Five West Australian’s named in Kookaburras 2020 Squad

Five West Australian’s have been named as part of the 27-member Kookaburras 2020 Squad that will contest the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and aim to defend their FIH Pro League title.

Named the Best Player in the 2019 FIH Pro Leage Co-Captain Aran Zalewski brings nearly a decade of experience to the team with his 183 caps.

Trent Mitton who scored one of the three goals in the Kookaburra’s FIH Pro League gold medal game will again be a powerhouse forward.

One of three goalkeepers named to the squad Tyler Lovell, will look to solidify his place in front of goal having narrowly missed out in Rio.

21-year-old Jake Harvie and Tom Wickham and complete the five-member WA group.

With minimal change from the 2019 playing group Kookaburras Head Coach Colin Batch Batch believes this  group is yet to reach its full potential.

“We did really well in 2019 so we can tick that off as a good year but know there is a lot of improvement left in this group,” said Batch.

“I’m looking to all of the players to create more opportunities and growth in the group both individually and for us as a team, and if we are going to be successful next year we have to have that.

“We talk about the 2020 national squad but this is the squad that the Olympic team will come out of, so that in itself is a great achievement for all of the athletes who have been selected.

“Our goal is to play well at the Olympics. Our preparation has to be good all the way through. We start training in early January and then Pro League begins in late January so for us the focus is to keep improving and maintain that enthusiasm and excitement.

“If you do all of those things it puts you in a good position to have success rather than always thinking about the outcome.”