Jillaroos and Burras squads named with eye to World Cups

This year’s Women’s and Men’s Australian Junior (Under 21) squads (Jillaroos and Burras) have been announced with an eye towards December’s FIH Junior Hockey World Cups and also the future success of Australian hockey at the elite level.

The selected Jillaroos and Burras squads comprise 27 athletes who are all age eligible for the Junior World Cups and were selected following the 2023 Hockey Australia U21 Championships in Sydney.

The incentive for the athletes selected in the squads could not be higher with the pinnacle global under 21 tournaments coming up at the end of the year – the Women’s Junior World Cup in Chile (29 November - 10 December) and Men’s Junior World Cup in Malaysia (5-16 December).

Further to the Australian U21 Championships, selection was based on performances in last year’s Hockey One League and the Oceania Junior World Cup Qualifiers against New Zealand in Canberra last December, while the Jillaroos also had a four-match series against Japan on the Gold Coast in February.

In addition to the athletes selected in the Jillaroos squad, there are eight currently in either the Hockeyroos or Women’s National Development Squad who are also age eligible for the Junior World Cup.

This provides an abundance of competition for spots in Australia’s Women’s Junior World Cup team, allowing Jillaroos Head Coach Stacia Strain and the selection panel to also select with a view beyond this year.

“The Under 21 Championships were a fantastic indicator of how far this age group has come technically and tactically. There was some really good hockey played and the quality across the board was what impressed us as a selection panel,” said Strain.

“We have picked the 27 players with an eye on the Junior World Cup, but I didn’t want to limit it solely to that. I want to keep one eye on development and the future of the Jillaroos and the Hockeyroos.”

“We have selected athletes we think can vie for spots at the Junior World Cup but also athletes who can progress and contribute to the Jillaroos program next year and in 2025.”

“We want to be the first Australian women’s team to win a Junior World Cup gold medal. We know that success in the junior ranks means you are a strong chance of having success at senior level, and already having eight players in the Hockeyroos and NDS we are very talented across the board.

“There is some amazing talent coming through in this Junior Squad so I definitely think we can finish on top of the podium in Chile in December.”

For the Burras, 13 athletes aged out of the Junior Squad at the end of 2022, meaning there a host of new faces in the 2023 group. Current Kookaburra Craig Marais is the one athlete from the national senior or development squad eligible to compete at the Junior World Cup.

With just nine months since last year’s Australian U21 Championships, Burras Head Coach Jay Stacy said the level of hockey was pleasing and made for difficult decisions around selection.

“As a selection panel there were in depth conversations about athletes based on what we need and what to develop moving forward to the Junior World Cup,” said Stacy.

“The depth is certainly evident at Under 21 level and there are some guys who remain in the squad from last year.

“We have some real strength in our Penalty Corner Attack and Penalty Corner Defence areas and high quality athletes, both technically and tactically across all lines. A pleasing aspect to observe at the U21 Nationals was the flexibility of athletes to play and execute roles in various structures which will provide a great base for the squad to grow.”

“We have selected some really strong talent which provides great competition within the squad. This will produce exciting times ahead and some difficult decisions at the final team selection. This is a nice problem to have.”

“At this early stage we don’t have any intel on teams we will face at the Junior World Cup, but like all Australian hockey teams we head there with the aim and objective to win the World Cup.”

The Burras will embark on a European tour in June for matches against the U21 national teams of Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. A Burras team will also compete at the annual invitational Sultan of Johor Cup in October ahead of the Junior World Cup.

Australia has won the Men’s Junior World Cup once, in 1997.