Paris 2024: Kookaburras and Hockeyroos both on track for Olympic medal redemption
The Hockeyroos and Kookaburras are both eyeing medal redemption for Tokyo, after booking their spots at the Paris Olympics in 2024.
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The Hockeyroos have cemented their chance to redeem a medal-less Tokyo 2021 campaign, earning Olympic qualification with a 3-2 win against New Zealand in the final Oceania Cup match on Sunday.
The Black Sticks stepped onto the pitch with a mountain to climb; after losing the first match of the three-test series 3-0. They drew the second game 1-1, so would need to win by at least three goals to overcome the deficit.
The mission called for desperate measures as New Zealand coach Phil Burrows pulled goalkeeper Grace O’Hanlon on and off to utilise an extra field player. It worked initially – the Black Sticks drew first blood with a goal in the opening five minutes.
New Zealand bravely defended an onslaught, but it was only a matter of time before Australia broke through. Fitting that Olympian Brooke Peris – cousin of gold medal player Nova Peris – would be first to volley a rebound into the net.
The Hockeyroos punished the open goal once more via a rapid counter-attack on the stick of Steph Kershaw, finished by striker Grace Stewart. But it was rising star Courtney Schonell who sealed the win with a lethal tomahawk to the top corner in the third quarter.
“We knew they were going to come out hard, but we needed to come out harder,” said captain Peris.
“We stuck to our processes and got the job done … [Now] we get the next three weeks off, and then we’ll come back and start getting ready for Paris.”
New Zealand captain Megan Hull said her team would go back to the drawing board as they prepare for their next chance to qualify in the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers in January.
“The game that will haunt us is the Thursday loss. But I couldn’t ask for more heart and more fight from this crew,” Hull said.
Schonell a sure thing
Striker Courtney Schonell is a new addition to the Hockeyroos, having made her mark in the late stages of Australia’s national Hockey One league as part of the 2022 premiership-winning NSW Pride squad.
She scored her first international goals against the Black Sticks in the FIH Pro League in April and has been on a tear again this series. Schonell flaunts the “it” factor strikers need to convert rare opportunities, and will be a weapon for the green and gold in Paris.
Courtney Schonell BURIES it for the @Hockeyroos!
— 7Sport (@7Sport) August 13, 2023
MORE 👉 https://t.co/AqCNcWjDLIpic.twitter.com/DI6fokun36
No Merry finish
New Zealand striker Olivia Merry has been a lethal weapon against Australia in the past, scoring 124 goals in her international career.
She had two golden opportunities in the third quarter when she drifted high and found herself one-on-one against Jocelyn Bartram in goals for Australia. However, uncharacteristically, Merry couldn’t finish.
Kookaburras first team flying into Paris 2024
The Australian men’s hockey team has become the first to qualify for the Paris Olympics, after grinding out a 3-1 win against traditional rivals the Black Sticks to retain the Oceania Cup in New Zealand.
It was not pretty, but the Kookaburras found a way to win the decider of the three-match series in Whangārei with just nine players left on the pitch. The score stagnated at 2-1 to the Aussies as body checks and lazy tackles were rewarded with yellow cards for both teams.
Tasmanian forward Jack Welch finally put a deadly flick behind New Zealand keeper Leon Hayward to complete a set piece penalty corner and release the pressure valve.
“It was a pretty competitive finish,” said the Kookaburras’ captain Aran Zalewski.
“The Kiwis had heaps of momentum coming off the win yesterday. They caught us [with a goal] in the first quarter and we had to fight to wrestle that momentum back. They kept coming and they had a chance to go 3-2 in the final quarter. I’m really proud of our guys and stoked to be going to Paris.”
“Grit, determination and confidence. These guys are a class act,” said a disappointed New Zealand captain Nic Woods. Woods‘ team will be forced to wait for its next opportunity to qualify at the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers in January 2024.
Brotherly battle
The duel of cross-Tasman siblings was electric, as Australian veteran defender Jeremy Hayward set up a spray of attacks on his older brother Leon in goals for New Zealand.
Leon played for the Kookaburras in 2014-2017 but switched allegiances to New Zealand, where their mother was born. Jeremy, who has more than 200 caps in the gold shirt, had his own chances – lining up as drag flicker option two alongside the reliable rocket of Blake Govers.
But while Govers scored an early goal in the first quarter and offered a beautiful assist to Ky Willot for a diving finish, the Black Sticks’ keeper got the better of his little brother for the rest of the match.
The score could easily have been 5-1, but Leon Hayward fended off a rally of shots including a miraculous final quarter bombardment.
Surely that's the sealer for the @Kookaburras!
— 7Sport (@7Sport) August 13, 2023
OCEANIA CUP 👉 https://t.co/AqCNcWjDLIpic.twitter.com/rk1eo7zeGW
Preparing for Paris
Australian Coach Colin Batch made nine changes to his squad in the lead up to Australia’s recent European leg of the annual international hockey competition, the FIH Pro League.
For the Oceania Cup, Batch brought in veterans including four-time Olympian Eddie Ockenden. After New Zealand won the second game of the series and threatened to overrun the Kookaburras today, questions remain over who will be in the starting 11 to go one better than the silver medal achieved in Tokyo.
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