Hockey Australia Updates Men’s Senior Squad
Following the Kookaburras’ successful World League Semi Final campaign, which saw Australia’s men’s team qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games, Hockey Australia has reconfirmed its national senior and development squads.
Both squads contain WAIS representation, with the senior squad listing five scholarship holders and the underpinning development squad identifying a further two athletes.
Kiel Brown, Fergus Kavanagh, Tyler Lovell, Trent Mitton and Aran Zalewski have all been confirmed in the senior squad, whilst Chris Bausor and Tristan Clemons are in the 11-man development squad.
New South Wales’ Blake Govers moves into the senior national squad and has been offered and accepted a Hockey Australia scholarship following his performances in the World League and in May’s Tests against Pakistan, New Zealand and Korea in Hobart.
The 19 year-old forward from Wollongong finished as the top goal scorer at the Hockey World League Semi Final in Antwerp, finding the net seven times in seven matches. He was subsequently named as the tournament’s best junior player.
In joining older brother Kieran in the squad, Blake’s inclusion makes the Govers brothers the second pair of siblings in the men’s national squad alongside Northern Territory’s Jeremy and Leon Hayward.
Russell Ford is no longer included in the national squad having retired from international hockey in April 2015 while Tasmanian Nick Budgeon will make the transition from the national senior squad to the national development squad.
Men’s National Coach Graham Reid said, “The national senior and development squads, which are largely unchanged, reflect our primary focus on the development of our squad as we move into the final 12 months before the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
“We will continue to build capacity and experience in the group to give us the best possible chance of success in Rio.”
The adjustments to the squads follow a period of assessment that took into account the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, Test matches in Hobart, the World League Semi Final and the national program’s daily training environment.
-HockeyAus
