by Andrew Gidley

Canterbury skipper Michael Farrer is looking to make an impact on their return to the top flight in English hockey this season.

The Polo Farm club begin their National Premier Division campaign against Brooklands on Saturday and he believes the side can learn from their experiences last time before relegation to Conference East last season.

The one thing he does not want to attract is a reputation as a yo-yo club and Farrer said: "It was the first time several of the team had played at that level but we have stayed together, despite going down, come straight back up and want to set our standards high."

One new face in the squad is attacking midfielder Harwinder Chima who joins from Hampstead & Westminster, while young duo Isaac O’Connor and Harry Roberts could get their chance during the season.

Both have been involved in pre-season and Farrer sees them getting their chance at some stage.

He added: "Our pre-season trip to Rotterdam went well. We played five matches there and it was good to test ourselves against different teams and styles of hockey."

Meanwhile, former young player-of-the-year Ross Gilham-Jones’ availability is in doubt, due to his recent call-up to the England under-21 squad.

He trained at Polo this week but is on "enforced rest" due to his international commitments and is unlikely to be involved this weekend.

Other changes see Matt Bunyan switching to Wimbledon after moving to London due to work commitments and Matt Burton-Bowen joining St Albans as player-coach.

Looking ahead to Saturday’s opener against Conference North winners Brooklands, Farrer said: "I don’t think we could have asked for a better game to start the season.

"We lost in the play-offs against them last season but have beaten them three times in the past four meetings."

The game at Polo Farm starts at 1pm.

Canterbury Ladies, led by new captain Susannah Townsend, start their new Investec Women’s Premier Division campaign with a trip to Bowdon Hightown on Saturday (11.45am).

German under-21 international Lisa Hapke is set to return for a second spell with the club, while another new face is overseas player Jade Mayne, a 23-year-old South African.