Australia men's national field hockey team

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Australia
Nickname(s)The Kookaburras
AssociationHockey Australia
ConfederationOHF (Oceania)
Head CoachColin Batch
Assistant coach(es)Robert Hammond
Anthony Potter
David Staniforth
ManagerMelissa Gey
CaptainAran Zalewski
Most capsEddie Ockenden (414)
Top scorerJamie Dwyer (244)
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Home
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Away
Oceania Cup
Appearances11 (first in 1999)
Best result1st (1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2023)

The Australia men's national field hockey team (nicknamed the Kookaburras) is one of the nation's most successful top-level sporting teams. They are the only Australian team in any sport to receive medals at six straight

Hockey World Cup
in 1986, 2010 and 2014.

The Kookaburras' inability to win an Olympic gold medal despite their perennial competitiveness, led many in the Australian hockey community to speak of a "curse" afflicting the team,

2020 Tokyo Olympics - the Kookaburras instead won the silver medal.[5]

History

Australia's first men's team competed in an international match in 1922.[6]

The first major competition won by the national team was the 1983 World Championships held in Karachi.[7]

Participations

Australia's first men's team competed at the Olympics in field hockey at the 1956 Summer Olympics.[7]

Australia did not medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics[8] or the 1988 Summer Olympics.[9] At the 1992 Summer Olympics, Australia earned a silver medal, losing gold to Germany.[10] At the 1996 Summer Olympics, Australia finished third, earning a bronze medal.[11]

The team won their first Olympic gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Barry Dancer coached the side.[12]

Should Australia win the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics they will become the first national team in field hockey history to hold all four international titles available to them simultaneously. They would hold titles in the 2012 Olympics, 2010 World Cup, 2011 Champions Trophy and their continental championship (2011 Oceania Cup) at the same time. Along with those four titles Australia also holds the Commonwealth Games title from the 2010 championships.

  • Australia at the 2008 Olympics
    Australia at the 2008 Olympics
  • Australia at the 2012 Olympics
    Australia at the 2012 Olympics

