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Orchard scores berth in team for world Cup
Tuesday, 09 February 2010 08:58

COURTESY MAITLAND MERCURY

The one and only time Australia hoisted the World Cup aloft was in 1986.

It was the same year Simon Orchard was born.

Now, 24-years on from the initial success, the Kookaburras have the chance to reclaim the coveted trophy when they travel to India later this month and Orchard will be part of the push.

“Maybe it’s a little bit of an omen,” Orchard told the Mercury yesterday after hearing of his selection in the 18-man squad.

“I hope so anyway.”

The entire Kookaburras squad will be hoping so as well, as they look to turn around finals losses from the past two campaigns.

In 2002 the Kookaburas went down 2-1 to Germany in Kuala Lumpur, while four years later it was the same result against the same opponent but in much more dramatic circumstances.

The Kookaburras led 3-1 in the 2006 World Cup decider and were in sight of victory before Germany rallied in front of a home crowd to score three unanswered goals and triumph 4-3.

The Australians extracted some revenge against the Germans, with a 5-3 win at the Champions Trophy in Melbourne at the end of last year.

It sealed back-to-back Champions Trophy crowns for the green and golds, but the World Cup is the sought-after prize for field hockey.

“The World Cup is the highlight...the best of the best are all going to be there,” Orchard, who was named the 2008 Maitland Sportsperson of the Year, said.

“The Olympics are special for other reasons and a gold medal is one of the highest honours you can receive as an athlete.

“But the World Cup is more for the prestige and it is hockey’s time to shine.”

The Kookaburras, who have finished in the top three at every World Cup since 1978, will start this year’s crusade against England, the same team they beat to win the World Cup in 1986.

The Ashes battle will be a prelude to another great sporting rivalry on February 28, when hosts India take on neighbours Pakistan at the same venue, Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi.

South Africa and Spain are the other two teams in the Kookaburras’ pool.

Argentina, Canada, Germany, Korea, Netherlands and New Zealand make up the second pool of teams.

Kookaburras coach Ric Charlesworth said despite the Australians going into the World Cup as favourites, there were up to six teams that could win the final.

“I believe there is at least half a dozen teams who are capable of winning,” Charlesworth said.

“Although we will be one of the favourites, the only pressure we will have is the internal pressure we put on ourselves to play well.

“The tournament is a big event, it will be very exciting and a new experience for a lot of them to play in India for the first time.”

Kieran Govers, 21, has been included in the squad with three Test caps under his belt, while Brent Livermore, the second most capped Australian hockey player with 318 national matches, has been omitted.

Livermore is only four games away from breaking Jay Stacy’s Australian games record of 321.

The Kookaburras will play a two-test series against New Zealand at their home base in Perth on February 17-19 in the lead up to the World Cup, which begins on February 28.

The final is on March 13.

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ORCHARD MAKES KOOKABURRAS SQUAD FOR WORLD CUP
Monday, 08 February 2010 13:44

Simon Orchard has made the Kookaburras squad for the upcoming World Cup in India. The former Maitland HCPHL player is a product of the Upper Hunter and Newcastle Hockey associations, and will now have the chance to add a World Cup Gold Medal to his trophy cabinet.

Hunterhockey.info congratulates Simon and encourages all members to leave comments and congratulations by clicking the 'add new comment' link below.

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Hunter Cup coming to a turf near you
Tuesday, 02 February 2010 11:43

The Hunter Cup is fast becoming one of the toughest hockey competitions in the region, with nominations for the innaugural event coming from 4 different associations so far.

Newcastle will be well represented, with the reigning Hunter Coast Premier Hockey League champions South Newcastle amongst the first to sign up, along with Norths, Maitland and Wests.

The Manning Valley has dissapointed a little, with Mid North Coast Premier League and Manning A grade champions Taree Tigers declining to participate, but thier opponents in both finals in 2009, Chatham, look set to participate.

These local clubs will be joined by 2 of Sydneys biggest, with Ryde Hunters Hill and Glebe both agreeing to participate in this event. Both clubs will be bringing near full strength squads and will add some quality and differing styles of play to the competition.

Tamworth side Kiwis have indicated a willingness to compete and should be worthy opponents and bring a different blend of country hockey to the competition.

Competition organiser Scott Rainbow was excitted by the number of nominations but indicated a number of high profile clubs were yet to nominate, and had until Friday February 5th to get those in.

The competition is currently set down for Taree and Maitland, but a review of the teams nominated after Friday could see venue changes and a change to the format. "It all depends on the number of teams and where they come from. Obviously we dont want teams from Sydney having to travel to Taree for a day, and if there is only 1 Taree side it makes sense for those guys to travel down to Newcastle rather then sending 5 teams up the highway" said Scott.

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Locals make 2010 U18 State Squads
Tuesday, 02 February 2010 12:06

HockeyNSW has announced its squad of 16 boys and 16 Girls for the 2010 U18 National championships. At the completion of trials recently, several Hunter based players were selected.

Congratulations to Jordan Willott, Mitchell Allen-Waters and Jason coombes from the Newcastle Association. All 3 boys play for the Norths club and were instrumental in Norths HCPHL and 2nd Grade teams fine performances during the 2009 Season.

Well done boys.

