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Kookaburras

From Day 9 yesterday, the Men’s Kookaburras aspirations of going one better for gold at Paris 2024 unfortunately came to an end in the Quarter-Finals at the end of the Netherlands, 2-0. Yes, the first half or first two x 15 mins weren’t bad for a start with both teams being scoreless as they had plenty of opportunities to strike a few through the net against one of the best Top 2 hockey teams in the world.  We also thought they can cause them a huge storm, having done so back in February earlier this year during the Indian FIH Pro League mini-tournament. But then series of silly mistakes, poor attacking execution and poor discipline ultimately forced their hand to the Dutch with 2 x 2nd half goals en route to their semis berth v Spain on Wednesday at 10pm AEST – one via penalty corner in the 3rd x 15 mins followed by an open strike in the last 15.

Now we’ve just seen the same with the women’s Hockeyroos side just now on Day 10 also from the Quarter-Finals who lost by one goal to China 3-2 – despite a really improved 2nd half play where they did their best to save the match but it was too little, too late unfortunately. They got away with the early goal which was so far, so good – especially when they dominated the last 2 x 15 minute plays by sharing the possession with China after half-time. 

It’s just a shame they’ve been inconsistent play across the pitch, such as the ill-discipline for the most part including the last few mins under presssure that allowed China to cash in & hold them accountable with goals coming their way. The Hockeyroos surrendered an early 1-0 lead into a 3-1 trail behind China ahead of half-time and then a 2-3 loss in the end by a single goal difference as they cannot play any further now much like the Men’s Kookaburras in this Olympics tournament. 

Instead, China will be waiting their next opponent for the semi final come Wednesday night when Belgium v Spain to round off today’s Women’s Quarter-Final day at 4am AEST tomorrow. Hats off to head coach and former Hockeyroos player Alyson Annan with the win, who knows how to get a good sniff of the Hockeyroos, having won a few times over them time and time again as we’ve seen back in April 2024.

For now, Hockey Australia will need to look at both the men’s and women’s teams performances very closely soon enough and see where they will go from there over the next 3-5 years. As said, there were some signs of promise prior to the Olympics that they can both thrive against the world’s best where a Top 3-4 finish would be the bare minimum – no pressure.

But both of their own early QF exits now meant that the Kookaburras and Hockeyroos are still far from the very best that they’re trying to accomplish when you look at the likes of both the Netherlands & Belgium. Looks like we won’t be seeing Colin Batch & Katrina Powell back in the dugout as their respective men’s and women’s teams coaches going into 2025.

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It was a tight match just now in the last few group stage Field Hockey matches for the men’s leg between the Kookaburras v India at Stade Yves-Du-Manoir (Pitch 2) with India off to a fast start (back-to-back goals in the 1st 15) while Kookaburras only got the one goal during the 2nd x 15 min, and nothing much has changed other than a late Kookaburras surge to try and arrest India towards the end, which was unsuccessful that delighted the Indian team & its supporters with the 3-2 win.

Credit to India with their win today off the back of their dominant possession that got the Kookaburras defenders rattled where most of the goals have come from open play including another via a penalty stroke – hats off there to Harmanpreet Singh for his two goal performance. They could’ve done more when looking to convert these strikes off penalty corners but at least having a rock solid defense on top of a well-structured attack would do enough for India to stop the Kookaburras from settling the score, especially during the last few minutes when the opposition’s last-minute appeal wasn’t successful with the 3-2 win. Yes, they have finally done it v Australia in an Olympics Field Hockey match for the first time that goes way back to Munch in 1972 where they’ve last won it beforehand until now 3-1 via the Pool B group stage match. Now their next match will either be Team GB or Spain depending on the final group stage results later tonight if Team GB can beat Germany there since they finished 2nd in their Group B ladder regardless of the Argentina v Belgium result there due to goal difference.

Now the Kookaburras would be left frustrated and disappointed with their missed scoring opportunities that eventually came back to bite them when India got away with three goals before it was too little, too late. They had picked up some ball including come circle time up front, having took one penalty corner goal going into half-time where the Kookaburras weren’t far away from India’s radar for the overall lead including their second goal off a penalty stroke. It’s just a shame they struggled to match the counter-attack India has set up all game via open play and not even the ill-discipline has helped that much either. All they can hope now is for Belgium to beat Argentina later on and even Team GB to beat Germany at the same time, so the Kookaburras can avoid taking on the No.1 ranked Netherlands from Pool A in the Quarter-Finals starting this weekend.

