Sutherland have battled against a lack of stability at one end of the field for much of this season so far but their relative consistency at the back has them in the frame for a charge at back to back premierships.
Sutherland stormed back to the top of the Sydney Premier Hockey League table with a 3-1 victory against title rivals Moorebank-Liverpool on Saturday.
Sutho were depleted in their top two grades due to injury and unavailability as they welcomed the visitors to Miranda but were able to hand a club debut to former New Zealand international defender Alex Shaw.
Having beaten Moorebank-Liverpool in last season’s grand final, Sutho were looking to wrestle back top spot despite missing six players from the 2017 decider.
Goals to Matt Bennett and Zac Nyrhinen gave Sutho a 2-0 lead at the break before Bennett’s second of the afternoon sealed the result for the hosts.
But it has been defensively where Sutherland have excelled.
Sutherland have conceded just eight goals in their 10 matches so far this season with goalkeeper Nathan Akroyd, Shayne Smith, Matthew Phillips, Matthew Johnson and captain Mitch Wray forming the core of their defence.
Coach Peter Tait said it had been a gutsy performance from his under-manned side.
“I know next month we’ll be in a better position when players start to come back. It has stretched our depth quite a bit but with that comes opportunity for some younger guys and also requires your senior players to step up,” he said.
“We’ve had no disruptions in defence. There’s a lot of experience there, a lot of games under the belt. They’re comfortable playing together and interchanging positions. We don’t go into a game with a defensive mindset but if you defend well as a unit it helps the team greatly.
“We’re not leaking soft, easy goals. That group of players defensively make a big difference.”
Sutherland made an incredible run from seventh at the same time last year to reach the semi-finals before they went on to win the premiership.
The difference between last year and this year is more expectation, more pressure.
- Sutherland coach Peter Tait
Already in first place despite their difficulties with player availability, Tait was confident his team could continue to build towards the finals again this year.
“You’ve got to have that belief within the group,” he said.
“We’ve got the experience but it’s about getting it done under pressure. The difference between last year and this year is more expectation, more pressure. It can effect you sometimes if you expect to just go out and win.
“If you don’t then questions start to be asked. But you’ve just got to shut a lot of it out which we’re getting better at.”