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Tough tussle for places
Thursday, 28 January 2010 09:54

COURTESY MAITLAND MERCURY

Maitland’s Simon Orchard hopes to use the Kookaburra’s three-match series against Korea this month to push for a spot in the World Cup squad.

Orchard was named last week in the 25-man squad to take on Korea in Tasmania from January 28-31.

He spoke to the Mercury from Hobart yesterday and said he was pleased to see his name on the list for the Korean series, but admitted the job wasn’t done yet.

“It’s always a great honour to play for your country and I’d like to think that I’m a regular member of the squad,” Orchard said.

“But as Ric (Kookaburras’ coach Ric Charlesworth) always drums into us, no one’s spot is safe and we need to impress at any chance we get.

“So I’ll need to play well against Korea and really push the other guys in the squad.”

For Orchard, his chance to impress might come in only two games, as Charlesworth is likely to rest every squad member at least once.

The Kookaburras have a good record against Korea, who are ranked fifth in the world, thrashing them 4-0 in the first game of the Champions Trophy last year and twice in the lead up to the Olympics in 2008.

They will use the matches as the launching pad for their bid for the major piece of international silverware that has eluded Australian men’s hockey for too long – the World Cup, which will be held in India next month.

It has been 24 years since Australia lifted the World Cup, which is a drought compared to their most recent triumphs in the other major events, as they won gold at the 2004 Olympics, 2006 Commonwealth Games and in last year’s Champions Trophy.

Kookaburras captain Jamie Dwyer expects competition within the team to be fierce and makes no bones about the fact the team put the World Cup trophy ahead of the Commonwealth Games in October as their biggest goal for 2010.

“There is a lot of pressure on us this year,” Dwyer said.

“The World Cup is the one we want, we rate it more highly than the Commonwealth Games and we haven’t won it for 20-something years.

“We’ve won silver the past couple of times (the Kookaburras were beaten by Germany in the past two finals), so we definitely want to win it this year.

“The competition’s real hot. It’s going to be hard for (coach) Ric (Charlesworth) and the selectors to pick a team at the moment because everyone will be competing hard for positions.”

Only 18 members of the 25-strong squad will make the trip to New Delhi next month.

Today’s match, at the Tasmanian Hockey Centre, is scheduled to start at 7pm.

 

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Orchard puts winning touch on kookaburras match
Tuesday, 02 February 2010 11:41

COURTESY MAITLAND MERCURY

A goal to 2008 Maitland Sportsperson of the Year Simon Orchard has helped the Kookaburras to a 2-1 series win against Korea in Hobart, Tasmania.

Orchard, 23, scored the winner for the Kookaburras in the 57th minute of the second match on Saturday night to help the hosts to a 3-2 victory after trailing 2-1 at half-time.

This goal and the ensuing result ensured the Kookaburras, who triumphed 5-1 in game one on Thursday, had an unassailable 2-0 series lead heading into the third and final Test on Sunday night.

It was fortunate they did because Korea bounced back to claim the final Test 2-1 and spoil the celebrations surrounding Mark Knowles in his 150th game for the national squad.

Korea scored first, thanks to Kor Seo, and led 1-0 at half-time before Glenn Simpson equalled the ledger in the opening minute of the second stanza.

Kor Hyun scored from a penalty corner two minutes later to put Korea ahead again and that was how it stayed for the remainder of the match, despite a good chance for the Kookaburras from a penalty corner in the final minute.

Kookaburras coach Ric Charlesworth said he was disappointed with the performance, especially on the back of the Champions Trophy win in Melbourne late last year.

“I think it confirms what I have been saying all along, that we aren’t solid enough yet,” Charlesworth said.

“Tonight was an important match for a number of young players.

“We have to finish better and tonight we had five or six penalty corners and some missed opportunities.

“We are a work in progress and tonight underlined that there is still more work to do.”

The Kookaburras will return to Perth, where they will continue to prepare for the 2010 World Cup in India from February 28, before returning to the subcontinent for the Commonwealth Games in October.

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Bumper year for vets
Wednesday, 27 January 2010 10:09

COURTESY MANNING RIVER TIMES

MANNING Valey men's hockey veterans are hoping that 2010 will be a bumper year for them when games resume on Tuesday, February 2.

Players will be placed in four teams of equal strength and all intending vets are asked to make a special effort to attend on the first night so organisers have a good idea of numbers.

A top competition is expected with members able to avail themselves of the new clubhouse facilities afterwards.

Members farewelled 2009 in style with their annual general meeting and presentation night.

Office bearers for 2010 are Terry Broadbent (president), Peter Cubbin (treasurer), Peter Frappell (secretary), Rob Crossingham (social organiser), Rod McNeill/Darren Aitken (publicity officers).

Affiliation, registration and turf fees are expected to be similar to 2009.

Phil Rodham was surprised and pleased to receive the Rod Sansom Memorial Trophy for club person of the year.

Phil had put in much time and effort in producing a photographic record of many tournaments and events involving the vets during the past several years but especially in 2009.

The State championships get underway with the over 55s going to Albion Park, March 26-28, followed by the over 50s at Grafton, April 23-25, the over 45s in Sydney on May 28-30 and finally the over 40s at Bathurst on June 25-27.

Players are asked to encourage any prospective vets to come along in February and join in the fun that is vets hockey.

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