Kookaburras Announced for Oceania Cup

Published On: 5 October 2017

Hockey Australia this week named the Kookaburras team which will compete in the Oceania Cup at Sydney Olympic Park from the 11th to the 15th of October, including five experienced Western Australian talents.

  

WA’s Tristan Clemons, Tyler Lovell, Trent Mitton, Tom Wickham and Aran Zalewski will all take part in the biennial series where Australia will take on eighth-ranked New Zealand and 61st-ranked Papua New Guinea.

  

Goal keeper Tristan Clemons returns to the team for the first time since Australia’s Test Series against Pakistan in April.

  

Speaking of those returning to the squad, Kookaburras Head Coach Colin Batch said “Eddie Ockenden, Tristan Clemons, Ben Craig and Josh Beltz come in and I’m pleased to have them back.”

 

  

With the 2017 Australian Hockey League competition currently being played in Perth, this provided an excellent stage for selectors to have one last look at players before confirming their team selections.

  

Batch said, “we’re really pleased to have the Australian Hockey League as a final series of matches to select our team from.”

  

“It was an opportune time to assess the players and we’ve selected quite a talented team for Oceania Cup.”

 

  

With only six days until the Oceania Cup is scheduled to commence the Australian’s will have a small window of time to reconnect after spending limited time together over the last month.

 

  

“We have made good progress this year in a number of areas and we need to focus and continue to develop these areas during this series” said Batch.

 

  

Currently sitting second in the FIH World Rankings the Australian’s will be looking to cement their grip on this spot, with ranking points up for grabs at the Oceania Cup. 

 

  

Batch said “we want to maintain our position near the top. It’s important from that point of view that we play the series, do well and hopefully win it.”

  

The Australian’s have previously won all nine editions of the Oceania Cup.

  

The Kookaburras will fly out of Perth on Monday ready to begin competition at Sydney Olympic Park next Wednesday.