Mackay’s Jacob Anderson scores double in Kookaburra’s Commonwealth Games hockey win
It was carnage in Birmingham with Australia claiming its seventh straight victory in a match against India with young gun Jacob Anderson from Mackay more than pulling his weight.
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Mackay export Jacob Anderson has helped propel the juggernaut Australian men’s hockey team to a blistering victory at the Commonwealth Games.
In a match that was over at half time, if not 15 minutes earlier, the Kookaburras humiliated their rivals India 7-0 in one of the most one-sided Games finals in history.
Anderson scored doubles as did teammate Nathan Ephraums, with Tom Wickham, Blake Govers, and Flynn Ogilvie all scoring one goal each.
It was champagne stuff from a team that was unstoppable all fortnight in Birmingham.
Across their seven wins at Birmingham, Australia had an aggregate score of 33-2 – and highlighting their dominance, they have not conceded a single goal in finals in two decades.
Kookaburras captain Aran Zalewski said teammates showed resilience with a performance that really “(fell) into place”.
It was 24-year-old Anderson’s debut at a Commonwealth Games, after first donning the green and gold with the Australian under 21-side at the Sultan of Johor Cup in Malaysia in 2017.
This year marks the striker’s fourth consecutive year with the Kookaburras team.
“I want to be selected for the Paris Olympics in 2024; that would be awesome,” he said in an interview with this publication late last year.
Mackay local Claire Colwill, who is just 18 and only joined the Hockeyroos this year, has also tasted success at the Games, securing a silver medal with the Australian women’s side.
The Aussie women were pipped in the final by England 2-1.
Hockey stars on the rise
As Anderson and Colwill clinch success on an international level, Mackay’s next crop of star hockey players is emerging with a number of local players gaining selection in Brisbane Blaze extended squads at the conclusion of the Big Hockey Hit Out.
These extended squads will continue to train and work towards final squad selection later this year, with a squad of 20 to be named in early September to compete in the Sultana Bran Hockey One League from September - November across Australia.
Anderson and Colwill were both named in respective men’s and women’s sides, along with Mackay talents Jordan Bliss and Keeley Walker.
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