Tacking Point Thunder showcased the club's depth in emphatic fashion with a 7-2 hammering of Chatham in their men's Mid North Coast Hockey League clash in Port Macquarie on May 6.
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With both teams ravaged by representative commitments due to the NSW under-18 hockey championships in Wollongong, Chatham scored first before Thunder scored the final five goals of the match.
Thunder coach Jarrod Smith said the performance highlighted what the club had been working on for years.
"The depth at the club is outstanding when you consider we had seven or eight players out and they're all under-18 players," he said.
"That shows the quality of club development we've had [at Thunder] over a period where half our men's A-grade squad is made up of players 18, 17, 16 or 15 who are all playing week in, week out."
Smith acknowledged the key to the victory was the structures which had been put in place rather than any focus on what players were unavailable.
"The most pleasing thing about the game is the consistency with which we play and the consistent style of hockey we play," he said.
"It's pretty mature and it doesn't matter who comes in, they all understand what their job is and how we play."
Fill-in goalkeeper Tim Ronan was Thunder's best and kept them in the contest with a number of high-quality saves, particularly in the first half.
It allowed the team the freedom to finish full of running in the second half.
"Tim made some pretty good saves and certainly kept us in the match early until we were able to roll over the top of them," Smith said.
"He was probably the pick [of players] that turned up when we needed him."
Chatham coach Adam Birkefeld said the heavy defeat allowed them to give some of their younger players a run which was a "good experience".
"We have started the year well with some good results, but like most clubs it's been tough to get the same team on the field each week, with either injuries or other sport commitments impacting," he said.
"On the days we have the full roster on the pitch at the same time I think we can match it with any side and have a good chance come the end of the year.''
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