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We had a Trans-Tasman rivalry this time in the Men’s Olympic Games Field Hockey tonight coming from Stade-Yves-Du-Manoir Stadium in Paris between the Kookaburras and the Black Sticks. It was a quiet and scoreless first 15 to begin with but the Kookaburras have been absolutely destructive upfront with back-to-back goals in the 2nd 15 followed by another one in the 3rd quarter before they finished the game courtesy of a Blake Govers hat-trick masterclass as the final score was 5-0. That means, the Black Sticks won’t be able to advance into the Quarter-Finals with one game to go at 1am AEST Saturday v Ireland.

It’s not been their day today from the Black Sticks on what has been a brutal 5-0 loss as they still have yet to have taken the win in this tournament, even though they came here as outsiders. Sure, they defended really well off the back through a series of Kookaburras’ missed opportunities while denying access at their own end that leads to a couple of good attempts on the counter-attack. They just couldn’t find the middle ground when it comes to these conversions unfortunately including a few winning penalties and when you lack numbers, there’s no way the Black Sticks can give themselves a fighting chance to rattle Andrew Charter where they were toothless in that attacking department alone. All they can do now is finish off on a high v Ireland who is most certainly leaving the group stages early in 5th right now and yet Ireland are also winless so far either.

And great to see the Kookaburras respond to that unfortunate 6-2 loss yesterday v Belgium with a 5-0 win v the Black Sticks with one game to go tomorrow night at 9.15pm v India. One way to describe their performance – strong and powerful. This was exactly what the Kookaburras has done every time they harried the Black Sticks defenders with a lot of ball that led to back-to-back 2nd x 15 mins goals followed by a succession of goals throughout the 2nd half including two from penalty corners before they are well and truly secure & yet they didn’t stop attacking as if they’re preparing for fightback against a top team like Belgium to see how it’s done. There’s unfinished business here having finished 2nd to them at the last Olympics tournament in Tokyo, Japan four years ago, a win v India would hopefully open up an extended run to go all the way in Paris.

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What a tight arm wrestle between the Kookaburras and Ireland to start the weekday Olympics week in Field Hockey at Stade Yves Du Manoir Stadium. The Kookaburras won the first 15 mins off a penalty corner and so does Ireland during the 2nd 15th also from a winning penalty corner for some time before Kookaburras got one back via a penalty stroke right on half-time 2-1.

Despite some serious efforts from both teams during the 2nd half to try and settle the score for themselves, the score remained 2-1 where both teams walked away without a goal over the last 2 x 15 minute periods, with the Kookaburras taking home yet another win off the back of their good start v Argentina the other day (1-0) in their 2024 Olympics campaign.

Now the Kookaburras will take on Belgium next on Wednesday morning at 3.45 am AEST while Ireland will need their full support from their passionate supporters this time v India tomorrow night at 9.15pm AEST.

Yeah, it’s a tough pill to swallow from Ireland who were really impressive all along mainly in defense including another strong showing from the keeper David Harte while they had some attacking moments on the counter where Ireland got away with one good successful penalty corner goal conversion in the 2nd 15. But one thing that let Ireland down is their conversions with shots being overcooked as well as hit and misses for the most part that gave the Kookaburras the chance to try and extend their lead with more ball on the pitch. Although they’ve done one part right which is stopping the Kookaburras from scoring in open play as liked how Ireland unpacked their defensively trickery when going up against a dangerous Kookaburras attack, but what Ireland needs to do is cross more ball into the middle that will make their counter-attack look electrifying.

Food for fought there as Ireland will not give any team a free run with an excellent squad, coaching staff and its supporters.

Meanwhile, glad to see the Kookaburras escape Ireland’s really strong backline thanks to these winning penalties where two of their goals came from there – one was a penalty corner while another was a penalty stroke. For a start, they were really good in possession so they can catch Ireland off-guard and they did at times through the break to try and distract David Harte when it comes to these attempts towards goal. What they should’ve done is to make their attack bit more expansive in open play and that might have helped the Kookaburras a thing or two to steer clear past Ireland since their 2nd half play was scrappy where both teams walked away without a goal. But a win is a good win though since it was enough to close out Ireland towards the end there like it was against Argentina during the opening game two days ago and all the Kookaburras need to do now is not just always press with the ball in possession but also bring more in-circle time to score a few goals as well.

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Gotta say things take time when our Hockeyroos and Kookaburras team didn’t enjoy a great start to the Antwerp mini-tournament in Belgium off the back of some last minute heartbreaks and unfortunate difficult beating. But glad they both have snatched a win last night against the respective Belgian teams at the second attempt. For the women, things were quiet where not only they defended well including a couple of saves from the keeper Jocelyn Bartram; but they also managed to close them out thanks to the one and only late goal (47th min) from Penny Squibb. The final score was 1-0.

