Australia men's national field hockey team
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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 winning gold in 2004; in 2016, the Kookaburras placed sixth.[3] They won the Hockey World Cup in 1986, 2010 and 2014. They won the Hockey Champions Trophy 15 times, the most by any team. They also won the Pro League and World League twice each.
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,[4] 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.[5]
Australia's first men's team competed in an international match in 1922.[6]
The first major competition won by the national team was the 1983 World Championships held in Karachi.[7]
This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: It is missing the information on the last eight-plus years (since early 2012 at the latest). Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (September 2020)
Australia's first men's team competed at the Olympics in field hockey at the 1956 Summer Olympics.[7]
Australia did not medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics[8] or the 1988 Summer Olympics.[9] At the 1992 Summer Olympics, Australia earned a silver medal, losing gold to Germany.[10] At the 1996 Summer Olympics, Australia finished third, earning a bronze medal.[11]
The team won their first Olympic gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Barry Dancer coached the side.[12]
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.
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Australia at the 2008 Olympics
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Australia at the 2012 Olympics
| Year | Host city | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1908 | London, United Kingdom | – |
| 1920 | Antwerp, Belgium | – |
| 1928 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | – |
| 1932 | Los Angeles, United States | – |
| 1936 | Berlin, Germany | – |
| 1948 | London, United Kingdom | – |
| 1952 | Helsinki, Finland | – |
| 1956 | Melbourne, Australia | 5th |
| 1960 | Rome, Italy | 6th |
| 1964 | Tokyo, Japan | 3rd |
| 1968 | Mexico City, Mexico | 2nd |
| 1972 | Munich, Germany | 5th |
| 1976 | Montreal, Canada | 2nd |
| 1980 | Moscow, Soviet Union | Boycott |
| 1984 | Los Angeles, United States | 4th |
| 1988 | Seoul, South Korea | 4th |
| 1992 | Barcelona, Spain | 2nd |
| 1996 | Atlanta, United States | 3rd |
| 2000 | Sydney, Australia | 3rd |
| 2004 | Athens, Greece | 1st |
| 2008 | Beijing, China | 3rd |
| 2012 | London, United Kingdom | 3rd |
| 2016 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 6th |
| 2020 | Tokyo, Japan | 2nd |
| 2024 | Paris, France | 6th |
| Year | Host city | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Barcelona, Spain | 8th |
| 1973 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | Withdrew |
| 1975 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 5th |
| 1978 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | 3rd |
| 1982 | Bombay, India | 3rd |
| 1986 | London, England | 1st |
| 1990 | Lahore, Pakistan | 3rd |
| 1994 | Sydney, Australia | 3rd |
| 1998 | Utrecht, Netherlands | 4th |
| 2002 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 2nd |
| 2006 | Mönchengladbach, Germany | 2nd |
| 2010 | New Delhi, India | 1st |
| 2014 | The Hague, Netherlands | 1st |
| 2018 | Bhubaneswar, India | 3rd |
| 2023 | Bhubaneswar and Rourkela, India | 4th |
| 2026 | Wavre, Belgium Amsterdam, Netherlands |
Q |
| Year | Host city | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Lahore, Pakistan | 2nd |
| 1980 | Karachi, Pakistan | 3rd |
| 1981 | 2nd | |
| 1982 | Amstelveen, Netherlands | 2nd |
| 1983 | Karachi, Pakistan | 1st |
| 1984 | 1st | |
| 1985 | Perth, Australia | 1st |
| 1986 | Lahore, Pakistan | 2nd |
| 1987 | Amstelveen, Netherlands | 3rd |
| 1988 | Lahore, Pakistan | 3rd |
| 1989 | Berlin, West Germany | 1st |
| 1990 | Melbourne, Australia | 1st |
| 1991 | Berlin, Germany | 4th |
| 1992 | Karachi, Pakistan | 2nd |
| 1993 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 1st |
| 1994 | Lahore, Pakistan | 4th |
| 1995 | Berlin, Germany | 2nd |
| 1996 | Madras, India | 6th |
| 1997 | Adelaide, Australia | 2nd |
| 1998 | Lahore, Pakistan | 3rd |
| 1999 | Brisbane, Australia | 1st |
| 2000 | Amstelveen, Netherlands | 5th |
| 2001 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | 2nd |
| 2002 | Cologne, Germany | 5th |
| 2003 | Amstelveen, Netherlands | 2nd |
| 2004 | Lahore, Pakistan | Withdrew[16] |
| 2005 | Chennai, India | 1st |
| 2006 | Terrassa, Spain | 4th |
| 2007 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 2nd |
| 2008 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | 1st |
| 2009 | Melbourne, Australia | 1st |
| 2010 | Mönchengladbach, Germany | 1st |
| 2011 | Auckland, New Zealand | 1st |
| 2012 | Melbourne, Australia | 1st |