Tournament records

Olympic Games[13]
Year Host city Position
1908 United Kingdom London, United Kingdom
1920 Belgium Antwerp, Belgium
1928 Netherlands Amsterdam, Netherlands
1932 United States Los Angeles, United States
1936 Germany Berlin, Germany
1948 United Kingdom London, United Kingdom
1952 Finland Helsinki, Finland
1956 Australia Melbourne, Australia 5th
1960 Italy Rome, Italy 6th
1964 Japan Tokyo, Japan 3rd
1968 Mexico Mexico City, Mexico 2nd
1972 Germany Munich, Germany 5th
1976 Canada Montreal, Canada 2nd
1980 Soviet Union Moscow, Soviet Union Boycott
1984 United States Los Angeles, United States 4th
1988 South Korea Seoul, South Korea 4th
1992 Spain Barcelona, Spain 2nd
1996 United States Atlanta, United States 3rd
2000 Australia Sydney, Australia 3rd
2004 Greece Athens, Greece 1st
2008 China Beijing, China 3rd
2012 United Kingdom London, United Kingdom 3rd
2016 Brazil Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 6th
2020 Japan Tokyo, Japan 2nd
2024 France Paris, France Qualified
2028 United States Los Angeles, United States TBD
2032 Australia Brisbane, Australia TBD
World Cup[14]
Year Host city Position
1971 Spain Barcelona, Spain 8th
1973 Netherlands Amsterdam, Netherlands Withdrew
1975 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 5th
1978 Argentina Buenos Aires, Argentina 3rd
1982
Bombay, India
3rd
1986 England London, England 1st
1990 Pakistan Lahore, Pakistan 3rd
1994 Australia Sydney, Australia 3rd
1998 Netherlands Utrecht, Netherlands 4th
2002 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2nd
2006 Germany Mönchengladbach, Germany 2nd
2010 India New Delhi, India 1st
2014 Netherlands The Hague, Netherlands 1st
2018 India Bhubaneswar, India 3rd
2023
India Bhubaneswar, India
India Rourkela, India
4th
Champions Trophy[15]
Year Host city Position
1978 Pakistan Lahore, Pakistan 2nd
1980 Pakistan Karachi, Pakistan 3rd
1981 Pakistan Karachi, Pakistan 2nd
1982 Netherlands Amstelveen, Netherlands 2nd
1983 Pakistan Karachi, Pakistan 1st
1984 Pakistan Karachi, Pakistan 1st
1985
Perth, Australia
1st
1986 Pakistan Lahore, Pakistan 2nd
1987 Netherlands Amstelveen, Netherlands 3rd
1988 Pakistan Lahore, Pakistan 3rd
1989 Germany Berlin, West Germany 1st
1990 Australia Melbourne, Australia 1st
1991 Germany Berlin, Germany 4th
1992 Pakistan Karachi, Pakistan 2nd
1993 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1st
1994 Pakistan Lahore, Pakistan 4th
1995 Germany Berlin, Germany 2nd
1996
Madras, India
6th
1997 Australia Adelaide, Australia 2nd
1998 Pakistan Lahore, Pakistan 3rd
1999 Australia Brisbane, Australia 1st
2000 Netherlands Amstelveen, Netherlands 5th
2001 Netherlands Rotterdam, Netherlands 2nd
2002 Germany Cologne, Germany 5th
2003 Netherlands Amstelveen, Netherlands 2nd
2004 Pakistan Lahore, Pakistan Withdrew[16]
2005 India Chennai, India 1st
2006 Spain Terrassa, Spain 4th
2007 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2nd
2008 Netherlands Rotterdam, Netherlands 1st
2009 Australia Melbourne, Australia 1st
2010 Germany Mönchengladbach, Germany 1st
2011 New Zealand Auckland, New Zealand 1st
2012 Australia Melbourne, Australia 1st
2014 India Bhubaneswar, India 3rd
2016 United Kingdom London, United Kingdom 1st
2018 Netherlands Breda, Netherlands 1st
World League[13]
Year Round Host city Position
2012–13 Semifinal Netherlands Rotterdam, Netherlands 2nd
Final India New Delhi, India 4th
2014–15 Semifinal Belgium Antwerp, Belgium 1st
Final India Raipur, India 1st
2016–17 Semifinal South Africa Johannesburg, South Africa 3rd
Final India Bhubaneswar, India 1st
Pro League[17]
Year Host city Position
2019 Netherlands Amstelveen, Netherlands 1st
2020–21 Home & Away 2nd
2021–22[18] Home & Away 2nd^
2022–23 Home & Away 7th

^Australia and New Zealand originally withdrew from matches due to the COVID-19 global pandemic and subsequent international restrictions on travel.[19] In the lead up to the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympic games, Australia and New Zealand played two matches as part of the 2020-21 Pro League[20] in Perth.

Commonwealth Games[13]
Year Host city Position
1998 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1st
2002
Manchester, England
1st
2006 Australia Melbourne, Australia 1st
2010 India New Delhi, India 1st
2014 Scotland Glasgow, Scotland 1st
2018
Gold Coast, Australia
1st
2022 England Birmingham, England 1st
Oceania Cup[21]
Year Host city Position
1999 Australia Brisbane, Australia 1st
2001 Australia Melbourne, Australia 1st
2003
Wellington, New Zealand
1st
2005 Fiji Suva, Fiji 1st
2007
Australia Buderim, Australia 1st
2009 New Zealand Invercargill, New Zealand 1st
2011
Australia Hobart, Australia 1st
2013
New Zealand Stratford, New Zealand 1st
2015
New Zealand Stratford, New Zealand 1st
2017
Sydney, Australia
1st
2019
Australia Rockhampton, Australia 1st
2023
Whangarei, New Zealand
1st
Sultan Azlan Shah Cup[22]
Year Host city Position
1983 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1st
1985 Malaysia Ipoh, Malaysia Did Not Compete
1987 Malaysia Ipoh, Malaysia Did Not Compete
1991 Malaysia Ipoh, Malaysia Did Not Compete
1994 Malaysia Penang, Malaysia 3rd
1995 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Did Not Compete
1996 Malaysia Ipoh, Malaysia 2nd
1998 Malaysia Ipoh, Malaysia 1st
1999 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Did Not Compete
2000 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Did Not Compete
2001 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 3rd
2003 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Did Not Compete
2004 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1st
2005 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1st
2006 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2nd
2007 Malaysia Ipoh, Malaysia 1st
2008 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Did Not Compete
2009 Malaysia Ipoh, Malaysia Did Not Compete
2010 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 3rd
2011 Malaysia Ipoh, Malaysia 1st
2012 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Did Not Compete
2013 Malaysia Ipoh, Malaysia 1st
2014 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1st
2015 Malaysia Ipoh, Malaysia 2nd
2016 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1st
2017 Malaysia Ipoh, Malaysia 2nd
2018 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1st
2019 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Did Not Compete
2020 Malaysia Ipoh, Malaysia Cancelled due to COVID-19
2021 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Cancelled due to COVID-19
2022 Malaysia Ipoh, Malaysia Did Not Compete

