FIH Pro League Christchurch - Kookaburras Preview
Published Thu 20 Apr 2023
The Kookaburras went through their paces in Christchurch today as they finalise preparations for their opening match of the FIH Pro League ‘mini tournament’ on Sunday.
The Kookaburras and Hockeyroos attended a Pōwhiri Ceremony (a Māori welcoming ceremony) to officially launch the series, with the action now turning to the pitch as Australia’s national hockey teams take on traditional rivals New Zealand and Great Britain at the Nga Puna Wai Hockey Stadium from 22-30 April.
The Kookaburras enter this series with a solid month of training under their belt and seven players with 11 international appearances or less.
Queenslander Joel Rintala will make his Kookaburras debut, while fellow Queenslander Jake Whetton is set to reach the 250 game milestone.
Kookaburras Head Coach Colin Batch is expecting his group to step up another gear after their last Pro League mini tournament against India and Germany.
“We come into this series trying to play our best, it’s as simple as that. We’ve got four challenging matches here,” said Batch.
“I expect us to play better than we have so far in the Pro League. We’ve had a longer preparation for this series, so as the games get tougher hopefully we can stand up and rely on the training we have done.”
After impressing in India, Batch said he was again eager to see how the Kookaburras’ newcomers performed together with the more experienced campaigners.
“It’s exciting watching the younger guys develop. We saw that in India where they performed really well, so we’re excited about their future,” said Batch.
“Also with Joel coming into the group for the first time, whenever someone plays their first game for Australia it is always a special occasion.”
Veteran Kookaburras goalkeeper Andrew Charter returns for his first international matches since the World Cup in January and he is expecting a fierce contest against Great Britain and New Zealand.
“It’s going to be an extremely tough series. The last time we played England or Great Britain was in the semi finals of the Commonwealth Games so there’s a little bit of bad blood there,” said Charter.
“And with New Zealand coming off an impressive World Cup performance, these are going to be really hard games.”
Charter also echoed Claxton’s sentiments about the privilege of being able to play on Anzac Day.
“I don’t think it can be overstated how important Anzac Day is to both Australia and New Zealand,” said Charter.
“To be able to play on Anzac Day is really special and the comradery between the two countries, particularly after the game, is something special to be part of.”
The FIH Pro League series in Christchurch will be broadcast in Australia on FOX Sports and Kayo.
Kookaburras Squad for FIH Pro League Christchurch
1.Lachlan Sharp, 4.Jake Harvie, 7.Nathan Ephraums, 8.Johan Durst (gk), 10.Josh Beltz, 11.Eddie Ockenden, 12.Jake Whetton, 15.Jayden Atkinson, 16.Tim Howard, 17.Aran Zalewski, 19.Craig Marais, 20.Ky Willott, 21.Jack Welch, 23.Daniel Beale, 26.James Collins, 27.Joel Rintala, 30.Andrew Charter (gk), 33.Hayden Beltz, 36.Anand Gupte, 44.Ben Staines
FIH Pro League 2022-23 Season Christchurch - Hockeyroos & Kookaburras Match Schedule
Saturday 22 April - Hockeyroos v Great Britain (Women) 12:10pm AEST (FOX Sport 505)
Sunday 23 April - Kookaburras v Great Britain (Men) 12:10pm AEST (FOX Sport 505)
Tuesday 25 April - New Zealand v Hockeyroos (Women) 12:10pm AEST (FOX Sport 506)
Tuesday 25 April - New Zealand v Kookaburras (Men) 2:40pm AEST (FOX Sport 506)
Friday 28 April - Great Britain v Hockeyroos (Women) 3:10pm AEST (FOX Sport 505)
Saturday 29 April - Great Britain v Kookaburras (Men) 2:40pm AEST (FOX Sport 505)
Sunday 30 April - New Zealand v Kookaburras (Men) 12:10pm AEST (FOX Sport 503)
Sunday 30 April - New Zealand v Hockeyroos (Women) 2:40pm AEST (FOX Sport 507)
