Australia men's national field hockey team

The Australia men's national field hockey team (nicknamed the Kookaburras) is one of the nation's most successful top-level sporting teams. They are the only Australian team in any sport to receive medals at the last six Summer Olympic Games (1992–2012). The Kookaburras placed in the top four in every Olympics between 1980 and 2012; in 2016, the Kookaburras placed sixth.[2] They also won the Hockey World Cup in 1986, 2010 and 2014.

Australia
NicknameKookaburras
AssociationHockey Australia
ConfederationOHF (Oceania)
CoachColin Batch
Assistant coach(es)Anthony Potter
ManagerNathan Eglington
CaptainAran Zalewski
Most capsEddie Ockenden
Home
Away
FIH ranking
Current 2 (21 December 2020)[1]
Highest1 (2005, 2010–2011, 2014 – January 2017, December 2017 – July 2018, June 2019 – January 2020)
Lowest3 (2003)
Olympic Games
Appearances15 (first in 1956)
Best result1st (2004)
World Cup
Appearances13 (first in 1971)
Best result1st (1986, 2010, 2014)
Oceania Cup
Appearances11 (first in 1999)
Best result1st (1999–2017)

The Kookaburras' inability to win an Olympic gold medal despite their perennial competitiveness, led many in the Australian hockey community to speak of a "curse" afflicting the team,[3] finally broken in 2004 with the win in Athens.

History

Australia's first men's team competed in an international match in 1922.[4]

The first major competition won by the national team was the 1983 World Championships held in Karachi.[5]

Participations

Australia's first men's team competed at the Olympics in field hockey at the 1956 Summer Olympics.[5]

Australia did not medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics[6] or the 1988 Summer Olympics.[7] At the 1992 Summer Olympics, Australia earned a silver medal, losing gold to Germany.[8] At the 1996 Summer Olympics, Australia finished third, earning a bronze medal.[9]

The team won their first Olympic gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Barry Dancer coached the side.[10]

Should Australia win the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics they will become the first national team in field hockey history to hold all four international titles available to them simultaneously. They would hold titles in the 2012 Olympics, 2010 World Cup, 2011 Champions Trophy and their continental championship (2011 Oceania Cup) at the same time. Along with those four titles Australia also holds the Commonwealth Games title from the 2010 championships.

