Kookaburras, Hockeyroos score upset wins over Olympic conquerors in FIH Pro League
Australia’s Kookaburras are already making big strides under new coach Mark Hager. But, he has warned the path to the LA Olympics won’t all be smooth sailing.
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Kookaburras head coach Mark Hager has conceded there may be a rough patch coming up for his side, but signs already point to a successful rejuvenation of their squad ahead of the LA Olympics in 2028.
After taking charge for his first two matches with the team in Sydney this week for the FIH Pro League – a tournament that the Australians won in 2023-24 — Hager admitted he still has a lot to learn as a coach.
They lost their first game to Spain, but bounced back with an impressive 4-2 win over reigning Olympic champions, the Netherlands.
But in a side that has blooded eight young debutants into the team, Hager’s long-term goal is creating enough depth that the squad is competitive by the time Los Angeles rolls around.
“Title defence, that’s not even in our minds,” Hager said.
“We want to win every game, that’s the number one priority. But for us, it’s about learning. I’m still learning, I’m only five weeks into the job and we’ve been together for three weeks as a group.
“We have players in the Hockey Indian League … but we thought no. We’ve got to create depth and we’ve got to look towards the next four years. These young players will get better for it.
“Hopefully, that will increase our depth as we head towards LA.”
With two matches to go this weekend, Hager is hopeful the team’s confidence will continue to build and that they’ll take more risks when they’re in possession.
During the first match of the week against Spain, he felt that they were too cautious at times and didn’t create enough attacking opportunities. They immediately corrected that in a free-flowing match against the Dutch, part of a belief that the team is moving in the right direction.
“They made some errors (against Spain), but that’s life,” Hager said. “We defended well, it’s good we scrambled. But I’d prefer not to.
“We just played into their traps in the midfield and we turned the ball over there. When we started to move the ball around the outside and we got our players forward of the ball we actually started to make some good progression.
“You can see them trying to make connections and deflect passes. The mindset and intent were there, but that comes from years of playing and training together.
“It’s a big learning curve. We’re under no illusion that it’s going to be a challenge for us here. We’re playing the gold medallists and fourth at the Olympics. It’s going to be a tough road for us but one that I know these guys are cherishing.”
One of the youngsters who has made a promising early impression is Cooper Burns. The 22-year-old attacker has been in the Australian junior representative teams for several years and finally got his opportunity to represent his country this week, and capped it off with a goal against the Netherlands.
While the moment has been a dream come true, he’s determined to make sure it’s the first of many squads that he’s a part of. And the feeling around the group is they’re ready to shake things up as they almost immediately begin their Olympics preparations.
“It was everything I’ve ever wanted,” Burns said.
“So happy to finally debut and hopefully more to come.
“I think everyone’s excited to play international hockey. We’ve got a lot of youth in this new group, so hopefully everyone gets a good go at this run in the next four to eight years.
“I don’t think we need to change much as a team. We have to stick to the process – it’s very fast international hockey – get out there and train and just have fun doing it.”
The Kookaburras’ final two games take place at 5.30pm AEDT on Saturday and Sunday. The Hockeyroos will play immediately after them on each day at 7.30pm AEDT, first against Spain and then China.
KOOKABURRAS GOALFEST IN UPSET WIN OVER WORLD NO.1
Australia’s hockey teams have gained a measure of revenge six months after their Paris pain, with the Kookaburras and Hockeyroos beating their Olympic conquerors in the FIH Pro League in Sydney.
While the next gen Kookaburras sprung a major surprise, beating world no.1 the Netherlands 4-2, the Hockeyroos needed a shootout to take the extra point against China after the teams were locked at 2-2 at full-time.
Whether it’s a new beginning or a false dawn, only time will tell, but the results against the teams that knocked them out at the quarter-final stage in Paris will bolster both Aussie sides as they push into a new four-year cycle.
Eight players made their debuts in the Kookas’ FIH Pro League opener on Wednesday night and new coach Mark Hager kept the same line-up for the clash against the Netherlands.
The rookies took up the challenge, second-gamer Liam Henderson winning player of the match honours after creating plenty in the centre, including firing a stunning pass into the circle for Ky Willott’s winning goal in the final term.
“We’ve dreamt of this day for a long time,” Henderson said of the win against the Dutch.
The Kookaburras opened their Sydney campaign with a 2-1 loss to Spain on Wednesday night, the match giving the debutants a chance to get the first-game jitters out of their system ahead of the clash against the world no.1.
“Obviously it was a good learning experience for us, and to go out today against the Olympic champions (and perform like that), I can’t put it into words, it’s amazing.
“I’ve got goosebumps thinking about it, it’s awesome.”
The Dutch had the best of the opportunities in the opening term but failed to capitalise, with starting keeper Jed Snowden making three outstanding saves in the opening quarter, including a magnificent right-foot reflex block to keep the visitors scoreless.
When Jake Harvie opened the scoring with a successful stroke low and to the keeper’s left after a Dutch infringement in the circle from a corner, the Aussies had scored against the run of play and suddenly had their tails up.
Goals from Davis Atkin and Cooper Burns gave the Kookaburras a 3-0 lead but the visitors hit back with goals each side of three-quarter time to narrow the gap to just one and few would have given the Aussies a hope.
But Willott hit back just minutes later to seal a win that shows real hope for the future.
Atkin might not have been one of the debutants this tournament but having not played for his country for almost two years he said he felt like one of the newbies.
“It’s just fresh,” he said.
“Everything’s new, new ideas, new people. I think that talent can really flourish in these sort of environments.
“New ideas can sort of take place. And, you know, there’s always discussions with new things, so there’s always going to be ups and downs, but it’s looking really good so far.”
HOCKEYROOS LEAVE IT LATE AGAINST CHINA
Meanwhile, Australia’s women had to rely on a shootout to win after scores were locked at 2-2 at full-time following their clash against China.
The Hockeyroos will rue a host of missed chances after going up 2-0 following goals to Claire Colwill and Courtney Schonell, with China clawing their way back into the game before a gamble from their coach - and former Hockeyroos striker Alyson Annan - paid off.
Annan took her goalie off more than 10 minutes from full-time, playing 11 field players, with the extra-man play eventually cracking the Aussie defence and earning a crucial corner that Tan Jinzhuang converted to lock up the scores.
An outstanding effort in goals from Aleisha Power during the shootout earnt the Hockeyroos the extra Pro League point though after she was beaten just once, despite two retakes being ordered on the final Chinese attempt.
Grace Young and Schonell beat the keeper to seal victory for Australia.
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