WA's best vying for Kookaburra selection

Aran Zalewski and Tyler Lovell headline a list of five Western Australian men's players who will battle for Kookaburras Olympics position at the upcoming Super Camp selection trial, to be held at Perth Hockey Stadium from the 6th to the 16th of November.

Western Australia has one of the higher representation of athletes at the camp, showcasing the unique talent the state has on offer at the heart of Australia's high performance programs.

Western Australia's Liam Flynn, Jake Harvie, Tyler Lovell, Trent Mitton, Tom Wickham and Aran Zalewski will all be vying for selection, with Flynn a key focus, fighting for selection as WA's only non-Kookaburra player.

The unique camp is being held due to the limited hockey that has been played this year because of COVID, preventing coaches being able to monitor player performance and form.

A key component of the Super Camp will be four intra-squad matches that will replicate the intensity, pressure and competitiveness of an international.

“The camp has come about because of COVID and the lack of training and matches we have had, so this is a great opportunity to have the best players in Australia playing against each other in a high level series of matches,” said Kookaburras Head Coach Colin Batch.

“It allows us to see who has grown during the year, who has developed and who may have stagnated which is why we are using this to select the national squad for next year.”

Considering the ongoing uncertainty of next year’s international hockey schedule caused by the global pandemic, it could mean even more incentive for players to impress at the camp.

From the 27 athletes selected in next year’s Kookaburras squad will come the team of 16 that will represent Australia in men’s hockey at the Tokyo Olympics next July.

“The interesting side of it is that we don’t know how many international matches we will have between now and Tokyo,” said Batch.

“That is why we are treating these four internal matches as internationals. If you show up now, it is not just about getting into the national squad, but it could go some way to securing your position in the team of 16 for the Olympics.”

“We’ve got some senior guys and a lot of history to fall back on to ascertain whether they’re the right ones to be selected and it would be a tough call to leave some of them out, but if someone turns up and plays out of their skin they could get selected,” said Batch.

“If someone competes and plays well in our Daily Training Environment then that’s a good assessment of whether they can play well at international hockey level.”

The 2021 Kookaburras squad is scheduled to be announced on 1 December.

FULL HOCKEY AUSTRALIA RELEASE HERE

Hockey Australia 2020 Super Camp

6-16 November 2020

Perth Hockey Stadium, Curtin University WA

Men’s Squad

*not a current member of the Kookaburras squad