Kookaburras Prepare for Four Nations Test

Published On: 8 February 2012

With the London 2012 Olympic Games only six months away, the Kookaburras are in Perth for a Four Nations tournament against the Netherlands, Argentina and Australia ‘A’ designed to begin preparations for London.

This will be the first hit-out for the newly formed 2012 National/Olympic Games Squad and the 2012 Development Squad, who are still in the mix to impress the coaches for selection.

Kookaburras coach Ric Charlesworth said “We are in heavy training at the moment and these matches will give the players a great chance to play against strong teams that we’ll be competing against in London.”

Charlesworth said the tournament would provide a form guide for where the squad is at. “With 28 players in the Olympic squad and 14 players in the development squad, this gives us a good opportunity to test the groups and assess their state of preparedness,” he said.

Kookaburras regulars Simon Orchard, Joel Carroll and AIS-WAIS scholarship holder Graeme Begbie return from injury after missing the 2011 Champions Trophy and will have the opportunity to impress the coaching staff early in 2012.

A number of experienced Olympic squad players are included in the Australia ‘A’ squad and will get the chance to impress when they are included in the Kookaburras squad for the second week of matches.

The matches will be played at two venues: Perth Hockey Stadium in Bentley and on the newly laid Olympic Games replica blue pitch at Lemnos Shenton Park.

Playing on the blue pitch will ensure that the Kookaburras and Hockeyroos are adequately prepared for the conditions they’ll face in London. Charlesworth said “It will be great to play serious matches against quality teams on a blue pitch. Every game we play will help us to further define our best team. We hope the conditions will give us a good insight into what to expect in London.”

The Kookaburras team for the first week of matches contains AIS-WAIS athletes; Graeme Begbie, Fergus Kavanagh and Kiel Brown, whilst the Australian “A” team features; Jonathon Charlesworth, Brent Dancer, Chris Bausor, Ian Burcher, Tristan Clemons, Trent Mitton and Aran Zalewski.

-Hockey Australia