Debutant named in Kookaburras for FIH Pro League in Christchurch

Another Kookaburra will make his debut, while two experienced campaigners return after the announcement of the Kookaburras team for the FIH Pro League series against New Zealand and Great Britain in Christchurch from 22-30 April 2023.

Queensland’s Joel Rintala is set to become the 442nd player to represent the Kookaburras after being named to make his maiden international appearance.

The drag flick specialist was selected in the 2023 Kookaburras squad but has had to wait patiently to debut due to injury.

At the other end of the scale, Kookaburras Head Coach Colin Batch welcomes back midfielder Daniel Beale and goalkeeper Andrew Charter who have 437 games of experience between them.

The addition of Beale and Charter balance a Kookaburras group that will head to Christchurch comprising seven players with less than 11 international matches.

Hayden Beltz, Anand Gupte and Ben Staines will get another opportunity to impress after featuring in the last FIH Pro League series against India and Germany.

“Joel (Rintala) has had some injury worries over the past six months and unfortunately he wasn’t quite ready for India, but he’s fully fit now,” said Batch.

“In addition to Joel coming in, we have several players in this group who haven’t played a lot. These players could still be considered rookies…they’re still learning to play at international level.”

“In many respects I was happier with what we did in India than how we played in Hobart. There is some reward for players who played well in India, so we want to keep them on and have another look at them.”

The other ‘rookies’ include Jayden Atkinson, James Collins and Craig Marais.

Batch said he was excited by the blend of experience and new blood as the Kookaburras look to improve on the encouraging signs they showed against World Champions Germany and an in-form India.

“You can’t deny experience and the team we have named for these matches against New Zealand and Great Britain has a good balance, particularly with the enthusiasm and energy the young inexperienced guys showed in India,” said Batch.

“It will be a good balance for us moving forward so I’m really interested to see how we go over these four games.”

“We’ve had a good preparation for this series. We have some good training weeks under our belt so I’m expecting an even better performance this time around.”

Notably, Jake Whetton is set to play his 250th game in the series.

The Kookaburras will depart for Christchurch on 18 April ahead of their first match of the ‘mini tournament’ against Great Britain on Sunday 23 April 2023.

The series will be broadcast on FOX Sports and Kayo.

Kookaburras squad - FIH Pro League 2022-23 Season Christchurch (22-30 April 2023)

FIH Pro League 2022-23 Season Christchurch - Hockeyroos & Kookaburras Match Schedule
Saturday 22 April - Hockeyroos v Great Britain (Women) 12:10pm AEST
Sunday 23 April - Kookaburras v Great Britain (Men) 12:10pm AEST
Tuesday 25 April - New Zealand v Hockeyroos (Women) 12:10pm AEST
Tuesday 25 April - New Zealand v Kookaburras (Men) 2:40pm AEST
Friday 28 April - Great Britain v Hockeyroos (Women) 3:10pm AEST
Saturday 29 April - Great Britain v Kookaburras (Men) 2:40pm AEST
Sunday 30 April - New Zealand v Kookaburras (Men) 12:10pm AEST
Sunday 30 April - New Zealand v Hockeyroos (Women) 2:40pm AEST

Full FIH Pro League 2022-23 Match Schedule