Australia men's national field hockey team

Australia
Nickname(s)The Kookaburras
AssociationHockey Australia
ConfederationOHF (Oceania)
Head CoachColin Batch
Assistant coach(es)Robert Hammond
Anthony Potter
David Staniforth
ManagerMelissa Gey
CaptainEddie Ockenden
Aran Zalewski
Most capsEddie Ockenden (414)
Top scorerJamie Dwyer (244)
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Home
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Away
FIH ranking
Current 6 Steady (2 December 2023)
Highest1 (2005, 2010–2011, 2014 – January 2017, December 2017 – July 2018, June 2019 – January 2020)
Lowest6 (2023)
First international
New Zealand  5–4  Australia
(Palmerston North, New Zealand; 27 September 1922)
Biggest win
Australia  36–0  Samoa
(Stratford, New Zealand; 24 October 2015)
Biggest defeat
Australia  1–12  India
(Melbourne, Australia; 17 August 1935)
Olympic Games
Appearances16 (first in 1956)
Best result1st (2004)
World Cup
Appearances14 (first in 1971)
Best result1st (1986, 2010, 2014)
Oceania Cup
Appearances11 (first in 1999)
Best result1st (1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2023)

The Australia men's national field hockey team (nicknamed the Kookaburras) is one of the nation's most successful top-level sporting teams. They are the only Australian team in any sport to receive medals at six straight Summer Olympic Games (1992–2012). The Kookaburras placed in the top four in every Olympics between 1980 and 2012; in 2016, the Kookaburras placed sixth. They also won the Hockey World Cup in 1986, 2010 and 2014.

The Kookaburras' inability to win an Olympic gold medal despite their perennial competitiveness, led many in the Australian hockey community to speak of a "curse" afflicting the team, finally broken in 2004 with the win in Athens. However, they failed to win Gold after that after losses in subsequent Olympics including a loss to Belgium in the Gold Medal Match of 2020 Tokyo Olympics - the Kookaburras instead won the silver medal.

History

Australia's first men's team competed in an international match in 1922.

The first major competition won by the national team was the 1983 World Championships held in Karachi.

Participations

Australia's first men's team competed at the Olympics in field hockey at the 1956 Summer Olympics.

Australia did not medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics or the 1988 Summer Olympics. At the 1992 Summer Olympics, Australia earned a silver medal, losing gold to Germany. At the 1996 Summer Olympics, Australia finished third, earning a bronze medal.

The team won their first Olympic gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Barry Dancer coached the side.

Should Australia win the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics they will become the first national team in field hockey history to hold all four international titles available to them simultaneously. They would hold titles in the 2012 Olympics, 2010 World Cup, 2011 Champions Trophy and their continental championship (2011 Oceania Cup) at the same time. Along with those four titles Australia also holds the Commonwealth Games title from the 2010 championships.