Team

Current squad

The following 24 players were named in the Kookaburras squad for the

India Leg of the FIH Pro League in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela, from 11–25 February.[23][24]

Head coach: Colin Batch

All caps and goals current as of 22 February 2024, following the match against Ireland.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps GoalsClub
8 GK Johan Durst (1991-03-18) 18 March 1991 (age 33) 30 0 Victoria (state) HC Melbourne
30 GK Andrew Charter (1987-03-30) 30 March 1987 (age 37) 232 0 Australian Capital Territory Canberra Chill

3 DF Corey Weyer (1996-03-28) 28 March 1996 (age 28) 48 3 Queensland Brisbane Blaze
4 DF Jake Harvie (1998-03-05) 5 March 1998 (age 26) 125 5 Western Australia Perth Thundersticks
6 DF Matthew Dawson (1994-04-27) 27 April 1994 (age 29) 196 13 Netherlands Amsterdam
10 DF Joshua Beltz (1995-04-24) 24 April 1995 (age 28) 107 5 Tasmania Tassie Tigers
16 DF Timothy Howard (1996-06-23) 23 June 1996 (age 27) 129 2 Queensland Brisbane Blaze
26 DF James Collins (2000-02-25) 25 February 2000 (age 24) 23 0 Western Australia Perth Thundersticks
32 DF Jeremy Hayward (Captain) (1993-03-03) 3 March 1993 (age 31) 217 111 Netherlands Den Bosch

1 MF Lachlan Sharp (1997-07-02) 2 July 1997 (age 26) 89 18 New South Wales NSW Pride
2 MF Thomas Craig (1995-09-03) 3 September 1995 (age 28) 126 41 Netherlands Klein Zwitserland
11 MF Eddie Ockenden (Captain) (1987-04-03) 3 April 1987 (age 37) 432 72 Tasmania Tassie Tigers
12 MF Jacob Whetton (1991-06-15) 15 June 1991 (age 32) 265 77 Queensland Brisbane Blaze
15 MF Jayden Atkinson (2001-07-09) 9 July 2001 (age 22) 15 0 Queensland Brisbane Blaze
17 MF Aran Zalewski (Captain) (1991-03-21) 21 March 1991 (age 33) 247 35 Western Australia Perth Thundersticks
20 MF Ky Willott (2001-03-15) 15 March 2001 (age 23) 39 11 New South Wales NSW Pride
22 MF Flynn Ogilvie (1993-09-17) 17 September 1993 (age 30) 157 28 New South Wales NSW Pride
23 MF Daniel Beale (1993-02-12) 12 February 1993 (age 31) 234 34 Queensland Brisbane Blaze

5 FW Thomas Wickham (1990-05-26) 26 May 1990 (age 33) 95 45 Western Australia Perth Thundersticks
7 FW Nathan Ephraums (1999-06-09) 9 June 1999 (age 24) 60 31 Victoria (state) HC Melbourne
9 FW Jacob Anderson (1997-03-22) 22 March 1997 (age 27) 64 21 Queensland Brisbane Blaze
13 FW Blake Govers (1996-07-06) 6 July 1996 (age 27) 153 142 Belgium Dragons
21 FW Jack Welch (1997-10-26) 26 October 1997 (age 26) 34 13 Tasmania Tassie Tigers
29 FW Timothy Brand (1998-11-29) 29 November 1998 (age 25) 83 30 Netherlands Klein Zwitserland

The remainder of the 2023 national squad is as follows:[25]

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Ashleigh Thomas (1995-07-21) 21 July 1995 (age 28) 4 0 New South Wales NSW Pride v.  France; 25 June 2023

FW Craig Marais (2002-05-28) 28 May 2002 (age 21) 14 1 Victoria (state) HC Melbourne v.  New Zealand; 30 April 2023
FW Joel Rintala (1996-07-24) 24 July 1996 (age 27) 4 7 Queensland Brisbane Blaze v.  New Zealand; 30 April 2023

