Jake Whetton entered the esteemed 200 match club for the Kookaburras last weekend

Jake Whetton entered the esteemed 200 match club for the Kookaburras last weekend in a tournament he believes will give his side match hard experience heading into the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Jake Whetton entered the esteemed 200 match club for the Kookaburras last weekend in a tournament he believes will give his side match hard experience heading into the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Whetton, a past student of both Calamvale State School and Clairvaux MacKillop College, reached the 200 game milestone playing in the Pro League 2020 tournament against Great Britain.

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Whetton first played for Australia in 2011 and was then named in a 2012 Olympic training squad.

Although he did not think it at the time, the Easts Hockey Club product said missing the 2012 Olympic was a “blessing in disguise’’ because he was not ready for the biggest sporting stage.

He then progressed to become an Olympian in 2016, and fast forward eight years and Whetton is now a senior Kookaburra.

Jake Whetton, centre, playing for the Brisbane Blaze last November.(AAP Image/Sean Garnsworthy)

“To be now a part of that senior leadership group is really special,’’ he said.

Clairvaux MacKillop College principal Brian Eastaughffe said the college community was proud of Whetton’s achievements. “His longevity as a member, since 2011, of the Australian Kookaburras hockey team is commendable,’’ he said.

Jake Whetton earlier in his career at the International Festival of Hockey. Picture: David Smith

Whetton said the Pro League competition would give his side, and the Matilda’s hard edge match conditioning heading into the Tokyo Olympic Games.

The Australian teams will be playing a series of internationals between now and May 17, with the No. 1 ranked Kookaburras playing Belgium, Great Britain, Argentina and New Zealand.

“To be able to peak in that two week period (at the Olympics) is difficult, but playing those European teams more often helps.’’

As a rookie on the run for Easts.

Whetton recalled how former skipper Mark Knowles once said to him how frustrated it was to wait four years between Olympics before confronting the best in the world again.

“He remembers losing to Germany at the Olympics in a semi-final in London and he did not play Germany for another three years,’’ Whetton said.

“Now we are playing each European team at least twice a year. We are not just stuck in Australia playing India and Malaysia.

“Now we get a chance to play best team in the world on more than one occasion each year (courtesy of the Pro League).’’

The milestone man

+ Whetton has won the World Cup

+ Commonwealth Games gold medallist,

+ Champions Trophy and Pro League title winner

+ In 2018 was short-listed for the FIH Player of the Year award