Tournament records

Olympic Games
Year Host city Position
1908 United Kingdom London, United Kingdom
1920 Belgium Antwerp, Belgium
1928 Netherlands Amsterdam, Netherlands
1932 United States Los Angeles, United States
1936 Germany Berlin, Germany
1948 United Kingdom London, United Kingdom
1952 Finland Helsinki, Finland
1956 Australia Melbourne, Australia 5th
1960 Italy Rome, Italy 6th
1964 Japan Tokyo, Japan 3rd
1968 Mexico Mexico City, Mexico 2nd
1972 Germany Munich, Germany 5th
1976 Canada Montreal, Canada 2nd
1980 Soviet Union Moscow, Soviet Union Boycott
1984 United States Los Angeles, United States 4th
1988 South Korea Seoul, South Korea 4th
1992 Spain Barcelona, Spain 2nd
1996 United States Atlanta, United States 3rd
2000 Australia Sydney, Australia 3rd
2004 Greece Athens, Greece 1st
2008 China Beijing, China 3rd
2012 United Kingdom London, United Kingdom 3rd
2016 Brazil Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 6th
2020 Japan Tokyo, Japan 2nd
2024 France Paris, France Qualified
2028 United States Los Angeles, United States TBD
2032 Australia Brisbane, Australia TBD
World Cup
Year Host city Position
1971 Spain Barcelona, Spain 8th
1973 Netherlands Amsterdam, Netherlands Withdrew
1975 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 5th
1978 Argentina Buenos Aires, Argentina 3rd
1982 India Bombay, India 3rd
1986 England London, England 1st
1990 Pakistan Lahore, Pakistan 3rd
1994 Australia Sydney, Australia 3rd
1998 Netherlands Utrecht, Netherlands 4th
2002 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2nd
2006 Germany Mönchengladbach, Germany 2nd
2010 India New Delhi, India 1st
2014 Netherlands The Hague, Netherlands 1st
2018 India Bhubaneswar, India 3rd
2023 India Bhubaneswar, India
India Rourkela, India
4th
Champions Trophy
Year Host city Position
1978 Pakistan Lahore, Pakistan 2nd
1980 Pakistan Karachi, Pakistan 3rd
1981 Pakistan Karachi, Pakistan 2nd
1982 Netherlands Amstelveen, Netherlands 2nd
1983 Pakistan Karachi, Pakistan 1st
1984 Pakistan Karachi, Pakistan 1st
1985 Australia Perth, Australia 1st
1986 Pakistan Lahore, Pakistan 2nd
1987 Netherlands Amstelveen, Netherlands 3rd
1988 Pakistan Lahore, Pakistan 3rd
1989 Germany Berlin, West Germany 1st
1990 Australia Melbourne, Australia 1st
1991 Germany Berlin, Germany 4th
1992 Pakistan Karachi, Pakistan 2nd
1993 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1st
1994 Pakistan Lahore, Pakistan 4th
1995 Germany Berlin, Germany 2nd
1996 India Madras, India 6th
1997 Australia Adelaide, Australia 2nd
1998 Pakistan Lahore, Pakistan 3rd
1999 Australia Brisbane, Australia 1st
2000 Netherlands Amstelveen, Netherlands 5th
2001 Netherlands Rotterdam, Netherlands 2nd
2002 Germany Cologne, Germany 5th
2003 Netherlands Amstelveen, Netherlands 2nd
2004 Pakistan Lahore, Pakistan Withdrew
2005 India Chennai, India 1st
2006 Spain Terrassa, Spain 4th
2007 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2nd
2008 Netherlands Rotterdam, Netherlands 1st
2009 Australia Melbourne, Australia 1st
2010 Germany Mönchengladbach, Germany 1st
2011 New Zealand Auckland, New Zealand 1st
2012 Australia Melbourne, Australia 1st
2014 India Bhubaneswar, India 3rd
2016 United Kingdom London, United Kingdom 1st
2018 Netherlands Breda, Netherlands 1st
World League
Year Round Host city Position
2012–13 Semifinal Netherlands Rotterdam, Netherlands 2nd
Final India New Delhi, India 4th
2014–15 Semifinal Belgium Antwerp, Belgium 1st
Final India Raipur, India 1st
2016–17 Semifinal South Africa Johannesburg, South Africa 3rd
Final India Bhubaneswar, India 1st
Pro League
Year Host city Position
2019 Netherlands Amstelveen, Netherlands 1st
2020–21 Home & Away 2nd
2021–22 Home & Away 2nd^
2022–23 Home & Away 7th

^Australia and New Zealand originally withdrew from matches due to the COVID-19 global pandemic and subsequent international restrictions on travel. In the lead up to the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympic games, Australia and New Zealand played two matches as part of the 2020-21 Pro League in Perth.

