Commonwealth Games 2022: Australian hockey rises from ‘toxic’ wasteland to gold medal final

Twelve months ago Australian hockey was rocked by a report that threatened to derail the sport for years. This is how the Hockeyroos crawled out of a ‘toxic’ wasteland.

Hockeyroos celebrate after reaching the Commonwealth Games final. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty

Revenge isn’t the buzzword driving the Hockeyroos towards gold medal redemption.

It’s rebuild.

Specifically, a rebuild from the toxic bullying scandal which derailed the team’s Tokyo Olympic campaign 12 months ago, ushered in a new generation of stars and has Australia on the verge of excising memories of the painful gold medal match defeat to New Zealand on the Gold Coast four years ago.

To have brought the Hockeyroos back to the top tier of world hockey, from the nadir of last year’s saga, in such a short time is nothing short of remarkable – and speaks to the incredible work of coach Katrina Powell and her staff.

With a promising young squad at her disposal, Powell has her side into a dream showdown with local hope England on Sunday afternoon with the potential for a redeeming gold medal that will wash away the pain of Tokyo, the Gold Coast and so much more.

Australia reached the final in contentious circumstances after a penalty shootout that included young gun Rosie Malone re-taking her shot in the penalty shootout after a timing error.

Hockeyroos celebrate after reaching the Commonwealth Games final. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty

But another Games debutant, Amy Lawton, believes the dramatic finish – which followed a late Indian equaliser to force the shootout – speaks to how much the team has grown over the past 12 months.

“We talked about that whole revenge mental side of (playing against India, after the Tokyo heartache), but we didn’t want to buy into that,” Lawton said.

“That’s a different story – a story from the past. We didn’t want to blind that process because that’s happened, that’s done, we can’t change that now.

“We really were trying to focus on what we can do today. It’s a new Indian team, it’s a new team for us, it’s a new year.

“A big part of our process is focusing on what’s coming rather than what’s happened. That worked really well for us (against India).

“Because we could’ve gone down again after they scored that first goal. I think we could’ve really got our heads down and gone ‘it’s happening again’ but I don’t think we did and I think that shows with our performance out there with the shootout.”

Because while defeated in Tokyo, where they handed eight players Olympic debuts, the tournament proved a gamechanger for a team in transition.

The elite-level hockey, experience at the top level and the pain of defeat, has steeled this group for something special.

Though barely scratching the surface of their potential, the Hockeyroos will now have a chance to atone for the heartache caused by their gold medal match loss to New Zealand on the Gold Coast four years ago.

The Hockeyroos are one win from gold. Picture: Getty Images

Though they won’t get the chance to take it out on their trans-Tasman rivals, after England and New Zealand played out the most tense of semi-finals, with the hosts prevailing in a gut-wrenching penalty shootout after 60 minutes of scoreless hockey.

“(Winning gold is) exactly what we’ve come here for,” says goalkeeper Jocelyn Bartram.

“We represent our country with such pride and if we could get a gold and put Aussie over the line in the medal tally, that would be amazing.”

Another Games debutant, Karri Somerville, is expected to feature on Sunday despite suffering a gruesome cut to her face after being struck by an errant ball early in the victory over India.

“She’s a tough nut. She’ll be out for the gold medal match I’m sure,” Lawton said.

Originally published as Commonwealth Games 2022: Australian hockey rises from ‘toxic’ wasteland to gold medal final