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Youthful Hockeyroos ready for NZ challenge

3 minute read

Co-captains Jane Claxton and Brooke Peris are the most experienced players in a youthful Hockeyroos squad rebuilding after Olympic disappointment last year.

BROOKE PERIS.
BROOKE PERIS. Picture: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

The new-look Hockeyroos will be aiming to brush aside some rustiness when they take on New Zealand in a four-match Trans-Tasman series starting on Tuesday.

The Australian women's hockey team haven't played an international match since suffering an upset 1-0 quarter-final loss to India at the Tokyo Olympics last August.

The world No.2 Hockeyroos were left gutted by that result, and the nine-month break between internationals has given players plenty of time to stew on missing out on an Olympic medal.

Edwina Bone, Emily Chalker, Ashlee Wells, Rachael Lynch, and Kate Jenner have retired since the Olympics, with coach Katrina Powell selecting four debutants in her 23-person squad for the Trans-Tasman series in Auckland.

Claire Colwill, Hattie Shand, Shanea Tonkin, and 18-year-old development squad member Hannah Cullum-Sanders are the four debutants who have been selected, with the squad featuring 11 players with 17 caps or less.

Co-captains Jane Claxton (193 caps) and Brooke Peris (182) are the only players in the squad with more than 100 games of international experience.

Defender Renee Taylor (hip surgery) couldn't be considered for selection.

The series against world No.6 NZ is vital for the Hockeyroos as they gear up for the FIH Women's World Cup in July and the Commonwealth Games that follow shortly after.

"There are so many fresh faces in our team ... a lot of girls keen to get onto the international stage and prove themselves," Claxton said.

"And for us it's about being back out there again ahead of the World Cup and Commonwealth Games.

"Retirements after Olympics are common so new girls have come in, there will be debuts happening so it's exciting in that respect.

"In terms of structures, with Katrina Powell as our head coach she wants to play an attacking style of hockey, scoring goals and being on the front foot.

"Tokyo finished disappointingly for us, so we have spent a lot of time doing cultural stuff as a group as well as training on the pitch."

The four-match series will have games played on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

The world No.1 Kookaburras' four-match series in NZ was postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the men's Black Sticks squad.

That series will now start on Tuesday, May 31.

Hockeyroos squad: Jocelyn Bartram, Jane Claxton, Claire Colwill, Hannah Cullum-Sanders, Madison Fitzpatrick, Rebecca Greiner, Greta Hayes, Stephanie Kershaw, Amy Lawton, Rosie Malone, Kaitlin Nobbs, Meg Pearce, Brooke Peris, Aleisha Power, Courtney Schonell, Hattie Shand, Karri Somerville, Penny Squibb, Grace Stewart, Renee Taylor, Shanea Tonkin, Mariah Williams, Georgia Wilson.

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