Commonwealth Games
Year Host city Position
1998 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1st
2002 England Manchester, England 1st
2006 Australia Melbourne, Australia 1st
2010 India New Delhi, India 1st
2014 Scotland Glasgow, Scotland 1st
2018 Australia Gold Coast, Australia 1st
2022 England Birmingham, England 1st
Oceania Cup
Year Host city Position
1999 Australia Brisbane, Australia 1st
2001 Australia Melbourne, Australia 1st
2003 New Zealand Christchurch & Wellington, New Zealand 1st
2005 Fiji Suva, Fiji 1st
2007 Australia Buderim, Australia 1st
2009 New Zealand Invercargill, New Zealand 1st
2011 Australia Hobart, Australia 1st
2013 New Zealand Stratford, New Zealand 1st
2015 New Zealand Stratford, New Zealand 1st
2017 Australia Sydney, Australia 1st
2019 Australia Rockhampton, Australia 1st
2023 New Zealand Whangarei, New Zealand 1st
Sultan Azlan Shah Cup
Year Host city Position
1983 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1st
1985 Malaysia Ipoh, Malaysia Did Not Compete
1987 Malaysia Ipoh, Malaysia Did Not Compete
1991 Malaysia Ipoh, Malaysia Did Not Compete
1994 Malaysia Penang, Malaysia 3rd
1995 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Did Not Compete
1996 Malaysia Ipoh, Malaysia 2nd
1998 Malaysia Ipoh, Malaysia 1st
1999 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Did Not Compete
2000 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Did Not Compete
2001 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 3rd
2003 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Did Not Compete
2004 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1st
2005 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1st
2006 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2nd
2007 Malaysia Ipoh, Malaysia 1st
2008 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Did Not Compete
2009 Malaysia Ipoh, Malaysia Did Not Compete
2010 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 3rd
2011 Malaysia Ipoh, Malaysia 1st
2012 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Did Not Compete
2013 Malaysia Ipoh, Malaysia 1st
2014 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1st
2015 Malaysia Ipoh, Malaysia 2nd
2016 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1st
2017 Malaysia Ipoh, Malaysia 2nd
2018 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1st
2019 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Did Not Compete
2020 Malaysia Ipoh, Malaysia Cancelled due to COVID-19
2021 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Cancelled due to COVID-19
2022 Malaysia Ipoh, Malaysia Did Not Compete

Team

Current squad

The following 20 players were named in the Kookaburras squad for the FIH Pro League matches against Belgium and the Netherlands in Europe.

Head coach: Colin Batch

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps GoalsClub
30 GK Andrew Charter (1987-03-30) 30 March 1987 (age 36) 223 0 Australian Capital Territory Canberra Chill
49 GK Ashleigh Thomas (1995-07-21) 21 July 1995 (age 28) 1 0 New South Wales NSW Pride

4 DF Jake Harvie (1998-03-05) 5 March 1998 (age 25) 112 5 Western Australia Perth Thundersticks
6 DF Matthew Dawson (1994-04-27) 27 April 1994 (age 29) 184 13 Netherlands Amsterdam
10 DF Joshua Beltz (1995-04-24) 24 April 1995 (age 28) 94 5 Tasmania Tassie Tigers
14 DF Dylan Martin (1998-01-12) 12 January 1998 (age 26) 28 0 New South Wales NSW Pride
16 DF Timothy Howard (1996-06-23) 23 June 1996 (age 27) 116 2 Queensland Brisbane Blaze
26 DF James Collins (2000-02-25) 25 February 2000 (age 23) 15 0 Western Australia Perth Thundersticks
32 DF Jeremy Hayward (Captain) (1993-03-03) 3 March 1993 (age 30) 205 103 Netherlands Den Bosch

1 MF Lachlan Sharp (1997-07-02) 2 July 1997 (age 26) 80 15 New South Wales NSW Pride
2 MF Thomas Craig (1995-09-03) 3 September 1995 (age 28) 116 39 Netherlands Klein Zwitserland
11 MF Eddie Ockenden (Captain) (1987-04-03) 3 April 1987 (age 36) 421 72 Tasmania Tassie Tigers
12 MF Jacob Whetton (1991-06-15) 15 June 1991 (age 32) 253 72 Queensland Brisbane Blaze
20 MF Ky Willott (2001-03-15) 15 March 2001 (age 22) 26 7 New South Wales NSW Pride
23 MF Daniel Beale (1993-02-12) 12 February 1993 (age 30) 224 33 Queensland Brisbane Blaze
48 MF Davis Atkin (2001-02-17) 17 February 2001 (age 22) 4 0 Australian Capital Territory Canberra Chill

7 FW Nathan Ephraums (1999-06-09) 9 June 1999 (age 24) 48 27 Victoria (state) HC Melbourne
9 FW Jacob Anderson (1997-03-22) 22 March 1997 (age 26) 55 20 Queensland Brisbane Blaze
13 FW Blake Govers (1996-07-06) 6 July 1996 (age 27) 141 130 Belgium Dragons
29 FW Timothy Brand (1998-11-29) 29 November 1998 (age 25) 74 28 Netherlands Klein Zwitserland

The remainder of the 2023 national squad is as follows:

