To say Kieran Govers was pissed at being left out of the Kookaburras team to travel to the Olympics would be the ultimate understatement.
The 28-year-old didn’t make the squad to challenge for an Olympic Gold medal, and he let the world know just how annoyed he was in a post on Facebook.
Fair enough too – he’s worked his behind off for four years, only to not be selected in the 16-man squad. But take nothing away from those who did make it in.
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The reigning World champion Kookaburras will send a battle-hardened squad to Rio, with veteran Jamie Dwyer to become Australia’s oldest Olympic hockey player at 37.
World No.1 ranked Australia has named 10 players with Olympic experience in its 16-man Rio squad – up from six at the 2012 London games.
Captain Mark Knowles and Dwyer, the only remaining members from the Australian team to win gold in Athens in 2004, will head to their fourth games, while dual bronze medallists Eddie Ockenden and Fergus Kavanagh will be going to their third.
Knowles said he was expecting to bring home a second gold medal.
“We want to win. We don’t want to get bronze, just make the semis or play-off for fifth,” he said.
“I sent every player in the squad a message after the selection memo came out.
“The most important message I gave was the one I said to those selected, making the team isn’t enough.”
For Dwyer, it’s been a massive turnaround since being left out of the Commonwealth Games squad in 2014, revealing he had contemplated retirement.
“After missing out on the Commonwealth Games in 2014 I was thinking about retiring and for a good couple of months wasn’t sure what I’d do,” Dwyer said.
“I’m very happy that I decided to give it a crack.”
Australia will head to the Olympics as gold medal favourites having recently taken out the Champions Trophy in London.
The Australians face New Zealand, Britain, Belgium, Spain and Brazil in the preliminary round.
The top four from each of two pools will progress to the knockout quarter-finals, with Rio being the first Olympic Games to feature the new format, all building to the gold medal match on August 18.
KOOKABURRAS SQUAD TO TRAVEL TO RIO: Mark Knowles (c), Jamie Dwyer, Eddie Ockenden, Fergus Kavanagh, Chris Ciriello, Simon Orchard, Glenn Turner, Matthew Swann, Matt Gohdes, Tim Deavin, Blake Govers, Daniel Beale, Jake Whetton, Matthew Dawson, Andrew Charter, Tristan White.
With AAP
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