  • Australia at the 2008 Olympics
  • Australia at the 2012 Olympics

Tournament records
World Cup[11]
Year Host city Position
1971 Barcelona, Spain 8th
1973 Amsterdam, Netherlands –
1975 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 5th
1978 Buenos Aires, Argentina 3rd
1982 Bombay, India 3rd
1986 London, England 1st
1990 Lahore, Pakistan 3rd
1994 Sydney, Australia 3rd
1998 Utrecht, Netherlands 4th
2002 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2nd
2006 Mönchengladbach, Germany 2nd
2010 New Delhi, India 1st
2014 The Hague, Netherlands 1st
2018 Bhubaneswar, India 3rd
Champions Trophy[12]
Year Host city Position
1978 Lahore, Pakistan 2nd
1980 Karachi, Pakistan 3rd
1981 Karachi, Pakistan 2nd
1982 Amstelveen, Netherlands 2nd
1983 Karachi, Pakistan 1st
1984 Karachi, Pakistan 1st
1985 Perth, Australia 1st
1986 Lahore, Pakistan 2nd
1987 Amstelveen, Netherlands 3rd
1988 Lahore, Pakistan 3rd
1989 Berlin, West Germany 1st
1990 Melbourne, Australia 1st
1991 Berlin, Germany 4th
1992 Karachi, Pakistan 2nd
1993 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1st
1994 Lahore, Pakistan 4th
1995 Berlin, Germany 2nd
1996 Madras, India 6th
1997 Adelaide, Australia 2nd
1998 Lahore, Pakistan 3rd
1999 Brisbane, Australia 1st
2000 Amstelveen, Netherlands 5th
2001 Rotterdam, Netherlands 2nd
2002 Cologne, Germany 5th
2003 Amstelveen, Netherlands 2nd
2004 Lahore, Pakistan –
2005 Chennai, India 1st
2006 Terrassa, Spain 4th
2007 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2nd
2008 Rotterdam, Netherlands 1st
2009 Melbourne, Australia 1st
2010 Mönchengladbach, Germany 1st
2011 Auckland, New Zealand 1st
2012 Melbourne, Australia 1st
2014 Bhubaneswar, India 3rd
2016 London, United Kingdom 1st
2018 Breda, Netherlands 1st
World League[13]
Year Round Host city Position
2012–13 Semifinal Rotterdam, Netherlands 2nd
Final New Delhi, India 4th
2014–15 Semifinal Antwerp, Belgium 1st
Final Raipur, India 1st
2016–17 Semifinal Johannesburg, South Africa 3rd
Final Bhubaneswar, India 1st
Commonwealth Games[14]
Year Host city Position
1998 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1st
2002 Manchester, England 1st
2006 Melbourne, Australia 1st
2010 New Delhi, India 1st
2014 Glasgow, Scotland 1st
2018 Gold Coast, Australia 1st
Pro League[15]
Year Host city Position
2019 Amstelveen, Netherlands 1st
Olympic Games[16]
Year Host city Position
1908 London, United Kingdom –
1920 Antwerp, Belgium –
1928 Amsterdam, Netherlands –
1932 Los Angeles, United States –
1936 Berlin, Germany –
1948 London, United Kingdom –
1952 Helsinki, Finland –
1956 Melbourne, Australia 5th
1960 Rome, Italy 6th
1964 Tokyo, Japan 3rd
1968 Mexico City, Mexico 2nd
1972 Munich, Germany 5th
1976 Montreal, Canada 2nd
1980 Moscow, Soviet Union N/A
1984 Los Angeles, United States 4th
1988 Seoul, South Korea 4th
1992 Barcelona, Spain 2nd
1996 Atlanta, United States 3rd
2000 Sydney, Australia 3rd
2004 Athens, Greece 1st
2008 Beijing, China 3rd
2012 London, United Kingdom 3rd
2016 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 6th
2020 Tokyo, Japan Qualified
2024 Paris, France TBD
2028 Los Angeles, United States TBD
Oceania Cup[17]
Year Host city Position
1999 Brisbane, Australia 1st
2001 Melbourne, Australia 1st
2003 Christchurch & Wellington, New Zealand 1st
2005 Suva, Fiji 1st
2007 Buderim, Australia 1st
2009 Invercargill, New Zealand 1st
2011 Hobart, Australia 1st
2013 Stratford, New Zealand 1st
2015 Stratford, New Zealand 1st
2017 Sydney, Australia 1st
2019 Rockhampton, Australia 1st
Sultan Azlan Shah Cup[18]
Year Host city Position
1983 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1st
1985 Ipoh, Malaysia –
1987 Ipoh, Malaysia –
1991 Ipoh, Malaysia –
1994 Penang, Malaysia 3rd
1995 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia –
1996 Ipoh, Malaysia 2nd
1998 Ipoh, Malaysia 1st
1999 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia –
2000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia –
2001 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 3rd
2003 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia –
2004 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1st
2005 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1st
2006 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2nd
2007 Ipoh, Malaysia 1st
2008 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia –
2009 Ipoh, Malaysia –
2010 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 3rd
2011 Ipoh, Malaysia 1st
2012 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia –
2013 Ipoh, Malaysia 1st
2014 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1st
2015 Ipoh, Malaysia 2nd
2016 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1st
2017 Ipoh, Malaysia 2nd
2018 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1st

Team

Current squad

The following 18 players represented Australia during the FIH Pro League match against Great Britain on 2 February 2020, in Sydney, Australia.[19]

