A strong Tasmanian contingent has been selected for higher honours with Australia's 2022 indoor squads announced.
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South Launceston's Kurt Budgeon and former North-West Coast star Maddie Murphy led the way, earning the call-up to the senior squads.
"It was exciting and a bit of a surprise at the same time," Budgeon said.
"There's a really good opportunity there so I'm really looking forward to it.
"I think there's going to be a training camp in Melbourne in the coming weeks or months, there's no locked-in dates yet, so I'm really looking forward to that and showing what I can do."
Budgeon and Murphy were far from the only Tasmanians selected in the squads, with Josh Commins, Madison Clark, Lucy Cooper, Evelyn Dalton and Georgina Ferguson picked in the junior squads, while Magnus McCausland, Luke Palmer, Lily Bushby and Isabella McRobbie were named in the emerging line-ups.
The announcements, which saw 187 athletes picked across six squads, showed the state's goalkeeping pedigree, with Dalton, Ferguson and McCausland all guarding the net.
"It's awesome to see other Tassie players get around it. There's plenty of people here with plenty of talent so it's great that a lot of people are getting recognised," Budgeon said.
The 24-year-old carpenter admitted the call-up wasn't something he exactly trained for, with the Silverdome's two-day Festival of Indoor Hockey helping his case.
"It was good because I was playing with a lot of blokes that I have played with for a lot of time and they make you look good in a sense," he said.
"There must have been a selector or two there watching and they must have liked something I guess."
With no national carnivals held in the regular January timeslots in either 2021 or 2022, the Australian indoor coaches worked with each state's selectors to build the squad.
"The announcement of the Australian senior, junior and emerging indoor squads for both the men and women is a welcome step forward after such a difficult two years," Hockey Australia indoor advisory group chair Lyn Hill said.
"Congratulations to the players named in the squads and I wish them all the best as opportunities become available for training camps and future competitions with borders opening up for overseas travel."
HIGHER HONOURS
Men's indoor squad: Kurt Budgeon (South L'ton)
Women's indoor squad: Maddie Murphy (University of Iowa, ex-North-West Coast)
Junior men's indoor squad: Josh Commins (DiamondBacks/Queechy Penguins)
Junior women's indoor squad: Madison Clark (West Devonport), Lucy Cooper (QP), Evelyn Dalton (OHA), Georgina Ferguson (Uni)
Emerging men's squad: Magnus McCausland (Derwent), Luke Palmer (Canterbury)
Emerging women's squad: Lily Bushby (Uni), Isabella McRobbie (QP)