New Hockeyroos to Face World Number One
The newest members of the Hockeyroos will be given little time to settle into the team, with the new look squad set to take on the world’s number one team, Argentina, on their home soil throughout February.
Seven players will make their debuts for the Hockeyroos when the team travels to Argentina to compete in two 4 Nations tournaments where they will face Argentina (world rank 1), Germany (world rank 3) and USA (world rank 13).
Amongst the debutants will be 19 year old Queenslander Katelin Marks. Although not originally selected to partake in last week’s 60 player training camp, Marks was a late addition and impressed coach Adam Commens to the point where she was awarded an AIS scholarship.
Commens said Marks showed numerous qualities as a player that he wanted to transfer into the Hockeyroos
“She is an outstanding athlete. She is tall, fast and very agile and I am looking forward to her continued development,” said Commens.
In an indication of how much the squad has changed in only a short period of time, the average games per player for these tournaments is 44, compared to 77 games average per player for the 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medal side from only three month ago.
Commens acknowledged that playing against the worlds top teams would be a test for the new players but it was important as a way to fast track their development ahead of the London Olympics.
“It is going to be a big test for these girls when we play some good teams over the next few months. We will see how they handle it, it is a big step up to this level of hockey. There is only 18 months left until the London Olympics so we need to work quickly and one way to do that is to expose our players against quality teams as often as possible,” said Commens.
The next generation of Hockeyroos will also be given an opportunity to impress in February, with the Australian Junior team and the Australia A team taking on France in Perth in a series of matches.
For further information contact Shaun Anderson – 0412 654 931.
Hockeyroos squad
4 Nations Tournaments v Argentina, Germany & USA
Mendoza, Argentina 9-13 February
Rosario, Argentina 16-20 February
Debutants in bold
Madonna Blyth (QLD), Jade Close (NSW), Toni Cronk (NSW), Casey Eastham (NSW), Anna Flanagan (ACT), Bianca Greenshields (SA), Marnie Hudson (QLD), Heather Langham (NT), Rachael Lynch (VIC), Katelin Marks (QLD), Kobie McGurk (WA), Georgia Nanscawen (VIC), Ashleigh Nelson (WA), Kandice Olivieri (QLD), Megan Rivers (NSW), Jodie Schulz (QLD), Jayde Taylor (WA), Jade Warrender (NSW), Kellie White (NSW)
