McGurk Ready for Injury Comeback
AIS-WAIS Hockeyroos defender Kobie McGurk is poised to make her long awaited return to the Australian team when the Hockeyroos take on world number two Argentina in a four test series in Townsville, Queensland.
The series will take place from March 24-28, with McGurk selected as part of the Hockeyroos 19 player squad.
McGurk hasn’t played international hockey since doing her ACL over nine months ago while playing club hockey in Western Australia. Her last international match was coincidently also against Argentina and was also her 100th game, played during the Spar Cup in South Africa in June 2009.
While selected in the 19 player squad, Hockeyroos coach Frank Murray said whether McGurk played or not against Argentina would depend on medical advice next week.
“It (McGurk’s inclusion) still depends on medial advice, but she is back into full training at the moment. We will make an assessment next week and if the advice comes back ok we will play her sparingly during the series. But we certainly wont be taking any risks with her,” said Murray.
McGurk said that although she is happy to be included in the squad, she knows this is just the beginning of her return.
“I’m obviously really excited to be back playing, but this is just the start of the process. It has been a very long nine months and I have had some setbacks along the way, it has been a battle at times. It gave me a chance to reflect on my career and overall I’ve had a good run with injuries, but it certainly wasn’t easy.” said McGurk.
With the Australian men’s hockey team recently winning the men’s 2010 World Cup, McGurk’s potential return to the squad is timely given that the Hockeyroos are about to commence their path to the 2010 Women’s World Cup.
With this series giving the team a great opportunity to perfect their game plan against a quality team, the team still needs to qualify for the 2010 World Cup which will be played in Argentina from 29 August – 11 September.
After suffering a surprise loss in the final of the Oceania Cup to New Zealand in August last year, the Hockeyroos were denied direct access to the 2010 Women’s World Cup.
They will need to win the BDO World Cup Qualifier to earn a spot at the World Cup. Their opposition will include Chile (ranked 16th), Ireland (ranked 15th), Malaysia (ranked 22nd), Scotland (ranked 23rd) and Trinidad & Tobago (ranked 26th).
However, first the Hockeyroos will test themselves against Argentina, the team who defeated Australia in a penalty shoot-out during the final of the 2009 Champions Trophy in Sydney.
Murray noted that the return of McGurk, along with the inclusion of Shelly Liddelow and Teneal Attard who did not play in the 2009 Champions Trophy final, has strengthened the team.
“We have three players in Shelly Liddelow, Kobie McGurk and Teneal Attard who all competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics but didn’t play at the 2009 Champions Trophy. Their level of experience will help strengthen the team,” said Murray.
Teneal Attard, originally from Townsville who herself only made her international return late last year after suffering an ACL injury, said that the Hockeyroos would need to be at their best when facing Argentina during this series.
“Argentina is one of the best teams in the world and they deserve the utmost respect. They are a determined team who are skilful, fast and have good set plays. We will need to ensure our defence is solid and looks to avoid giving away any soft penalty corners. Through the midfield there will need to be a high work rate, giving options out of defence and building the play, and upfront it will be imperative that we put away opportunities when they come,” said Attard.
– Hockey Australia
