Hockeyroos and Kookaburras ready to step it up

The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games hockey tournament has reached the business end and the Hockeyroos and Kookaburras head into highly anticipated knockout semi finals with a full head of steam.

The Hockeyroos take on India for a spot in the gold medal match at 5.15am AEST on Saturday morning in what is a repeat of the semi final fixture on the Gold Coast four years ago.

Awaiting the Kookaburras in the last four is a showdown against host nation England at 5.15am AEST on Sunday morning.

Both of Australia’s flagship national hockey teams won all four of their pool matches and sent statements in the process.

The Kookaburras have been relentless so far in their pursuit of a seventh straight Commonwealth Games gold medal, scoring 29 goals and conceding only two.

The Hockeyroos are yet to concede a goal in the tournament and continue to improve with each performance.

Hockeyroos Head Coach Katrina Powell said the group’s progress through the tournament has given them confidence that their structure and game style will stand up when it matters.

“I certainly expected us to make the semi finals…I probably didn’t expect us to go in with a clean sheet, and the number of goals scored has been pleasing as well. Our processes are working well for us,” said Powell.

“Our defence has been going really well but it is also the basis for our attack. The work we have done together as a unit, playing as a team both when we have the ball and when we don’t have the ball has been really good.”

Heading into the match against an India side that won three of its four pool encounters, Powell said the experience of playing cutthroat matches at the recent World Cup (where the Hockeyroos claimed the bronze medal) was invaluable learning and experience.  

“We are putting pressure on ourselves to win the big matches,” said Powell.

“We had some really good experience at the World Cup but we did lose our semi final, so we’re working really hard to make sure we will be playing for the gold medal and in the biggest game.”

“Through those experiences at the World Cup we worked out where our mindset needs to be and that is going to be really critical for us playing against India.”

Powell is buoyed by the trajectory this Hockeyroos team is heading and is relishing the varying situations the team is finding itself in as it takes the favouritism tag into the semi finals.

“For the World Cup I think we came into it hunting and targeting teams,” said Powell.

“Now we find ourselves here with a target on our back, but you are only as good as your last game.

“We have had four games since the World Cup and that’s well and truly in the past. If we are going to be a good team, we need to continually perform.”

“Everyone in this group puts the team first. No matter how many games you have played you are expected to contribute.”

The world number one ranked Kookaburras have been a team on a mission in Birmingham. Nine Kookaburras players have scored goals in the tournament as they produced some scintillating hockey through the pool games.

Now they face an England team that also constantly found the back of the net and will be cheered on by a parochial home crowd.

Kookaburras Head Coach Colin Batch knows his charges will need to go up another gear to continue Australia’s remarkable record in men’s hockey at the Commonwealth Games.

“We know England well and they will provide challenges to us. Playing at home, they will get really good crowd support,” said Batch.

“Our finishing has been very good. Maybe we were a bit below where we should have been against South Africa but tactically they were very good defensively.”

“We have to step up. We have played well but I don’t think the level is quite there yet to perform at our best at the end of the tournament.

“We have a belief that we can get the job done and we need to because it’s the business end of the tournament and you are playing the better sides.”

“You always want to play your best at the end and we pride ourselves on doing that.”

Catch all the hockey from the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games on Seven and 7plus.

Commonwealth Games Australia website
Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games website

Semi Final details
Hockeyroos v India
5.15am AEST Saturday 6 August (8.15pm local time Friday 5 August)

Kookaburras v England
5.15am AEST Sunday 7 August (8.15pm local time Saturday 6 August)