Seven Tasmanians are among the next crop of potential Kookaburras and Hockeyroos, as Australia's top under-21 hockey talent look ahead to the 2025 Junior World Cup.
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Following a week of scouting at the national under-21 championships in Newcastle, recently re-appointed Burras and Jillaroos coaches Jay Stacy and Stacia Strain selected squads that feature a solid mix of exciting new talent, along with some more experienced junior athletes.
One of them, Tasmanian midfielder Lachie Rogers, is still coming to grips with being a senior member of the squad.
"My journey with the Burras only started towards the end of 2023 at the Sultan of Johor Cup, right before the 2023 Junior World Cup, so I still feel like I'm one of the junior players and it's hard to imagine I'm actually one of the senior players," said the Hobart talent.
Delighted to see four fellow Tasmainans in the Burras squad, Rogers believes it will be an exciting season with a few new faces in the line-up.
"The culture in the Burras is really great, it's a great environment. Last year we had a great leadership group, with huge buy-in and engagement so it'll be great for these new players to get a taste of that professionalism."
Joining Rogers in the 27-strong Burras squad are Max Johnstone, Max Larkin, Magnus McCausland and Oliver Stebbings.
"One thing I think will be really good for the new players is that the coaching group is excellent," he added. "They have a really good approach to teaching you about on and off-field stuff. When I think about the Tassie players, I think they'll get a lot of value from this setup and the same goes for the other boys too."
The Jillaroos squad features Taylor Brooks and Camila Vaughan while Evie Dalton is the sole Tasmanian in the 18-strong under-23 women's team which will tour Europe in June.
Both under-21 teams will face Junior World Cup qualifiers in New Zealand in December.
Meanwhile, Hobart trio Joshua Beltz, Eddie Ockenden and Jack Welch all featured as the Kookaburras pulled off a come-from-behind 5-1 victory against a quality Indian outfit at Perth Hockey Stadium.
The Kookaburras welcome a two-day break before taking on India in the third Test match of the International Festival of Hockey on Wednesday night.
Rob Shaw
Heralding the impact of Tasmanian sport without saying "punching above its weight" is not as easy as it sounds.
Heralding the impact of Tasmanian sport without saying "punching above its weight" is not as easy as it sounds.
