Hockey World Cup: Meet the Australian squad looking to bring home gold in India
Fresh from Commonwealth Games success, the Kookaburras will be looking to bring home more gold at the 2023 Hockey World Cup in India. Meet the players donning the green and gold.
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The Australian men’s hockey team will be gunning for a record-equalling fourth world championship this month when they take to the field at the 2023 FIH World Cup in India.
After an excellent 2022 that saw the Kookaburras claim gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and win 21 of their 24 matches played across the year, the team is ranked number one in the world and will enter the tournament as favourites.
They will be looking to better the bronze medal they won in 2018, and emulate the gold-winning performances of 1986, 2010 and 2014.
The Kookaburras kick off their campaign against France at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Friday at 8:30pm AEDT. They will also play against Argentina and South Africa in the group stage. You can catch all the action live on Fox Sports.
Ahead of the world cup, we’ve previewed the squad to keep you up to date with your favourite players.
Eddie Ockenden
Caps: 402
Goals: 72
Position: defender
The heart and soul of the team, the co-captain holds the record for the most senior internationals played by an Australian, recently playing his 400th game for the Kookaburras.
Ockenden was a member of the gold medal-winning 2010 and 2014 world cup sides, and now playing in his fourth world cup, the 35-year-old Tasmanian will be looking to use his experience to help the team to a record-equalling fourth crown.
While initially starting out as a striker, Ockenden has proven his flexibility over the years, first moving into the midfield and now forming a key part of the team’s defensive unit.
Aran Zalewski
Caps: 222
Goals: 32
Position: midfielder
Instantly identifiable by his shock of blond locks, Zalewski will co-captain the Kookaburras alongside Ockenden in India, with the 31-year-old one of four playing in his third world cup.
A skilful and energetic midfielder, the Margaret River local’s organisation and distribution will be key to Australia’s chances.
Daniel Beale
Caps: 213
Goals: 31
Position: midfielder
A two-time Olympian and three-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist, the 29-year-old is another one of the team’s experienced players with more than 200 games in the green and gold.
Celebrating a decade in the national team this year, the Brisbane boy was a key member of the Kookaburras side that claimed gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, scoring the winner in the nailbiting 3-2 semi-final win over England.
Josh Beltz
Caps: 76
Goals: 4
Position: defender
Another one of the Tasmanian contingent in the squad, Beltz will be hoping for a more successful world cup this time round after being forced to leave early in 2018 due to a hand injury.
He has been in outstanding form for the Tassie Tigers in the Hockey One competition in recent years, and recently took over the captaincy of the team from Ockenden.
Tim Brand
Caps: 66
Goals: 26
Position: forward
One of three Ryde-Hunters Hill players in the squad, the 24-year-old has become a key forward for the Kookaburras since bursting onto the scene in 2018 and will be a main avenue for goals in India.
Born in the Netherlands and moving to Australia at the age of three, Brand is in the rare position of potentially playing against his country of birth at the world cup if both countries make it out of the groups.
Andrew Charter
Caps: 212
Goals: 0
Position: goalkeeper
Four days older than Ockenden, Charter is officially the old man of the squad – and it is perhaps fitting that he is the team’s rock in goals.
A two-time Olympian and three-time Commonwealth Games winner, the 35-year-old is Australia’s most capped goalkeeper with 212 appearances. And just like a fine wine, Charter seems to be getting better with age, as he was recently crowned the MVP of the 2022 Hockey One season for his outstanding performances with the Canberra Chill.
Tom Craig
Caps: 105
Goals: 32
Position: forward
A tall and powerful forward, Craig returns to the international team after injury ruled him out of the Kookaburras’ gold medal-winning Commonwealth Games campaign.
One of the quickest and most dangerous players in world hockey when at full fitness, Australia will be hoping the Lane Cove local is back to his best in India.
Matt Dawson
Caps: 173
Goals: 13
Position: defender
The son of former Australian cricketer Trish Dawson, the 28-year-old from Killarney Vale on the Central Coast is a key member of the squad, playing in all games of the Kookaburras’ successful Commonwealth Games campaign in Birmingham.