Caps and goals are current as of 2 February 2020 after the match against the Great Britain.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
24 1GK Tyler Lovell (1987-05-23) 23 May 1987 143 0 Perth Thundersticks
30 1GK Andrew Charter (1987-03-30) 30 March 1987 179 0 Canberra Chill
3 2DF Corey Weyer (1996-03-28) 28 March 1996 40 3 Brisbane Blaze
4 2DF Jake Harvie (1998-03-05) 5 March 1998 66 3 Perth Thundersticks
6 2DF Matthew Dawson (1994-04-27) 27 April 1994 136 12 NSW Pride
16 2DF Tim Howard (1996-06-23) 23 June 1996 58 1 Brisbane Blaze
20 2DF Matthew Swann (1989-05-16) 16 May 1989 202 7 Brisbane Blaze
32 2DF Jeremy Hayward (1993-03-03) 3 March 1993 153 64 Tassie Tigers
1 3MF Lachlan Sharp (1997-07-02) 2 July 1997 46 10 NSW Pride
2 3MF Tom Craig (1995-09-03) 3 September 1995 101 29 NSW Pride
11 3MF Eddie Ockenden (C) (1987-04-03) 3 April 1987 362 71 Tassie Tigers
17 3MF Aran Zalewski (C) (1991-03-21) 21 March 1991 187 24 Perth Thundersticks
18 3MF Kurt Lovett (1997-01-15) 15 January 1997 1 0 NSW Pride
22 3MF Flynn Ogilvie (1993-09-17) 17 September 1993 107 22 NSW Pride
12 4FW Jacob Whetton (1991-06-15) 15 June 1991 201 64 Brisbane Blaze
25 4FW Trent Mitton (1990-11-26) 26 November 1990 170 77 Perth Thundersticks
26 4FW Dylan Wotherspoon (1993-04-09) 9 April 1993 89 31 Brisbane Blaze
29 4FW Timothy Brand (1998-11-29) 29 November 1998 38 16 NSW Pride

The remainder of the 2020 national squad is as follows:[20]

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Johan Durst (1991-03-18) 18 March 1991 3 0 HC Melbourne v.  India; May 17, 2019
DF Joshua Beltz (1995-04-24) 24 April 1995 39 3 Tassie Tigers v.  Japan; August 7, 2019
DF Joshua Simmonds (1995-10-04) 4 October 1995 17 0 HC Melbourne v.  Belgium; June 30, 2019
MF Daniel Beale (1993-02-12) 12 February 1993 173 28 Brisbane Blaze v.  Belgium; January 26, 2020
FW Tom Wickham (1990-05-26) 26 May 1990 51 21 Perth Thundersticks v.  Great Britain; February 1, 2020
FW Nathan Ephraums (1999-06-09) 9 June 1999 1 0 HC Melbourne
FW Jacob Anderson (1997-03-22) 22 March 1997 21 8 Brisbane Blaze v.  Belgium; January 26, 2020
FW Blake Govers (1996-07-06) 6 July 1996 97 83 NSW Pride v.  New Zealand; September 8, 2019
FW Jack Welch (1997-10-26) 26 October 1997 8 2 Tassie Tigers v.  New Zealand; March 17, 2019

Notable players

Results

2020 fixtures and results
2020 Statistics
Pld W WD LD L GF GA GD Pts
411111311+26

FIH Pro League
25 January 2020 Home 1 Australia  2–2
(2–4 p)		  Belgium Sydney, Australia
18:30 Hayward  49'
Craig  51'		 Report Briels  18'
Denayer  59'		 Stadium: Sydney Olympic Park
Penalties
Brand
Ogilvie
Craig
Swann 		Van Aubel
De Sloover
Gougnard
Wegnez
A. van Doren
26 January 2020 Home 2 Australia  2–4  Belgium Sydney, Australia
17:30 Sharp  42'
Hayward  60'		 Report Hendrickx  13', 25'
Plennevaux  56'
Stockbroekx  58'		 Stadium: Sydney Olympic Park
1 February 2020 Home 3 Australia  4–4
(3–1 p)		  Great Britain Sydney, Australia
16:00 Ockenden  19'
Wickham  29'
Zalewski  56'
Mitton  59'		 Report Jackson  20'
Wallace  31'
Shipperley  44'
Ansell  45'		 Stadium: Sydney Olympic Park
Penalties
Swann
Whetton
Harvie
Ogilvie 		Forsyth
Sorsby
Roper
Wallace
2 February 2020 Home 4 Australia  5–1  Great Britain Sydney, Australia
15:00 Wotherspoon  14'
Sharp  19'
Craig  29'
Brand  45'
Mitton  55'		 Report Taylor  18' Stadium: Sydney Olympic Park
21 February 2020 Away 1 India  v  Australia Bhubaneswar, India
19:00 Report Stadium: Kalinga Stadium
22 February 2020 Away 2 India  v  Australia Bhubaneswar, India
19:00 Report Stadium: Kalinga Stadium
6 March 2020 Home 5 Australia  v  Argentina Perth, Australia
20:30 Report Stadium: Perth Hockey Stadium
7 March 2020 Home 5 Australia  v  Argentina Perth, Australia
18:30 Report Stadium: Perth Hockey Stadium
14 March 2020 Away 3 Spain  v  Australia Valencia, Spain
13:00 Report Stadium: Estadio Beteró
15 March 2020 Away 4 Spain  v  Australia Valencia, Spain
13:00 Report Stadium: Estadio Beteró
21 March 2020 Away 5 Germany  v  Australia Mönchengladbach, Germany
17:30 Report Stadium: Warsteiner HockeyPark
21 March 2020 Away 6 Germany  v  Australia Mönchengladbach, Germany
15:30 Report Stadium: Warsteiner HockeyPark
27 March 2020 Away 7 Netherlands  v  Australia 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
18:30 Report Stadium: HC Den Bosch
29 March 2020 Away 8 Netherlands  v  Australia 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
15:30 Report Stadium: HC Den Bosch
16 May 2020 Home 7 Australia  v  New Zealand Perth, Australia
16:00 Report Stadium: Perth Hockey Stadium
17 May 2020 Home 8 Australia  v  New Zealand Perth, Australia
15:00 Report Stadium: Perth Hockey Stadium

