Kookaburras coach Ric Charlesworth has challenged his young players to prove themselves hockey’s “generation next” as they take on the world’s best at the Champions Trophy tournament.
Charlesworth goes into the event over the next week in Melbourne with a squad full of raw material in search of the finished article.
His deadline to build a team for the ages is for next year’s hockey World Cup – the sport’s major prize alongside the Olympics.
Six players with a handful of international experience have been thrown into the Australian men’s side – all of whom Charlesworth says will be given solid game time.
Superstar Jamie Dwyer remains the Kookaburras’ backbone, while veteran Brent Livermore and world young player of the year Eddie Ockenden provide the known class.
But Charlesworth wants fringe players to step up at the tournament for the world’s top six nations to prove Australia is building towards more remarkable moments like the 2004 Olympic gold medal win.
“The young players are here because we want them to play. We want to test them ahead of next year – it would be pretty pointless including them if we were weren’t going to,” Charlesworth said.
“We’ll find out exactly where we are in the next few days, because if there are aspects of our game that are shaky, they’ll be exposed.
“There will be variable performances, and those performances will tell us more about them.”
At just 20, Queensland defender Matthew Swann is the most inexperienced member of the 18-man squad. The Mackay youngster has played just five times for his country.
West Australians Graeme Begbie and Brent Dancer, Victorian goalkeeper George Bazeley and NSW duo Matthew Butturini and Glenn Turner have played fewer than 20 internationals each.
Charlesworth admitted there was a lot of nervous tension around the young side and defending title-holders, who start their round-robin campaign against world No.5 Korea on Saturday.
England will play Germany while the other fixture on Saturday is Spain versus the Netherlands.
The top two from the round robin progress to the final on Sunday week.
“This is as tough a tournament as you get because there isn’t as there would be in the Olympics or the World Cup the next six teams diluting the quality – there’s just the top six,” Charlesworth said.
The Kookaburras rounded off their preparations with a spirited “shirts versus skins” practice game at the State Hockey Centre on Friday and lightened the mood by booting an AFL football around.
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