After a golden 10-months at the centre of the Kookaburras team, Commonwealth Games selection almost seemed liked a forgone conclusion for Simon Orchard.
A gold medal at the prestigious World Cup, success at consecutive Champions Trophy events and a big wrap from the hard-to-impress head coach Ric Charlesworth had seemed enough to earn the former Maitland man a seat on the plane to India next month.
But despite earning a regular spot with the national senior hockey squad, the 24-year-old took nothing for granted and was thrilled to be named in Australia’s Commonwealth Games team yesterday.
“It is awesome to be selected,” Orchard told the Maitland Mercury.
“I was quietly confident, but you never want to take your spot for granted.
“Especially with Ric [Charlesworth] in charge, you are never quite certain about your spot and he makes sure everyone is on their toes and giving their best performance.”
Charlesworth’s tactics seem to have worked with Orchard, who picked up the Australian Hockey League (AHL) player of the series on Saturday despite his NSW team going down 7-1 to Queensland in the final.
“It was straight after the game on Saturday and, while I was happy with my form throughout the tournament and really happy that I got the award, it was a bittersweet feeling,” Orchard said.
“Individually it was nice to be acknowledged, but I was still pretty upset with the result from the final.”
The final six matches of the AHL were played over 10 days in Brisbane and this busy schedule was similar to what Orchard, the 2008 Maitland Sportsperson of the Year, has experienced during the past 10 months.
A Champions Trophy win with the Kookaburras in Melbourne at the end of last year, a stint in Holland with national league team Tilburg, a World Cup triumph with the Australians in India in March, and a second Champions Trophy success in Germany in July left little time to spare for Orchard.
And now he has the chance to wear the green and gold once more but this time, at the Commonwealth Games, it will be in a completely different sports environment.
“This is the second biggest chance to represent your country on a truly world stage, not just a world hockey stage,” Orchard said.
“The best part will be being with all the athletes from all the different sports.”
The former Maitland Rams player will be one of 11 players making their Commonwealth Games debut, in a team predominantly made up of men in their 20s.
The Kookaburras will take on Scotland, hosts India, Pakistan and Malaysia in the preliminary rounds, while New Zealand and England will be the main threats in the other pool.
The Kookaburras accounted for their trans-Tasman rivals 9-1 at the most recent Champions Trophy tournament before annihilating the English team 4-0 in the decider.
“England and New Zealand will be our main rivals and they are in the other pool, but we will have to meet them at some stage,” Orchard said.
“Pakistan and India are in our pool and they are always a bit of an unknown quantity.”
The Kookaburras have won gold at each Commonwealth Games since the sport was included on the program in 1998.
The team will play warm-up matches against Argentina in Perth this weekend (September 4 and 5) and Sydney the following weekend (September 11 and 12).
Orchard is the fourth athlete from the Maitland region chosen to compete at the XIX Commonwealth Games, which begin on October 3.
Olivia Tauro (athletics), Pirrenee Steinert (athletics) and Natasha Van Eldik (lawn bowls) will also participate in the Delhi event.