[b:28177xyh]Richard Craniums[/b:28177xyh]
A new team with the elegant name of Richard Craniums has joined the fray with some old names from the past joining some of the up and comers from the present. Kurt Bowen and Cy Newton, both former organisers of the DIHL and well respected former members of the DIHA committee are back. Kurt has an enviable track record in the league, having won multiple times before. Kurt is known for his ninja-awesome wrist shots from the point (or anywhere else for that matter) and Cy is known for his formidable, aggressive, all-or-nothing approach to the game. They may be out of shape and out of practice, but they will make up for this with shear experience as they have more DIHL games under their belt than anyone else in the league. Former SIHL rep. Melanie Bussey is back in action after a long time away from the sport, she has been practicing during the off-season and will be a woman to watch on the ice. Dan Dilkes is continuing is constant improvement and has also been spotted training over the summer. Father and son combination Callum and Xavier Wood will be a dangerous combination up-front with their aggressive front-of-net attacks. Superstar goal tender Jaimee Wood is back between the pipes this season and as always, her goal will likely be the most difficult in the league to get a puck into. And to round out that stunning array of talent are Hadley Johnston, Richard Parr and NZ Ice Fern Mallory Handcock. The Richard Craniums are looking to be the team to beat for the 2010 autumn season.

[b:28177xyh]The Bullfrogs[/b:28177xyh]
The Bullfrogs are back this seasons, but in a drastically different form. Gone are Hellyer, Roberts and the Americans, but in their place are some real fire power. Leading the charge is DIHL veteran Graham Phipps-Black. Rumour has it that Phipps-Black holds the record for the most DIHL games of all time (if anyone knows the stats please do tell) and with so much experience it is likely to be he who will bring the Bullfrogs back from the brink after losing so many players after the end of last season. Graham is abley backed by the veteran of veterans, Keith Dickson. After an eventful/amusing end to last season for Keith, we’re all hoping he can keep his head and pants on and stick to doing what he does best – getting the puck down to the correct end of the rink. Former Beasts superstar Estelle Baker is back in action again as the Bullfrogs defensive/positional expert. Other ex-Beasts team members lined up for the Bullfrogs include Anthony Cross, and Julian Muenster. Muenster has had a long lay-off due to injury but will be looking to put in a strong performance for his comeback season. Another injured player back for a return to the ice includes Dave Patchett who will be looking to put paid to any plans his kids Stephanie and Nick will have to win the DIHL tropy. Paul Roth will be playing on the ice without his children for this first time ever during this seasons DIHL. Sonja Texley has been training during the off-season with the might Killer Keas squad, but has unexpectedly jumped ship at the last minute to play for the Bullfrogs. Veteran DIHA member Drew Handcock is back in action for the Bullfrogs and is expected to provide some solid defensive moves for his new team. Another former Beasts player on the new Bullfrogs lineup is Neil Dudley; this was a surprise to many as it is unknown at this stage if he is intending to compete as a forward, defenseman or goal tender. Craig Gerken, Anna Goulding, Reubin Van den Berg and Richard Kendall make up the rest of the Bullfrogs lineup in front of Olivia MacDonald who will be hoping to fill the space between the pipes as well as possible this season – or will Neil Dudley muscle her out of this position? … only time will tell

[b:28177xyh]DIHL Midgets[/b:28177xyh]
The DIHL Midgets were the fastest team last season and are returning again with a slightly weakened lineup. As the only team in the league with a non-playing manager in Bronwyn McLaren, the DIHL Midgets should have an immediate advantage over their fellow competitors. Their former goal tender was superstar Jaimee Wood who has jumped ship to join the vastly more experienced Richard Craniums team, but her replacement Josh Hubbard is not expected to dissapoint. The team consists of seven new players: Zane Clark, Ciaran Deighton-O’Flynn, Jacob Hurring, Noah Leahy, Seamus Leahy, Benjamin Millar-Coote, Luke Peat, Sam Sheard. Very little information is available about the new-comers to the DIHL Midgets squad, but it is likely that they were hand-picked from the best of the Dunedin Midgets training squad. Returning players Mitchell Keenan and Joe Orr caused lots of difficulties for their opponents last season with their lightning quick reflexes and ability to out-pace their opponents and with the long gap between the end of last season and now, they are likely to have improved even further. The true superstars of the Midgets are back in action again though including the small statured but tough Nick Patchett and his aggressive team-mate and sister Stephanie Patchett. The other Midget star from 2009, Justin Stevenson, is back in action again and will be hoping to take his team to the top step of the DIHL podium for the Autumn 2010 season.