2020 Goalscoring Table
Scorers
Rank Player FG PC PS Total
1 Tom Craig 1 0 1 2
Jeremy Hayward 0 2 0
Trent Mitton 2 0 0
Lachlan Sharp 2 0 0
2 Timothy Brand 0 1 0 1
Eddie Ockenden 0 1 0
Tom Wickham 1 0 0
Dylan Wotherspoon 1 0 0
Aran Zalewski 0 1 0
Total 7 5 1 13

Family

Barry Dancer/Brent Dancer and Ric Charlesworth/Jonathan Charlesworth are two pairs of father as coach and son as player while both were affiliated with the national team in those positions.[10][21]

Recognition

References
  1. "FIH Men's and Women's World Ranking". FIH. 21 December 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  2. ABC (15 August 2016). "Rio 2016: Australia's Kookaburras and Sharks knocked out of men's hockey and water polo". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  3. "Kookaburras ready to toss the monkey". Sydney Morning Herald. 26 August 2004. Archived from the original on 27 July 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  4. Epstein, Jackie (21 October 2009). "Dwyer breaks free of Holland binds – Australia always comes first". Herald Sun. Melbourne, Australia. p. 76. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
  5. Department of Sport, Recreation and Tourism; Australian Sport Commission (1985). Australian Sport, a profile. Canberra, Australia: Australian Government Publish Service. pp. 177–178. ISBN 0644036672.
  6. Dorling Kindersley Limited. (1999). The Olympic Games. St. Leonards, N.S.W.: Dorling Kindersley. p. 320. ISBN 1864660635. OCLC 57337092.
  7. Dorling Kindersley Limited. (1999). The Olympic Games. St. Leonards, N.S.W.: Dorling Kindersley. p. 327. ISBN 1864660635. OCLC 57337092.
  8. Dorling Kindersley Limited. (1999). The Olympic Games. St. Leonards, N.S.W.: Dorling Kindersley. p. 335. ISBN 1864660635. OCLC 57337092.
  9. Dorling Kindersley Limited. (1999). The Olympic Games. St. Leonards, N.S.W.: Dorling Kindersley. p. 343. ISBN 1864660635. OCLC 57337092.
  10. Petrie, Andrea (18 October 2009). "Sons a chip off the old stick – HOCKEY". The Sunday Age. Melbourne, Australia. p. 19. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
  11. "World Cup – FIH". International Hockey Federation.
  12. "Champions Trophy – FIH". FIH.
  13. "Home – FIH".
  14. "Home – FIH".
  15. "FIH confirms Spain men and Belgium women join Hockey Pro League". FIH.
  16. "Home – FIH".
  17. "Oceania Cup". Hockey Australia. Archived from the original on 11 January 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  18. "Other – FIH". FIH.
  19. "Australia – Great Britain". tms.fih.ch. International Hockey Federation. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  20. "Kookaburras squad announced for 2020". hockey.org.au. Hockey Australia. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  21. Department of Sport, Recreation and Tourism; Australian Sport Commission (1985). Australian Sport, a profile. Canberra, Australia: Australian Government Publish Service. p. 116. ISBN 0644036672.
  22. "Australian Sports Awards". Confederation of Australian Sport. Archived from the original on 8 February 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  23. "Rabbitohs, Fearnley, Fox win top ASPAS". Australian Sports Commission News, 11 February 2015. Archived from the original on 11 February 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
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