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Johan Durst (1991-03-18) 18 March 1991 (age 32) 24 0 Victoria (state) HC Melbourne v.  New Zealand; 30 April 2023
GK Benjamin Rennie (1990-09-28) 28 September 1990 (age 33) 12 0 Western Australia Perth Thundersticks v.  India; 12 March 2023

MF Jayden Atkinson (2001-07-09) 9 July 2001 (age 22) 8 0 Queensland Brisbane Blaze v.  Great Britain; 29 April 2023
MF Aran Zalewski (Captain) (1991-03-21) 21 March 1991 (age 32) 240 34 Western Australia Perth Thundersticks v.  New Zealand; 30 April 2023
MF Flynn Ogilvie (1993-09-17) 17 September 1993 (age 30) 149 27 New South Wales NSW Pride v.  Netherlands; 29 January 2023

FW Thomas Wickham (1990-05-26) 26 May 1990 (age 33) 91 45 Western Australia Perth Thundersticks v.  Netherlands; 29 January 2023
FW Craig Marais (2002-05-28) 28 May 2002 (age 21) 14 1 Victoria (state) HC Melbourne v.  New Zealand; 30 April 2023
FW Jack Welch (1997-10-26) 26 October 1997 (age 26) 27 10 Tasmania Tassie Tigers v.  New Zealand; 30 April 2023
FW Joel Rintala (1996-07-24) 24 July 1996 (age 27) 4 7 Queensland Brisbane Blaze v.  New Zealand; 30 April 2023

Recent call-ups

The following players have received call-ups to the national team in the last twelve months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
DF Joshua Simmonds (1995-10-04) 4 October 1995 (age 28) 50 3 Victoria (state) HC Melbourne v.  India; 8 August 2022
DF Anand Gupte (1998-09-04) 4 September 1998 (age 25) 8 0 Australian Capital Territory Canberra Chill v.  New Zealand; 30 April 2023

FW Hayden Beltz (1997-09-08) 8 September 1997 (age 26) 7 0 Tasmania Tassie Tigers v.  New Zealand; 30 April 2023
FW Benjamin Staines (1997-07-13) 13 July 1997 (age 26) 7 1 Australian Capital Territory Canberra Chill v.  Great Britain; 29 April 2023

Notable players

Results

2023 Fixtures & Results

2022 Statistics
Pld W WD LD L GF GA GD Pts
19 8 1 3 7 62 42 +20 29

XV FIH World Cup

13 January 2023 Pool A Australia  8–0  France Bhubaneswar, India
15:00 Craig field hockey ball 9'32'45'
Ogilvie field hockey ball 27'
Hayward field hockey ball 27'29'39'
Wickham field hockey ball 54'
Report Stadium: Kalinga Stadium
16 January 2023 Pool A Argentina  3–3  Australia Bhubaneswar, India
19:00 Domene field hockey ball 19'
Casella field hockey ball 33'
Ferreiro field hockey ball 49'
Report Hayward field hockey ball 10'
Beale field hockey ball 30'
Govers field hockey ball 58'
Stadium: Kalinga Stadium
20 January 2023 Pool A Australia  9–2  South Africa Rourkela, India
13:00 Govers field hockey ball 4'15'19'20'
Craig field hockey ball 10'
Harvie field hockey ball 22'
Ephraums field hockey ball 28'
Hayward field hockey ball 32'
Brand field hockey ball 47'
Report Ntuli field hockey ball 8'
Kok field hockey ball 58'
Stadium: Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium
24 January 2023 Quarter-finals Australia  4–3  Spain Bhubaneswar, India
16:30 Ogilvie field hockey ball 30'
Zalewski field hockey ball 32'
Hayward field hockey ball 33'37'
Report Gispert field hockey ball 20'
Recasens field hockey ball 24'
Miralles field hockey ball 41'
Stadium: Kalinga Stadium
27 January 2023 Semi-finals Australia  3–4  Germany Bhubaneswar, India
16:30 Hayward field hockey ball 12'
Ephraums field hockey ball 27'
Govers field hockey ball 58'
Report Peillat field hockey ball 43'52'59'
Wellen field hockey ball 60'
Stadium: Kalinga Stadium
29 January 2023 Bronze Medal Match Australia  1–3  Netherlands Bhubaneswar, India
16:30 Hayward field hockey ball 13' Report Janssen field hockey ball 33'
Brinkman field hockey ball 35'40'
Stadium: Kalinga Stadium