Then in the men, we got another tug-o-war contest but this time it was a high scoring affair. Kookaburras know how to get the ball rolling as we’ve seen in the last couple of games with the early 1-0 lead. Yes, the Argentineans might have dominated the pitch for the majority when they were 2-1 up at half-time. But the Aussie men never gave up through the end of the final whistle having enjoyed a really wild last 15 minutes from equalising them 2-2 to Argentina bouncing back 3-2 and finally, they have somehow found a way to close it out at the last minute thanks to Blake Govers. The final score was 3-4.

Glad both teams used the rest day well to regroup themselves what they’ve picked up with the pros and cons & putting up with the full hour effort is the way to go. Let’s hope they can show Belgium once more (back-to-back games with the women and men’s teams against each other) that they’re a completely different but better side going into the final’s day action later tonight and going into overnight Monday. If they can get the job done, sure they will be able to close things out on a high note for their Pro League campaign next week in London against the likes of Germany and Great Britain ahead of the Olympics in August.

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It’s been another rough day in the office for both of our Australian men’s and women’s hockey teams in Antwerp, Belgium this time at the hands of Argentina. The men despite a great start earlier on from Tim Brand was run down off the back of the opposition’s 2-0 comeback from behind during the 3rd quarter before they were held back 2-1 in the end. Then the women were unable to grasp out of the second-best ranked team with hit and misses and also defensive gaps falling anywhere and everywhere even though they were 1-0 down at half-time in the hope of a good turnaround, having also been bitterly bruised 5-0 thanks to an excellent Argentinean 2nd half counter-attack including their dominant possession & winning penalties.

Gotta say too much ill-discipline and not enough possession when creating the best chances with the ball has crippled the Hockeyroos so much when the backline including the goalkeeper worked so hard to stop the Argentineans from its tracks which wasn’t oh so easy. We thought being 1-0 down is better than nothing so they can turn things around in order to bridge the other end that would hopefully bring some confidence to close things out their way but nothing much has changed unfortunately when the Argentineans had greater control of the ball from here that restricted the best out of our attack.

As said with the men, great start by the Kookaburras with the quick counter-attacking finish where there were some good numbers to give Tim Brand the finishing touches he needs for the early lead while toning the opposition play down that puts them in front at half-time 1-0. However, they just couldn’t build on when trying to get past a robust Argentinean defense including some hit and misses before it eventually came back to haunt them, particularly during the 3rd quarter. Their momentum just isn’t the same as it was earlier on when there less opportunities towards shots on target while witnessing the Argentinans rebound by ripping up their own backline with numbers clearly shown to snatch the lead & then shut it down including another set of lost penalties & ill-discipline that consigned them to yet another loss against another top-notch side.

The Hockeyroos will have a rest day today with the Kookaburras getting a bit more time before they will both be back in action this weekend. Here’s the following next matches to round off their Belgian mini-tour in Antwerp before turning their attention to Germany and Great Britain to finish off the 2023-24 FIH Pro League season in London, UK sometime next week:

  • Hockeyroos v Argentina again on Saturday night our time with the Kookaburras to follow straight after that v the Argentina Men’s team.
  • Hockeyroos continue on Sunday night our time v Belgium again; same with the Kookaburras v Belgium once more straight after that in the early hours of Monday morning our time.
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Field Hockey is back for another while to bring down the 2023-24 FIH Pro League season across Europe for both our Hockeyroos and Kookaburras teams before Olympics time in Paris, France come late July-early August. It all began with back-to-back men’s and women’s matches against Belgium where the men were very much bruised by the hosts 5-1 whose good form up until then was unfortunately collapsed deep down despite equalizing for a bit earlier at 1-1 in the first quarter. Then we saw the Hockeyroos almost got it 2-1 after a tough, physical 2/3rds until a last minute penalty corner goal by Belgium gave them another lifeline going into the penalty shootouts after a full 60 mins at 2-2 all and again, we saw an unfortunate and unlucky end to see them fall short at the hands of the hosts once again 3-2.  We congratulate the hosts on their excellent performance with the men being too good and the women so resilient that made our Hockeyroos so difficult to maintain control on the pitch. For the Aussies, it’s going to be another tough next encounter ahead when they will both take on against the respective men’s and women’s Argentinian side later tonight. Our men should continue to take advantage of these early starts and build on it on the front foot rather than leave it so late where they struggled mightily under pressure whereas the Hockeyroos better watch their discipline other than scoring or else it will compromise their defense & also their momentum.