Recent call-ups

The following players have received call-ups to the national team in the last twelve months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Benjamin Rennie (1990-09-28) 28 September 1990 (age 33) 12 0 Western Australia Perth Thundersticks v.  India; 12 March 2023

DF Dylan Martin (1998-01-12) 12 January 1998 (age 26) 28 0 New South Wales NSW Pride v.  France; 25 June 2023
DF Anand Gupte (1998-09-04) 4 September 1998 (age 25) 8 0 Australian Capital Territory Canberra Chill v.  New Zealand; 30 April 2023

MF Davis Atkin (2001-02-17) 17 February 2001 (age 23) 8 0 Australian Capital Territory Canberra Chill v.  France; 25 June 2023

FW Hayden Beltz (1997-09-08) 8 September 1997 (age 26) 7 0 Tasmania Tassie Tigers v.  New Zealand; 30 April 2023
FW Benjamin Staines (1997-07-13) 13 July 1997 (age 26) 7 1 Australian Capital Territory Canberra Chill v.  Great Britain; 29 April 2023

Notable players

Results

2024 Fixtures & Results

2022 Statistics
Pld W WD D LD L GF GA GD Pts
13 11 1 0 0 1 50 27 +23 35

FIH Pro League (Leg 1)

11 February 2024
India Leg
Spain  3–4  Australia Bhubaneswar, India
17:30 Miralles field hockey ball 29'
N. Álvarez field hockey ball 36'
Cabré-Verdiell field hockey ball 37'
Report Sharp field hockey ball 8'52'
Whetton field hockey ball 19'
Govers field hockey ball 25'
Stadium: Kalinga Hockey Stadium
13 February 2024
India Leg
Australia  5–0  Ireland Bhubaneswar, India
17:30 Craig field hockey ball 17'
Hayward field hockey ball 22'
Willott field hockey ball 25'57'
Ephraums field hockey ball 43'
Report Stadium: Kalinga Hockey Stadium
15 February 2024
India Leg
India  4–6  Australia Bhubaneswar, India
19:30 Harmanpreet field hockey ball 12'20'
Sukhjeet field hockey ball 18'
Mandeep field hockey ball 29'
Report Govers field hockey ball 2'2'
Zalewski field hockey ball 40'
Sharp field hockey ball 52'
Anderson field hockey ball 55'
Welch field hockey ball 58'
Stadium: Kalinga Hockey Stadium
16 February 2024
India Leg
Netherlands  4–5  Australia Bhubaneswar, India
17:30 Telgenkamp field hockey ball 6'
Bijen field hockey ball 12'22'
Janssen field hockey ball 56'
Report Govers field hockey ball 33'53'
Hayward field hockey ball 40'48'
Brand field hockey ball 60'
Stadium: Kalinga Hockey Stadium
21 February 2024
India Leg
Spain  1–4  Australia Rourkela, India
17:30 Amat field hockey ball 2' Report Ogilvie field hockey ball 4'
Ephraums field hockey ball 8'
Hayward field hockey ball 25'
Brand field hockey ball 44'
Stadium: Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium
22 February 2024
India Leg
Ireland  1–4  Australia Rourkela, India
17:30 O'Donoghue field hockey ball 44' Report Govers field hockey ball 33'52'
Ephraums field hockey ball 40'
Welch field hockey ball 56'
Stadium: Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium
24 February 2024
India Leg
India  2–2
(0–3 p)
 Australia Rourkela, India
19:30 Report Stadium: Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium

International Festival of Hockey

6 April 2024
Perth, Australia
16:40 Report Stadium: Perth Hockey Stadium
7 April 2024
Perth, Australia
16:40 Report Stadium: Perth Hockey Stadium
10 April 2024
Perth, Australia
17:40 Report Stadium: Perth Hockey Stadium
12 April 2024
Perth, Australia
17:40 Report Stadium: Perth Hockey Stadium
13 April 2024
Perth, Australia
16:40 Report Stadium: Perth Hockey Stadium

FIH Pro League (Leg 2)

