Sanani and Clinton at the PHL player draft
Two of the Premier Hockey League’s marquee players are expecting fireworks during September’s inaugural event.
National team players, Sanani Mangisa (of the Orange River Rafters) and Clinton Panther (of the Maropeng Cavemen), were in attendance at Saturday’s player draft and expressed their enthusiasm for the upcoming competition.
“I am extremely excited for the Premier Hockey League. Getting us to play more competitive hockey can only be good for South Africa. I am also really stoked for the Maropeng Cavemen side as we managed to get a good mix of experienced players including Ricky West and Lance Louw but (also) some great young talented players too! I can’t wait to get on the field with the likes of Hendy Seerane, Callan Hansen, Michael Abrahams and Xola Maqula amongst others. I really believe that Mark and Nhlanhla have put together a squad that can compete and we aim to do this. We will definitely be looking to get one over Tim Drummond and his boys the Dragons,” said Clinton Panther.
“I am very excited for this opportunity and am extremely grateful that the Department of Sport and Recreation have chosen hockey as their focus sport for the year. I think it is incredibly important that we have a great first tournament and we can see it grow from there. In terms of the Orange River Rafters, I think we have a great side. Pietie and Tsoanelo are two legends of the game and they will inspire the younger players in our side immensely. Bronwyn Kretzman and Kirsty Adams are two of our players (that) I think you should keep an eye on,” added Sanani Mangisa.
The Premier Hockey League runs over four weekends – from the 3rd September to the 25th September. The competition sees six men’s teams and six women’s teams, consisting of some of the nation’s elite players, battling it out (in their respective gender based events) to be crowned the first ever South African Premier Hockey League Champions.