Kookaburras axe 2000 games worth of experience in high-performance squad reveal

Off the back of a disappointing Paris Olympic campaign, the Kookaburras have made sweeping changes – gutting the squad and axing a stunning 2000 games worth of experience.

Dad’s Army is out under the coaching regime of Kookaburras legend Mark Hager, with just one player over the age of 30 among the 17 selected in Australian men’s hockey’s high performance squad.

Off the back of a disappointing Paris Olympic campaign where the ageing squad was bundled out in the quarterfinals and star Tom Craig was handed a 12-month ban after being arrested for attempting to buy cocaine, Hager has axed a quartet of veterans – headlined by three-time Olympian Jake Whetton.

The 33-year-old whippet striker along with dual-Olympians Tom Wickham, 34, and Daniel Beale, 31, and Queenslander Jacob Anderson, 27, was omitted from the 2025 high performance squad.

With the retirements of record-breaking legends Eddie Ockenden, Aran Zalewski, Andrew Charter and Matt Dawson, along with the relocation of goalkeeper Johan Durst and Flynn Ogilvie’s pursuit of new career opportunities, the ‘Kookas’ have farewelled close to 2000 games of international experience as they begin the long road to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

It’s a changing of the guard for the high performance squad, which has been trimmed from it’s traditional 27 spots to 24, with eight vacancies still up for grabs.

Three-time Olympian Jake Whetton (C) is one of the highest profile axings. Picture: Getty

Hager has selected a second squad of 21, a mix of on-the-edge veterans, mid-20s hopefuls and young guns.

They will be put to the test across a pair of February FIH Pro League tournaments in Sydney, then Argentina, with eight games to determine the final squad.

“It’s exciting, it’s a new beginning for this group and we’ve picked 17 players that we feel very comfortable with, having seen how they’ve performed recently,” Hager said.

“The next four years to the LA 2028 Olympic Games, and also further to Brisbane in 2032, was a big factor in our decision to name an initial squad and a wider squad with a range of experience and ages so we can bring them along in the journey.

“The wider squad have a really good opportunity to be in the environment and have some quality competition before we make the final decision on the last seven places.”

Team Australia has undergone a major overhaul following their disappointing Olympic campaign. Picture: Getty

Of particular note is the non-guarantee for wildly-talented goal machine Joel Rintala, fiance of Aussie swim star Shayna Jack.

Rintala and the rest of the Kookas’ strike force has been bolstered by the addition of Beijing Olympian Luke Doerner to Hager’s staff as a specialist dragflicking coach.

Craig, arguably the best hockey player in the country, will still be serving the six-month non-suspended portion of his ban during that stretch.

The 29-year-old has owned his actions, copped the Hockey Australia integrity unit sanction on the chin and it’s lit a fire under him, with an expectation he’ll return a better leader.

“Tom’s learned a lot of lessons over the last six months, he’s very remorseful and I believe he’s grown as a person,” Hager said.

“Tom’s a very talented hockey player, and I know he’s now working on the other side of being a high performance athlete, which is really crucial.

“We can learn from his experiences and I know he’ll bring the lessons he’s learned back to the group.”

Australian mens hockey player Tom Craig is still serving a suspension for cocaine possession in Paris. Picture: Michael Klein

Jeremy Hayward (31) is the lone over-30 survivor from last year’s squad and it’s expected he will step into a vital leadership role.

The retirement of goalkeeper Charter and ‘sabbatical’ of Durst has opened up a huge opportunity for uncapped 23-year-old Melburnian Jed Snowden to step up, after a pair of dominant seasons in goals for Adelaide in Hockey One.

“Jed’s played incredibly well … for the Adelaide Fire over the last two years, and he’s a fantastic ambassador for the sport,” Hager said.

“We have a great quality of goalkeepers in the wider squad and it’s important to us to develop

depth in that position and create a really good competition within the group.”

Hager and the selection committee have leant heavily on performances in the recently completed national league in a big tick for the growing domestic competition, with victorious Hockey Club Melbourne standouts Cooper Burns, 22 and Liam Henderson, 21 the future of the national program.

And there are plenty of kids in that extended squad who will be fixtures in the Burras’ junior national cohort, including 18-year-old Tassie wunderkind Oliver Stebbings.

Originally published as Kookaburras axe 2000 games worth of experience in high-performance squad reveal