Tasmania’s brightest young hockey stars
Tasmania has a rich history of developing hockey stars who have gone onto represent Australia. Now we’ve profiled some of the state’s next generation of stars.
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Tasmania has a long history of producing top class talent on the hockey field, from national champions to Olympic and Commonwealth Games gold medal winners, as well as World Cup, Oceania Cup, Champions Trophy, World League winners.
Here are some of the next generation of potential stars bound for the national and world stage.
Sofie Klasen
Age: 11
Club: Canterbury Hockey Club
Position: Midfielder
Sofie is a dynamic midfielder, who showcases exciting skills with a high work rate each time she steps onto the pitch. With a natural flair for cutting angles, dragging players, and a mean slap-hit, Sofie demonstrates an unwavering commitment to hockey and is always striving to improve. Sofie will be making her mark in Bendigo representing Tasmania at this year’s U12 SSA National Tournament. One to watch.
Savannah Rice
Age: 15
Club: Canterbury Hockey Club
Position: Defender
Savannah is a strong defender with a big presence on the field. Reading the game well, Savannah’s agility and fast acceleration allow her to execute clean tackles and eliminate players with ease. Consistently achieving positive outcomes from sound decision making under pressure, her ability to distribute the ball accurately and link well with those around her makes Savannah a highly-valuable team-member. Savannah will be a pivotal player in this year’s under-15 Tasmanian team.
Lucy Johnston
Age: 17
Club: Scotch Oakburn College/Queechy Penguins
Position: Centre Half
Lucy is a dependable, hard working and strong player. She is a great team leader with her positioning, support, and communication. She is strong on the ball and works hard to support her team both in defence and attack.
Samantha Taylor
Age: 15
Club: Scotch Oakburn College/Tamar Churinga
Position: Half Back / Wing
Sam is fast and skillful in close. She has rapidly developed 3D stick skills to outplay her opponents. Her quick pace often stretches the opponents when moving the ball quickly into attack.
Annabel Crisp
Age: 14
Club: Scotch Oakburn College/Launceston City
Position: Centre Half, Full back
Annabel is a roadblock for so many of the teams. She works incredibly hard off the ball to be in the right place both when attacking and defending. Her communication and teamwork makes her the centrepiece of so many of the teams attacking drives. Her hitting is a huge strength, that scares players on both teams.
Claudia Hurst
Age: 14
Club: Launceston Church Grammar
Position: Goalie
Claudia plays goalie for our under-16 and under-18 girls teams. She has made northern representative teams and has also represented Tasmania in Indoor Hockey
Wavey van Dorsselaer
Age: 17
Club: North-West Grads
Position: Forward
A crafty forward who knows how to pop up in positive positions, Wavey has made a name for herself scoring goals seemingly from nowhere. Over the past couple of years she has developed her speed and continues to play a strong role in any forward line she plays in.
Madeline Windsor
Age: 18
Club: North-West Grads
Position: Defender/Midfield
A talented and hard-working defensive midfielder and defender Madeline has the ability to break lines with her speed and strength on the ball. As a sign of her ability Maddy has now been drafted to play in the prestigious American College system.
Angus McMullen
Age: 17
Club: North-West Grads
Position: Mid/Forward
A strong 2024 saw Angus crowned as under-16 National Player of the Tournament and selection in the Australian Futures Squad, he has continued to develop and carve out a promising career in the sport. Has now added regular Premier League goal-scoring to his arsenal and will head to the 2025 Australian under-18 National Championships as the captain of the Tasmanian Team
Alistair Stebbings
Age: 17
Club: North-West Grads
Position: Defence/Forward
The younger brother of Burra Oliver, “Turbo” is developing his own game and has made the decision to follow in Oli’s footsteps by converting to defender from attacker. Stebbings is crafty and reads the play well placing him in good positions to thwart opposition attacks.
Will Enkelaar
Age: 16
Club: Canterbury Hockey Club
Position: Defender
Will is a coach’s dream. His dedication to continuous improvement and willingness to engage and ask questions has seen his game improve exponentially over the last 18 months.
Peter Mackey
Age: 16
Club: Canterbury Hockey Club
Position: Striker
Oozing natural talent, Peter is the type of player to appear to have all the time in the world. With silky skills and quick hands, Peter has the potential to be a devastating striker.
Oscar Mann
Age: 17
Club: Scotch Oakburn College
Position: Inner, midfield
Oscar is relentless. He will run all day for his team and he has very strong stick skills. He is our boys’ captain and his leading skills are developing even more as he is now coaching the under-16 boys team.
Evan Abbot
Age: 14
Club: Scotch Oakburn College
Position: Defender
Evan works very hard every match. He is a strong defender who never gives up. He has a strong 2nd and 3rd effort. He also has a very solid hit that helps with clearances for our U16 boys team. Evan is also a very nice and caring teammate who helps and communicates with his younger teammates.
Fred Ansell
Age: 15
Club: Derwent
Position: Half Back & Striker
Fred’s best attribute is his very flexible in the positions he can play which is a real strength at his age. He is a defender in his own age group but has also shown the flexibility to be able to play as a striker in both First Grade and Premier League. He also has a sharp turn of speed and reads the game very well.
Trent Smith
Diamondbacks
15
Def/Mfd
Trent made his senior debut in 2024 cementing a position in first grade and regularly playing off the bench in Premier League. Trent is talented defender who can easily transition into the midfield, he reads the game well and his defensive positional understanding is a key strength. He is pushing for a regular game in Premier League and will be key player in the future for the club.
Joey Bush
Club: Diamondbacks
Age: 14
Position - Midfield/Striker
Joey is another talented junior, who has transitioned through the club’s junior pathway, making his debut in first grade in 2024. Joey has the capacity to break lines and set up play around him, he has an excellent goal sense. Joey’s talent has seen him come off the bench on several occasions in the past 12 months confirming the potential the club sees in him.
Stella Pritchard
Club: DiamondBacks
Age: 18
Position - Defender
Closes the ground well, good closing speed and on chase. Great overhead. Easy to coach and is a supportive team member. A versatile player who can play deep defence and as a striker.
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