Big Q&A with Rosie Malone
She is our next big hope in hockey, but there is much more to Rosie Malone’s story. Like a big bet with her family, and a remarkable cross-code junior career.
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SHE is our next big hope in hockey, but there is much more to Rosie Malone’s story. Like a big bet with her family, and a remarkable cross-code junior career.
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How was your childhood growing up in this part of the world and how did you get into hockey?
I grew up in the Hinterland up at Beechmont so it’s kind of like a rainforest, hippie community up there. I loved growing up there. We were always outdoors, playing games. You see kids these days with iPads and phones but we would make tree houses and play in the mud. Mum (Cheryl) played hockey for Burleigh. When I was six I started playing as well.
It sounds like you were a jack of all trades, playing football, hockey and doing cross country. How did you balance your passions?
Being younger and wanting to experience all different kinds of sports and being a sporty person who enjoyed them all, it was easy. Especially at school where you get a taste of heaps of different sports. I was lucky enough to have Mum. She’s a single parent with five kids but we’d leave in the morning at 6am from Beechmont and she’d have all our school and sports clothes packed so every day, we’d go from training session to training session.
You were still playing football right up until you were promoted into the Hockeyroos squad and had a sliding doors moment of sorts. What was that day like for you when you got the call-up?
It was the middle of last year. I’d missed out on the Commonwealth Games at the start of the year and I thought I wouldn’t really focus on hockey as much and I’d just enjoy myself playing soccer. I was up playing in Brisbane for Souths United with Gary French who has coached me since I was 11. He’s always been very kind and let me skip training because I had hockey and just play on the weekend. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have stuck with soccer for so long. Then I got the call saying that they’d called me into the Hockeyroos and they were flying me to New Zealand to play in a tournament straight away. I played well and then had to go and live in Perth (where the national hockey squad trains) for a bit and couldn’t do soccer anymore. It was sad but it’s all hockey for me at the moment.
Do you ever think what might have happened if you’d chosen football over hockey?
Definitely. Even now I watch the Matildas play and I know some of the girls in the team and grew up playing alongside them. Seeing how successful they are at the moment and how much they’re doing to women’s sport. I follow all the girls on social media and still chat to some of them. I do sit there sometimes and think back to when I was 15 and the soccer people wanted me to commit to soccer but I couldn’t because I wanted to do all of my other sports. I definitely think back to it but I’m still loving it.
You debuted for the Hockeyroos in early 2018 against Spain. What was that moment like for you walking out in your national uniform for the first time?
It was very exciting. I didn’t think I’d be emotional. I was super excited to get out there. We get our bodysuits presented to us and I got mine presented to me in front of a room of the whole team and staff. Some of the girls had snuck my mum into the back of the room because usually parents aren’t allowed in on those things. Then Madonna Blyth, the ex-captain from Queensland, presented my bodysuit to me and said this lovely speech. I got up and smiling but then I went to say thank you and burst into tears. I guess you’re at the pinnacle of your sport and starting off as a six-year-old, I never thought I would have gotten this far. To be able to get there in the end was pretty special.
I did a little Instagram stalk and I saw that you made a bet with your family at age 13 that if you didn’t drink until you’re 21st birthday that you’d get $5000. Was that a sacrifice to pursue sport and what did you spend the money on?
It was actually at Christmas and all my siblings and cousins were older and had been drinking and carrying on. I made an announcement as a little 13-year-old like, ‘I’m never going to drink,’ and they made the bet with me there. Ever since, I haven’t drunk. It is easier to not be pressured into it as much being an athlete because you can be like ‘I have training the next day’. There has been little awkward times like when we won a tournament and everyone was passing a cup around with alcohol in it and I’ve had to fake sip or pass it on. I can have a lot of fun without alcohol anyway. I haven’t spent any of it yet. It’s sitting in my bank account because I don’t know what to do with it and haven’t had time to do anything exciting. I might go on a holiday and lay on a beach with a pina colada or something.
With the new FIH Pro League, you won’t be able to play for Burleigh this year. Will you miss playing in the local comp?
Definitely. It’s sad watching from the sidelines. My little sister is out there so she can hold down the fort for the Malone family and I’ll definitely come back and watch and support them when I get an opportunity.
Earlier this year in the FIH Pro League, the Hockeyroos beat world No.1 team the Netherlands for the first time since 2009. What impact did that have on the team’s confidence?