29 May 2024
Belgium Leg
Belgium  v  Australia Antwerp, Belgium
19:00 Report Stadium: Wilrijkse Plein
30 May 2024
Belgium Leg
Australia  v  Argentina Antwerp, Belgium
16:30 Report Stadium: Wilrijkse Plein
1 June 2024
Belgium Leg
Argentina  v  Australia Antwerp, Belgium
18:30 Report Stadium: Wilrijkse Plein
2 June 2024
Belgium Leg
Belgium  v  Australia Antwerp, Belgium
16:15 Report Stadium: Wilrijkse Plein
8 June 2024
Great Britain Leg
Great Britain  v  Australia London, England
14:30 Report Stadium: Lee Valley Hockey Stadium
9 June 2024
Great Britain Leg
Australia  v  Germany London, England
17:15 Report Stadium: Lee Valley Hockey Stadium
11 June 2024
Great Britain Leg
Germany  v  Australia London, England
15:30 Report Stadium: Lee Valley Hockey Stadium
12 June 2024
Great Britain Leg
Great Britain  v  Australia London, England
17:45 Report Stadium: Lee Valley Hockey Stadium

XXXIII Olympic Games

27 July 2024
Pool B
Australia  v  Argentina Paris, France
13:15 Report Stadium: Stade Yves-du-Manoir
29 July 2024
Pool B
Ireland  v  Australia Paris, France
10:00 Report Stadium: Stade Yves-du-Manoir
30 July 2024
Pool B
Australia  v  Belgium Paris, France
19:45 Report Stadium: Stade Yves-du-Manoir
1 August 2024
Pool B
New Zealand  v  Australia Paris, France
10:30 Report Stadium: Stade Yves-du-Manoir
2 August 2024
Pool B
Australia  v  India Paris, France
13:15 Report Stadium: Stade Yves-du-Manoir

Family

Barry Dancer/Brent Dancer and Ric Charlesworth/Jonathan Charlesworth are two pairs of father as coach and son as player while both were affiliated with the national team in those positions.[12][26]

Recognition

References

  1. ^ "FIH Outdoor World Hockey Rankings". FIH. 12 March 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  2. ^ "History of Hockey in Australia". Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  3. ^ ABC (15 August 2016). "Rio 2016: Australia's Kookaburras and Sharks knocked out of men's hockey and water polo". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  4. ^ "Kookaburras ready to toss the monkey". The Sydney Morning Herald. 26 August 2004. Archived from the original on 27 July 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  5. ^ "Wagga Wagga's Olympic debutant Dylan Martin helps Kookaburras win hockey silver medal - ABC News". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 5 August 2021.
  6. ^ Epstein, Jackie (21 October 2009). "Dwyer breaks free of Holland binds – Australia always comes first". Herald Sun. Melbourne, Australia. p. 76. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
  7. ^ .
  8. .
  9. .
  10. .
  11. .
  12. ^ a b Petrie, Andrea (18 October 2009). "Sons a chip off the old stick – HOCKEY". The Sunday Age. Melbourne, Australia. p. 19. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
  13. ^ a b c "Fédération Internationale de Hockey | Official Website". International Hockey Federation.
  14. ^ "World Cup – FIH". International Hockey Federation.
  15. ^ "Champions Trophy". FIH.
  16. ^ "Australia pull out of Champions Trophy". 12 October 2004.
  17. ^ "FIH confirms Spain men and Belgium women join Hockey Pro League". FIH.
  18. ^ 2020-21 FIH Hockey Pro League (M)
  19. ^ "Hockeyroos and Kookaburras home Pro League matches postponed".
  20. ^ "Hockeyroos and Kookaburras confirmed for Pro League matches".
  21. ^ "Oceania Cup". Hockey Australia. Archived from the original on 11 January 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  22. ^ "Other". FIH.
  23. ^ "Squad Announcement: Full strength Kookaburras embark on Olympic campaign in India". hockey.org.au. Hockey Australia. 5 February 2024. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  24. ^ "Team Details – Australia". tms.fih.ch. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  25. ^ "Batch names strong 2024 Kookaburras squad ahead of Olympic year". hockey.org.au. International Hockey Federation. 6 December 2024. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  26. .
  27. ^ a b c "Australian Sports Awards". Confederation of Australian Sport. Archived from the original on 8 February 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  28. ^ "Rabbitohs, Fearnley, Fox win top ASPAS". Australian Sports Commission News, 11 February 2015. Archived from the original on 11 February 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2015.

External links