Burras and Jillaroos go undefeated against Junior Black Sticks

Australia’s Under 21 Men’s and Women’s Teams both registered two wins and a draw in the three Oceania Junior World Cup Qualifiers against their New Zealand counterparts in Canberra.

The Burras and Jillaroos showed their scoring pedigree in the series which were valuable preparation in the lead up to the Junior World Cups in December next year.

Both Australia and New Zealand qualify for the Junior World Cup as the only two countries from Oceania competing in the Qualifiers.

In the Men’s Qualifiers the Burras scored 13 goals in three matches, top scorer Cambell Geddes deadly from the top of the D with all five of his goals coming from short corners. Kookaburra Craig Marais was also prominent.

The Burras continued their encouraging run of form after finishing second in the Sultan of Johor Cup in October. 

“The Oceania Junior World Cup Qualifiers was an awesome event and fantastic exposure for our team,” said Burras Coach Jay Stacy.

“Off the back of our successful Sultan of Johor Cup campaign, New Zealand were an excellent opposition that challenged us in many areas. 

“To the players’ credit, they rose to those challenges with a focussed work ethic that led to continual improvement in each match and winning the series.” 

“These three matches provide a strong foundation to build our Junior World Cup preparation on in 2023, so I am excited by what lays ahead for this group of athletes.”

The Jillaroos also had a strong series in what were their first internationals since they played against Japan in Canberra in 2019.

Queenslander Tatum Stewart finished the series as the top goal scorer, including a hat-trick in the 4-2 win on Saturday which saw the Jillaroos have eight penalty corners to one.

The 2023 Junior World Cups will be held in December with the Women’s Junior World Cup in Santiago, Chile and the Men’s tournament taking place in Malaysia.

Match Results
8 December 2022
Jillaroos 2 (Stewart 3’, Harris 45’)
Junior Black Sticks Women 2 (Catley 12’, Hildesley 58’)
Team Line-ups

Burras 4 (Marais 19’/44’, Burns 48’, Geddes 55’)
Junior Black Sticks Men 2 (Aldred 10’, Fraser 45’)
Team Line-ups

10 December 2022
Burras 4 (Brooks 7’, Geddes 34’, Foster 47’, Marais 52’)
Junior Black Sticks Men 4 (Cosslett 9’, Nicolson 17’, Ward 21’, Lints 56’)
Team Line-ups

Jillaroos 4 (Stewart 5’/13’/57’, Harris 50’)
Junior Black Sticks Women 2 (Catley 21’/33’)
Team Line-ups

11 December 2022
Burras 5 (Geddes 4’/41’/45’, Burns 16’, Foster 35’)
Junior Black Sticks Men 1 (Houlbrooke 51’)
Team Line-ups

Jillaroos 3 (Flynn 16, Jones 34’/56’)
Junior Black Sticks Women 0
Team Line-ups