The draw meant that the Kookaburras wrapped up the series with 2 wins to 1. Which was a good result for the team early on in the year with some new players coming into the team.

Monday – Australia Day – was a great day for the team to be able to relax. A group of us found a park near the beach and played some cricket and listened to the hottest 100. The Dutch team also came for a few hours during the day, it was nice to be able to socialise after such a tough series. They head to India to compete in a series there today.

For now, its back to the training track all week before we meet up in Canberra for a series against Belgium. Keep you posted.

Cheers

Victorian goalie ‘Gorgeous’ George Bazeley made his debut in the game, congratulations to him and his first win with the Kookaburras.

Last game is on sunday night, we have a strong emphasis on improving throughout the series so we want to finish well and not to drop off our performance. There are still a lot of areas where we need to improve.

Email me any questions, Cheers.

I had a great stay in Busselton even though it was pretty brief. I could easily spend a week down south exploring the beaches and scenery but we have more pressing matters with another game in Perth on Friday night.

We went down 2 – 4 in the first game in Busselton. The game was going well early in the first half but 3 goals in 5 minutes put us 0 – 3 behind going into the break. We had a few opportunites and a few short corners where we should have converted some goals or at least better chances. After the break we were able to claw back to 2 – 3, with goals to Des Abbott and a stroke to Rob Hammond. However, a quick reply from the Dutch put the game out of reach. Congratulations to debutantes Ian Burcher, Matthew Butturini and Ross Meadows.

Backing up the next day in Bunbury was always going to be tough, but we prepared well and put in a better performance. The Netherlands scored in the first minute from a PC, but after that I thought we pretty much controlled the game and had more chances, even though the score was 1 – 1 at half time and 2 – 2 with with 20 minutes to go. Personally the second game was a lot better and I was able to get a couple of goals which is always nice. A great first win for debutantes (my room mate) Joel Carroll,  Matthew Butturini and Ross Meadows.

Overall we had two really tough games and playing back to back is always difficult. We had really good support from the crowds down south and I think they would have enjoyed the games. I am sure the next two games on friday and sunday night will be just as hard fought and hope we get some support from the Perth hockey community.

Cheers.

P.S – Here are some of the photos from the series

The Netherlands have gained some revenge from the Beijing Olympics and spoiled Ric Charlesworth’s debut as Kookaburras coach, defeating the Kookaburras 4-2 tonight in Busselton,WA.

Read the full story

The week, so far, has been pretty tough coming off a bit of a break over Christmas, but now we are well and truly in the swing of things. New coaches Ric Charlesworth and Graham Reid have been putting us through our paces this week, we still have a lot to learn before our first game!

Everyone is very much looking forward to playing in the Australian colours again, particularly in a home series.

I’ll keep you updated for the upcoming games.

Here are the event details:

Game 1: Tuesday, January 20th Busselton Hockey Stadium, 7.00pm
Game 2: Wednesday, January 21st Bunbury Hockey Stadium 6.30pm
Game 3: Friday, January 23rd Perth Hockey Stadium, 7.00pm
Game 4: Sunday, January 25th Perth Hockey Stadium, 7.00pm

For more information, check out the Hockey Australia website.

Or check out the commercial (links to .mov file)