willing to put in the hard work to get results. We came out fighting and will take this energy into next season to be better than ever. Bring on 2021!

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James Coughlan, Coach

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2019 Season Report

The ABC Premier Men came into the 2019 season ready to fight, we were no longer the newbies but rather a team who was out to prove they could compete. Throughout the season they earned respect from other teams and caused upsets in the competition. Their hard work and determination was evident every week as they came up against experienced sides.

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This year we named Dom Dixon, James Coughlan, Netesh Sukha, Raniera Harris, Ben Sellar, Herewini Iversen, Kiharoa Iversen, Taimana Iversen, Isaac Houlbrooke, Jarryd Russell, Keegan Russell, Luke Cracroft – Wilson, Matt Cornwall, Ryan Gray, Ryan Harrison and Sajan Patel. We had some new faces to add to the mix from last year and they fitted right into the team. It was great to welcome back Damon Penver, Joachim Tan, Gerad Tan, Nohan Hensman and Nick White for a couple games and congratulations to the Premier 2 players who made their debuts this year Olly Chambers, Peter Morris, Jayan Kika and Reuben Hyatt-Brown.

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Thank you to Garry Bishop, his commitment and support for the team is none other, and to Tobin Blathwayt, who spent time recording our matches and sharing with the team for post analysis. Again, this year we had the best supporters around, all looking great in their new ABC beanies, we could always hear them cheering whether we were playing at home or away.

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While we had many highlights this year a few stand out the most. The team brought home the Honey Farmers Cup in the first annual pre-season fixture against Pukekohe Indians, we look forward to this match being a tradition between the teams. After the intercity split ABC held a nine-match unbeaten streak which was a testament to how hard the players were working on the field. ABC finished 11th overall in the Intercity competition.  The year ended on the ultimate high when for the first time in 12 years the team played in a North Harbour competition semi-final. While the final outcome of the game wasn’t what we had hoped, it was a proud moment for the team and club.

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In 2019 we celebrated and supported each other’s individual successes with players being involved in NZ, NZ21 squad, NZ18 selection, NHL, Seniors, Harbour 21s and Harbour 18s teams. It’s awesome that so many of our players are striving for these elite teams.

 

The ABC Premier Men’s team continues to develop every season, the players are committed and willing to put in the hard work to get results. The team culture continues to strengthen as the players bond on and off the field. There is no limit to the potential of the team as they mature and move into next season.

 

Bring on 2020!