FIH Pro League

28 February 2023 Home 1 Australia  2–2
(2–4 p)
 Argentina Hobart, Australia
19:10 Hayward field hockey ball 15'23' Report Rey field hockey ball 49'
Martins field hockey ball 54'
Stadium: Tasmanian Hockey Centre
Penalties
Govers Penalty shoot-out missed
Harvie Penalty shoot-out missed
Craig Penalty shoot-out scored
Marais Penalty shoot-out scored
Penalty shoot-out scored Toscani
Penalty shoot-out scored Casella
Penalty shoot-out scored Ferreiro
Penalty shoot-out missed Catán
Penalty shoot-out scored Bugallo
1 March 2023 Home 2 Australia  2–4  Spain Hobart, Australia
19:10 Govers field hockey ball 21'
Marais field hockey ball 42'
Report Reyné field hockey ball 11'19'
Basterra field hockey ball 25'
Miralles field hockey ball 59'
Stadium: Tasmanian Hockey Centre
3 March 2023 Home 3 Australia  3–0  Argentina Hobart, Australia
17:10 Brand field hockey ball 2'
Craig field hockey ball 36'
Ephraums field hockey ball 47'
Report Stadium: Tasmanian Hockey Centre
4 March 2023 Home 4 Australia  1–3  Spain Hobart, Australia
17:10 Govers field hockey ball 51' Report Escudé field hockey ball 15'
Amat field hockey ball 44'
Iglesias field hockey ball 45'
Stadium: Tasmanian Hockey Centre
12 March 2023 Away 2 India  5–4  Australia Rourkela, India
19:10 Harmanpreet field hockey ball 14'15'56'
Jugraj field hockey ball 18'
Karthi field hockey ball 26'
Report J. Beltz field hockey ball 3'
Willott field hockey ball 43'
Staines field hockey ball 53'
Howard field hockey ball 57'
Stadium: Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium
23 April 2023 Away 5 Australia  1–2  Great Britain Christchurch, New Zealand
14:10 Willott field hockey ball 10' Report Ward field hockey ball 14'
Morton field hockey ball 22'
Stadium: Ngā Puna Wei Sports Hub
25 April 2023 Away 6 New Zealand  0–3  Australia Christchurch, New Zealand
16:40 Report Rintala field hockey ball 3'22'24' Stadium: Ngā Puna Wei Sports Hub
29 April 2023 Away 7 Great Britain  3–3
(2–4 p)
 Australia Christchurch, New Zealand
16:40 Report Stadium: Ngā Puna Wei Sports Hub
30 April 2023 Away 8 New Zealand  2–4  Australia Christchurch, New Zealand
14:10 Report Stadium: Ngā Puna Wei Sports Hub
9 June 2023 Away 9 Netherlands  2–7  Australia Eindhoven, Netherlands
20:40 Bukkens field hockey ball 29'53' Report Craig field hockey ball 12'17'
Sharp field hockey ball 15'
Ephraums field hockey ball 16'49'
Hayward field hockey ball 24'
Govers field hockey ball 35'
Stadium: HC Oranje-Rood
12 June 2023 Away 10 Netherlands  5–2  Australia Eindhoven, Netherlands
20:40 Boers field hockey ball 7'52'
Hoedemakers field hockey ball 12'
Telgenkamp field hockey ball 14'36'
Report Ephraums field hockey ball 10'
Hayward field hockey ball 26'
Stadium: HC Oranje-Rood
17 June 2023 Away 11 Belgium  5–4  Australia Antwerp, Belgium
16:40 Onana field hockey ball 6'
T. Stockbroekx field hockey ball 17'
De Sloover field hockey ball 47'
Van Dessel field hockey ball 55'
Luypaert field hockey ball 59'
Report Beale field hockey ball 13'
Whetton field hockey ball 40'
Willott field hockey ball 44'
Govers field hockey ball 57'
Stadium: Wilrijkse Plein
20 June 2023 Away 12 Belgium  3–1  Australia Antwerp, Belgium
20:10 Luypaert field hockey ball 12'41'
De Kerpel field hockey ball 56'
Report Govers field hockey ball 52' Stadium: Wilrijkse Plein

Family

Barry Dancer/Brent Dancer and Ric Charlesworth/Jonathan Charlesworth are two pairs of father as coach and son as player while both were affiliated with the national team in those positions.

Recognition


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