A key player for NSW Pride and Newcastle side Norths, Dawson has recently bolstered his career by playing for Dutch club Amsterdam in the professional Hoofdklasse hockey competition, and will be hoping to use this experience in his second world cup.
Johan Durst
Caps: 14
Goals: 0
Position: goalkeeper
One of five players making their world cup debuts, the Melburnian has made 14 appearances for the Kookaburras since his debut in 2018, including four during the Commonwealth Games run in Birmingham.
A good shot blocker and great organiser, the 31-year-old will provide great support to Charter as one of the two keepers in the squad.
Nathan Ephraums
Caps: 32
Goals: 21
Position: striker
At just 23, the striker from Keysborough in Melbourne’s southeast is officially the baby of the squad.
An exciting forward with quick hands around the circle, Ephraums has made quite the impression over the past year, bagging six goals at the Commonwealth Games to be the team’s second-highest scorer at the tournament.
Blake Govers
Caps: 131
Goals: 121
Position: striker
One of the big guns of the squad, Govers will be a key source of goals for the Kookaburras.
A hard-nosed striker who hits the ball incredibly powerfully, it’s no surprise that the Wollongong local topped Australia’s goalscoring list with seven at the Commonwealth Games.
Jake Harvie
Caps: 94
Goals: 4
Position: defender
The grandson of triple-Olympian hockey player Gordon Pearce, few have the sport in their veins more than the 24-year-old from Dardanup in Western Australia.
While a solid defender, the Perth Thundersticks star sets himself apart going forward, with his speed and ability to get past his opponent providing the platform for a number of dangerous attacking raids.
Jeremy Hayward
Caps: 194
Goals: 91
Position: defender
An excellent defender, deadly from a short corner and fantastic with his ball distribution, Hayward has become a key part of the Kookaburras’ set-up since his debut back in 2014.
Although born and raised in Darwin, the 29-year-old could well line up against his brother Leon at the world cup, just as he did in the Tokyo Olympics and Commonwealth Games – with the 32-year-old eligible to play for New Zealand on account of their mother, Ellie.
Tim Howard
Caps: 97
Goals: 1
Position: defender
The versatile defender from Brisbane’s Eastern Suburbs Hockey Club could well bring up his ton during the world cup, having made 97 appearances for the Kookaburras since his debut in 2017.
A key part of the squad, the 26-year-old who plays for the Brisbane Blaze in the Hockey One competition, lined up in all six of Australia’s games during its gold medal-winning campaign at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last year.
Flynn Ogilvie
Caps: 143
Goals: 25
Position: midfielder
Another of the Wollongong contingent alongside Govers, the 29-year-old is a fast, creative player who can be incredibly clinical, whether in midfield or playing up front.
In addition to being part of the squad in Birmingham, Ogilvie helped the NSW Pride to a championship in the 2022 Hockey One competition.
Lachlan Sharp
Caps: 63
Goals: 14
Position: midfielder/forward
The third of the Ryde-Hunters Hill connection alongside Craig and Brand, Sharp is originally from Lithgow where he played for the Zig Zag Hockey Club.
An exciting player who adds another dimension to the team’s attack, the 25-year-old returns to the national team after being ruled out of the Commonwealth Games with concussion.
Jake Whetton
Caps: 239
Goals: 71
Position: midfielder
With 239 appearances for the national team, the Queenslander is the 11th-most capped Kookaburra of all time and will be taking part in his third world cup.
Full of energy and incredibly agile, the 31-year-old will look to use his experience as of only five in the squad to have won a world cup to help bring home another gold medal.
Tom Wickham
Caps: 85
Goals: 44
Position: forward
Fit, strong, fast – you name it, that’s Tom Wickham, who is famous for having one of the biggest engines in Australian hockey.
The 32-year-old dual Commonwealth Games gold medallist, who grew up in Alice Springs before moving to Perth to further his hockey career, will be competing in his first world cup, and will be hoping to add to his career goal tally of 44.
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