The game had actually finished and we’d beaten them and the girls were running around screaming and I turned to someone and said, ‘why is everyone so excited?’ I mean it’s great that we won but everyone seemed more excited than usual. They were like, ‘Rosie, we haven’t beaten them in 10 years’. The Netherlands are definitely the best team in the world and have been for quite a while. To beat them, especially in front of a home crowd was very special and a lot of the girls will remember that for a long time.
Personally, are you using the Pro League as an audition for the 2020 Olympics?
Being a year out from the Olympics, the coach often refers to his team for Tokyo and what he’s looking for so I think it’s at the back of everyone’s minds. Of course we’re focusing on the pro league and doing well in each match but leading into the Olympics, it’s an opportunity to play some of the other teams and learn who their best players are and how they play. But people are always watching and the Olympics is in the back of everyone’s mind.
What would it mean to you to get that call-up to play in the Tokyo Games?
It would be amazing. I think the Olympics is the pinnacle. To be a part of it would be unreal. The girls in the team always go on about how great it is. It’s on my mind and I’d love to be there.
When the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games winning bid was announced in 2011, you declared to your mum that you would play in it. Was it hard to miss out on selection on home turf?
When I was 12, we were all down on the Broadwater, half of the Gold Coast, waiting to hear whether we’d won the bid. When it was announced, everyone was screaming and cheering (pictured) and I told Mum I would be there. I knew it was always going to be a tough gig being one of the younger players. In the end, it came down to two spots and they picked two older girls over me for experience. That was pretty devastating for me because we’d all bought tickets and my family and friends had bought tickets hoping I’d be playing. Not only did I miss out but I sat there and watched every single Hockeyroos game. It was hard to watch. I was cheering but I was eating chocolate and was a little bit sad. I would not have thought that then I’d be in the squad and I haven’t missed a tournament since. It’s a bit hard to swallow that I missed out on the one I wanted to play the most and a month later, things were different.
You didn’t let it affect you and had a stellar debut year, culminating in your 2018 FIH Rising Star nomination. How did you see your first year in the national side?
It was unreal. I could not have written a better season. Like coming in mid-year which doesn’t ever happen and then having my first tournament in New Zealand and finishing equal highest goalscorer and then making the World Cup team. The World Cup was unreal because you had so many amazing players from all around the world. It was amazing and I got to go to some amazing places and play some amazing teams. Getting that Rising Star reward was amazing. I would not have picked it at all and it was great recognition.
You’re still pretty young but how have you found the transition from idolising our national players to being one?
When I first got into the team, I was looking up to all these players and looking at girls in other teams and thinking they were amazing. It’s hard trying to find a balance having respect for other players and having confidence in yourself and your ability. This year I’ve started thinking I am as good as some of the other girls. It’s not easy being the youngest one and having to prove yourself in every team. When you step out there, you just have to think everyone is equal.
We’re currently seeing a huge explosion of coverage and support for women’s sport. What is it like being part of that?
I think 20 years ago, the women’s hockey team was one of the top performing sporting sides in Australia. They were doing so well. As other male dominated sports have started to create female teams, there’s been a lot of exposure. Seeing the AFLW and the Matildas and the women’s cricket team, all of these sports are getting behind each other. As we all support each other, women’s sport will grow. It’s great seeing things like the WSl introducing equal prize money and equal prize money for women at the soccer world cup. Slowly female sport is building and it’s amazing to be a part of the revolution. I hope hockey gets up there and all us Hockeyroos are out there trying to build our profile and support it.
This year involves a lot of travel for you and the team. How do you stay grounded when you’re away from home so often?
It’s a hectic year. We spend six months away and only two of those will be in Perth. Things like uni. I’m enrolled at Griffith so I’m having to do it from Perth and now I’ll have to do it internationally. It’s hard to manage and obviously being away from home for so long, it’s hard to get into good patterns. Things like sleeping and eating. I guess it’s international sport and the sacrifice we have to make to be part of such a cool compeititon.
Full name: Ambrosia Malone
Age: 21
Born: Gold Coast
Position: Forward
Caps: 28
Fun Fact: As well as excelling at football and hockey as a kid, Rosie could also be spotted out on the athletics track. She was club captain of Ashmore Little Athletics (Sally Pearson’s old club) and picked up dozens of state Little Athletics track medals.
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