THE 250 international matches that Eddie Ockenden has played since June 19, 2006, may have flown by for the laid-back, unflappable Tasmanian, but the rest of the hockey world has certainly been taking notice.
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A world young player of the year award followed by two senior player of the year nominations and four inclusions in the planet’s team of the year demonstrate the esteem in which the global body holds the 28-year-old two-time Olympian.
Playing in seven consecutive Champions Trophies plus back-to-back Commonwealth Games and World Cup successes and being named best player in the last campaign demonstrates his importance to the national set-up.
Meanwhile Tasmanian recognition peaked with being named the state’s athlete of the year for 2014 when he also spearheaded the Tigers’ historic maiden national title.
But as Ockenden reflected on his career journey after helping the Kookaburras qualify for another Olympics with a 4-1 World League quarter-final defeat of Ireland in Antwerp on Wednesday, true to form he took most pride in the team rather than individual accomplishments.
‘‘It’s a lot of games!’’ he said.
‘‘It seems like it’s gone pretty quickly and I’m pretty pleased to get it over with to be honest, because it was a bit of a nervy game to worry about the milestone, so it was good that we made it through the semi-finals because the top four was what we wanted.
‘‘The best games were probably my first game, my first tour — a dream come true and a bit of a whirlwind, something I never expected.
‘‘And then obviously going to two Olympics, winning two World Cups and the other 240 games were awesome as well, so I’ve loved every minute of it so far.’’
The North-West Grads midfielder, who was player of the tournament in the past two Australian Hockey Leagues, played a pivotal role in defeating a stubborn Irish outfit.
Holding on to a 1-0 lead courtesy of Matt Gohdes’ first-half penalty corner strike with Ireland threatening to equalise in 32-degree heat, Ockenden played the killer through-ball that enabled Jamie Dwyer to double the advantage with his 222nd international goal.
A superb piece of composure from Simon Orchard and Blake Govers’ trademark precision penalty corner killed off the contest before Shane O’Donoghue bagged a late consolation.
Australia will face Great Britain in Friday’s semi-final, but with host nation Belgium’s opponent India having already qualified for the Olympics, all four semi-finalists are confirmed on the plane to Rio.
‘‘It was a tough game and took us a while to break them down,’’ Ockenden added. ‘‘We had a lot of chances but I wasn’t too nervous because our defence was holding up well and we weren’t giving too many opportunities to them.’’
Having won all four pool matches by at least a four-goal margin, Kookaburras coach Graham Reid admitted the quarter-final ‘‘was not a pretty win’’.
But he took a moment to acknowledge Ockenden’s contribution to the team. ‘‘It’s fantastic to be so young and achieve that milestone.
‘‘We don’t talk too much about those milestones because that’s the Australian way, but for someone like him I think it’s a fantastic achievement and I’m sure that he’ll play many more.’’
Launceston’s Tim Deavin also returned from a side strain injury to play his 111th international match in the quarter-final.