IT will be fast, the goals will flow and junior talents will get the chance to flourish - welcome to the men's Premier League Hockey Ben Hagney Electrical Nines.
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The new competition will act as a pre-season warm up for men's Premier League Hockey outfits before the start of the 2019 title battle on May 25.
To be run over five-rounds across three Saturdays, it will give teams the chance to suss out their opponents, get match fitness and for the victors at the completion, earn some nice prize money.
It was an idea proposed by St Pat's talent Shane Conroy and he and his fellow Saints are excited to take to the turf when the competition commences this Saturday in Bathurst.
"We're pretty keen to go actually, it gives us some extra hockey to play. That's why I threw the idea up at the start of year at the meeting, rather than just having three rounds for the season," Conroy said.
"This nine-a-side idea is to try and build the experience of the juniors for the season ahead. It is something different, something exciting for the competition."
Aside from the fewer players on the field, there are other rule alterations as well to add spice to the contests.
Games will be broken into 10-minute quarters and while finding the mark off a penalty corner set play will still count as one goal, a successful shot from the field is worth two.
"I think there will be a lots of goals, with nine-a-side there is lots of space and there will be a lot of keen juniors," Conroy said.
Saturday will also mark the return of Parkes to men's Premier League Hockey after they were unable to form a side for 2018. They face a stern test first up against defending premier Lithgow Panthers.
Souths has withdrawn after making the men's Premier League Hockey grand final for three consecutive seasons.
Bathurst hosts the first round of the nines competition, with Orange then Parkes the venues for the two following Saturdays.
Women's season to kick off
Round one of the 2019 Women's Premier League hockey season is set to kick off on Saturday, April 13 at Lithgow Hockey fields.
The Panthers are set to take on Zig Zag for a match before the Easter break at 1.30pm.
Zig Zag have asked if anyone had any old sticks they don't use to bring them down to the fields on Saturday so they can be passed on to anyone in need.