The Australia National Field Hockey team represents Australia in international field hockey competitions. The team has the nickname of “The Kookaburras” while the female counterparts are called “The Hockeyroos”. The national team is governed by the Hockey Australia and comes under the Oceania Hockey Federation (OHF). They are placed in the top spot in the FIH rankings with 1906 points, being closely trailed by Argentina in the second spot with 1883 points.
The Kookaburras have built up the reputation of being one of the most competitive teams in the game of hockey and are one of the most successful sport teams to represent the nation internationally. They have been placed in the top four in every Olympics between 1980 and 2012.
History
It is usually the British Army that is credited with the propagation of the sport throughout the world, however it was the British Navy that introduced the game ‘down under’. The British Naval officers stationed in Australia taught the locals the game and laid the foundations for a sport which the Australians have developed and mastered.
By the 1900s, the sport had become quite popular among the locals and was also being played in private girls’ schools. However, the first hockey association was not formed until 1903. South Australia became the first state to have a hockey association and was followed by Victoria and New South Wales who formed their respective associations in 1906.
The first international match played by the Australia national team was in 1922. Their first competition win was at the 1983 World Championships held in Karachi.
The current governing body Hockey Australia was formed in 2000, after the merger of the Australian Hockey Association and Women’s Hockey Australia.
Achievements
Despite immense success at various major competitions, the Kookaburras had failed to land a single gold medal at the Summer Olympics. The ‘curse’ was finally broken in 2004 at the 2004 Athens Games.
Alongside that, the team has also won three World Cups, six Commonwealth Games gold medals and fifteen Champions Trophy titles.
2019 World Cup Squad
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
| 1 | MF | Tom Craig | 3 September 1995(age 23) | 94 | 26 | Old Guildford |
| 2 | DF | Corey Weyer | 28 March 1996(age 23) | 35 | 3 | Curtin University HC |
| 3 | DF | Jake Harvie | 5 March 1998(age 21) | 61 | 3 | Westside Wolves |
| 4 | DF | Matthew Dawson | 27 April 1994(age 25) | 129 | 12 | Victoria Park |
| 5 | FW | Jacob Anderson | 22 March 1997(age 22) | 16 | 8 | Old Guildford |
| 6 | DF | Joshua Beltz | 24 April 1995(age 24) | 39 | 3 | Hale |
| 7 | MF | Eddie Ockenden | 3 April 1987(age 32) | 355 | 70 | YMCA |
| 8 | FW | Jacob Whetton | 15 June 1991(age 28) | 194 | 64 | Victoria Park |
| 9 | FW | Blake Govers | 6 July 1996(age 23) | 94 | 79 | Old Aquinians |
| 10 | DF | Tim Howard | 23 June 1996(age 23) | 51 | 1 | Curtin University HC |
| 11 | MF | Aran Zalewski | 21 March 1991(age 28) | 180 | 23 | Old Aquinians |
| 12 | MF | Flynn Ogilvie | 17 September 1993(age 25) | 100 | 21 | Fremantle |
| 13 | MF | Daniel Beale | 12 February 1993(age 26) | 168 | 28 | Westside Wolves |
| 14 | GK | Tyler Lovell | 23 May 1987(age 32) | 140 | 0 | YMCA |
| 15 | FW | Trent Mitton | 26 November 1990(age 28) | 168 | 75 | WASPS |
| 16 | FW | Timothy Brand | 29 November 1998(age 20) | 31 | 13 | Melville City |
| 17 | GK | Andrew Charter | 30 March 1987(age 32) | 175 | 0 | UWA |
| 18 | DF | Jeremy Hayward | 3 March 1993(age 26) | 146 | 62 | Old Aquinians |
| 19 | GK | Johan Durst | 18 March 1991(age 28) | 3 | 0 | Fremantle |
| 20 | DF | Joshua Simmonds | 4 October 1995(age 23) | 15 | 0 | North Coast Raiders |
| 21 | DF | Matthew Swann | 16 May 1989(age 30) | 195 | 7 | WASPS |
| 22 | MF | Lachlan Sharp | 2 July 1997(age 22) | 42 | 8 | Melville City |
| 23 | MF | Jack Hayes | 30 March 1994(age 25) | 4 | 0 | North Coast Raiders |
| 24 | FW | Tom Wickham | 26 May 1990(age 29) | 45 | 19 | UWA |
| 25 | FW | Aaron Kleinschmidt | 1 October 1989(age 29) | 66 | 23 | UWA |
| 26 | FW | Jack Welch | 26 October 1997(age 21) | 8 | 2 | Hale |
| 27 | FW | Dylan Wotherspoon | 9 April 1993(age 26) | 86 | 30 | Labrador |
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