Nelson and Slattery Earn Hockeyroos Call-up
With qualification for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on the line, the Hockeyroos will go into the World League Semi Final tournament in Antwerp with their strongest available line-up.
Captain Madonna Blyth is set to become the most capped Hockeyroo of all time as she closes in on fellow Queenslander Nikki Hudson’s 303-game record. Blyth, a two-time Olympian with 301 appearances under her belt, is likely to break Hudson’s record in Australia’s third match, against fierce rivals New Zealand.
At the other end of the experience spectrum, livewire forward Mariah Williams has been called up for her first major FIH tournament following strong displays against China in Sydney and at the Hawke’s Bay Cup in New Zealand in April. Williams and fellow forward Kathryn Slattery (WAIS) are two of only three members of the side that were not part of the Hockeyroos’ World Cup or Commonwealth Games successes in 2014. The other is 206-times capped Teneal Attard, who missed much of last year through injury.
Joining Slattery in the Hockeyroos’ squad is WAIS scholarship holder and 2012 London Olympian Ashleigh Nelson.
The Hockeyroos welcome back Anna Flanagan and Casey Sablowski, both of whom missed the April series while playing in the Dutch Hoofdklasse league for MOP and Pinoke respectively. All being well, Flanagan should make her 150th appearance for Australia in the Hockeyroos’ final clash.
Another athlete in line for a milestone appearance is goalkeeper Ashlee Wells with the Victorian two games short of her half century.
Hockeyroos Head Coach Adam Commens said of the selection, “We’ve opted for players who we have seen perform under pressure at high level tournaments in the past.
“Our objective is to win the tournament and that remains the objective for all of the competitions we enter, but qualification for the Olympic Games is front of mind.”
On the inclusion of Mariah Williams, the only member of the squad yet to experience a major international event, Commens said, “Mariah has performed well over the past six months and was well in contention for our World Cup squad a year ago before she succumbed to injury.
“It has been a highly competitive selection. We’ve picked this squad on past and recent international performances, as well as recent training form.
“Kate Hanna and Gabrielle Nance are unlucky not to have made it having performed really well in training and inter squad matches. They have a lot of potential but need to demonstrate they can take it into international games before playing in a major tournament. Add to that, players of the quality of Kate Jenner and Georgie Morgan have missed out and it demonstrates the depth of squad that we’re building.”
Australia must finish in the top three of the ten team competition, which runs from 20 June until 5 July, to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games. The Hockeyroos have been drawn with rivals New Zealand Black Sticks, hosts Belgium, India and Poland in Pool B. The Netherlands, Korea, Japan, Italy and Azerbaijan make up Pool A. Teams play their pool opponents once each with the top four in each pool qualifying for the quarter finals.
The other World League Semi Final tournament, featuring the likes of Argentina, Germany, Great Britain, China and USA takes place in Valencia from 10 June. The top three nations from that tournament will also qualify for the Olympic Games.
The team departs for Antwerp next Friday, 12 June, commencing their campaign on day two of the tournament, Sunday 21 June. They will play two uncapped practice matches, against Japan and Korea, in the days before the competition begins.
-HockeyAus