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What a way to finish up the five-match series with a 5-0 whitewash by the Men’s Kookaburras team over India at the Perth Hockey Stadium. Game 4 and 5 saw India take the early advantage thanks to their excellent defense that restricted the Kookaburras attacking and conversion play, which helped them stay in the game whether if it’s 1-0 up or 1-1 at half-time.

But then what really let them down is their lack of attacking fire by relaxing the back four a bit to try and close it out their way when the Kookaburras’s last two quarters form was simply amazing to turn things around at the same time and yet we have seen goal after goal in quick succession & that is how the Kookaburras wanted to bring it home in front of their home fans for one last time in the meantime ahead of their 4 months stay in Europe. The final scores are 3-1 in Game 4 and 3-2 in Game 5.

So surely the Kookaburras need to go all out from the start and make the most of their complete attack as if they’re playing the Netherlands, Argentina or Germany all the time that would mean another breakthrough Olympics Gold since 2004 in Athens, Greece as they are now ranked in 3rd, while India as said need to push themselves up the pitch on top of their rock-solid defense but good to see them pick up more pluses though as they progress where wins will go their way soon enough.

Other than that, thank you to India for accepting the invitation to play a bit of Hockey here against our Kookaburras whose next games will be in Europe late next month to roll out the remaining FIH Pro League Season. But wait there’s more as the big International festival of Hockey in Perth isn’t done just yet with the women’s Hockeyroos team back on the field in a week-long Tri-Series tournament against China and Japan starting on Saturday – same time, same place with the first match up being Japan including a bit of Australia A along the way to help the best select their Olympics squad for Paris later this year.

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Gotta say fair play to India on their valiant defensive performance that restricted most of the Kookaburras’ shots on target while being able to get away with the 1-0 lead for a bit off their 2nd penalty corner shot by Jugraj Singh before they were equalised 1-1 after quiet 2/3rds play – including a mighty effort from the goalkeeper who saved quite a lot and never backed down by P.R Sreejesh. But the win still belongs to the Kookaburras at home as they have clinched the five-match series 3-0 with two games to spare courtesy of a Jeremy Hayward double strike performance. The two goals he got away are one was a straight one-on-one penalty stroke after Amit Rhoidas couldn’t clear Joey Rintala out of the way at India’s own end & another was a penalty corner after his side regained some attacking momentum in the final third not long after India’s goal.

Now that the Kookaburras have secured the Men’s Perth Cup, they would need to be a bit better at their executions where a lot of shots on target were hit and misses or else the missed opportunities could go the opposition’s way like it was yesterday and also during the first-half of Game 2. This would be the big difference if they wish to dominate the rest of the FIH Pro League season as well as winning gold at the Paris Olympics in France later this year. And as for India, their defense is really strong and rock solid that frustrated most of the Kookburras failed conversions including penalty corners. They just need to make the most of their attack a bit more and we could see a really good contest all along with India still right in contention.

Game 4 coming up later tomorrow at the Perth Hockey Stadium before the series wraps up for Game 5 on Saturday. Will the Kookaburras sort out their attacking conversions like it was in Game 1 with a excellent start to the series 5-1 to try safeguard their lead for the win or can India get the job done more than just penalty corners on top of their rock solid defense? 

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Game 2 yesterday saw some much needed improvements from India, who quickly derailed the Kookaburra’s good 1-0 early start with a successful penalty corner of their own before another goal puts them right in front of the Aussies ahead at half-time, 1-2. But then India couldn’t defend their one-point lead, especially in the 3rd quarter where the Kookaburas scored all three goals in one go before a quiet last 15 mins sealed the home team another win in Perth, 4-2.

Great to see Jeremy Hayward piling up back-to-back goals as he’s so destructive when striking off from penalty corners, while the Kookaburras put in a massive team effort to rip off the Indian defense off the back of the remaining two goals from Jacob Anderson & Nathan Ephraums & also credit to Flynn Ogilvie who read the opposition gaps by intercepting the ball really well.

As said from India, they know how to stop the Kookaburras which gave them a slight advantage in the first half. But a lack of attacking fire later on have compromised their good defensive structure where India walked away with another loss in the end. Questions will need to be asked if they wish to turn around come Game 3 on Wednesday. It’s a must win game for them as all the Kookaburras gotta do is win again to make it 3-0 and the Perth series trophy is theirs with two games to spare.

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