| 2014 | Bhubaneswar, India | 3rd |
| 2016 | London, United Kingdom | 1st |
| 2018 | Breda, Netherlands | 1st |
| FIH World League[13] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Host city | Position |
| 2012–13 | Semifinal | Rotterdam, Netherlands | 2nd |
| Final | New Delhi, India | 4th | |
| 2014–15 | Semifinal | Antwerp, Belgium | 1st |
| Final | Raipur, India | 1st | |
| 2016–17 | Semifinal | Johannesburg, South Africa | 3rd |
| Final | Bhubaneswar, India | 1st | |
| Year | Season | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Season One | 1st |
| 2020–21 | Season Two | 2nd |
| 2021–22 | Season Three | Withdrew |
| 2022–23 | Season Four | 7th |
| 2023–24 | Season Five | 1st |
| 2024–25 | Season Six | Q |
| Commonwealth Games[13] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Host city | Position | |
| 1998 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 1st | |
| 2002 | Manchester, England | 1st | |
| 2006 | Melbourne, Australia | 1st | |
| 2010 | New Delhi, India | 1st | |
| 2014 | Glasgow, Scotland | 1st | |
| 2018 | Gold Coast, Australia | 1st | |
| 2022 | Birmingham, England | 1st | |
| Year | Host city | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Brisbane, Australia | 1st |
| 2001 | Melbourne, Australia | 1st |
| 2003 | Christchurch and Wellington, New Zealand | 1st |
| 2005 | Suva, Fiji | 1st |
| 2007 | Buderim, Australia | 1st |
| 2009 | Invercargill, New Zealand | 1st |
| 2011 | Hobart, Australia | 1st |
| 2013 | Stratford, New Zealand | 1st |
| 2015 | 1st | |
| 2017 | Sydney, Australia | 1st |
| 2019 | Rockhampton, Australia | 1st |
| 2023 | Whangārei, New Zealand | 1st |
| Year | Host city | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 1st |
| 1985–1991 Did Not Compete | ||
| 1994 | Penang, Malaysia | 3rd |
| 1995 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | – |
| 1996 | Ipoh, Malaysia | 2nd |
| 1998 | 1st | |
| 1999 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | – |
| 2000 | – | |
| 2001 | 3rd | |
| 2003 | – | |
| 2004 | 1st | |
| 2005 | 1st | |
| 2006 | 2nd | |
| 2007 | Ipoh, Malaysia | 1st |
| 2008 | – | |
| 2009 | – | |
| 2010 | 3rd | |
| 2011 | 1st | |
| 2012 | – | |
| 2013 | 1st | |
| 2014 | 1st | |
| 2015 | 2nd | |
| 2016 | 1st | |
| 2017 | 2nd | |
| 2018 | 1st | |
| 2019–Present Did Not Compete | ||
The following 16 players were named in Kookaburras squad for the XXXIII Olympic Games in Paris.[20]
Head coach: Colin Batch
All caps and goals current as of 12 June 2024, following the match against Great Britain.
The remainder of the 2024 national squad is as follows:[21]
The following players have received call-ups to the national team in the last twelve months.
2024 Fixtures & Results
| 2022 Statistics | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | WD | D | LD | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 21 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 73 | 48 | +25 | 49 |
FIH Pro League (Leg 1)
International Festival of Hockey
FIH Pro League (Leg 2)
XXXIII Olympic Games
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.[12][22]
- 1981: Australian Sport Awards Team of the Year[23]
- 1987: Australian Sport Awards Team of the Year[23]
- 2004: Australian Sport Awards International Team of the Year[23]
- 2014: AIS Sport Performance Awards Team of the Year.[24]
General sources
- ^ "FIH Outdoor World Hockey Rankings". FIH. 13 August 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
- ^ "History of Hockey in Australia". Retrieved 22 February 2022.
- ^ ABC (15 August 2016). "Rio 2016: Australia's Kookaburras and Sharks knocked out of men's hockey and water polo". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
- ^ "Kookaburras ready to toss the monkey". The Sydney Morning Herald. 26 August 2004. Archived from the original on 27 July 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
- ^ "Wagga Wagga's Olympic debutant Dylan Martin helps Kookaburras win hockey silver medal - ABC News". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 5 August 2021.
- ^ Epstein, Jackie (21 October 2009). "Dwyer breaks free of Holland binds – Australia always comes first". Herald Sun. Melbourne, Australia. p. 76. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
- ^ a b Department of Sport, Recreation and Tourism; Australian Sport Commission (1985). Australian Sport, a profile. Canberra, Australia: Australian Government Publish Service. pp. 177–178. ISBN 0644036672.
- ^ Dorling Kindersley Limited. (1999). The Olympic Games. St. Leonards, N.S.W.: Dorling Kindersley. p. 320. ISBN 1864660635. OCLC 57337092.
- ^ Dorling Kindersley Limited. (1999). The Olympic Games. St. Leonards, N.S.W.: Dorling Kindersley. p. 327. ISBN 1864660635. OCLC 57337092.
- ^ Dorling Kindersley Limited. (1999). The Olympic Games. St. Leonards, N.S.W.: Dorling Kindersley. p. 335. ISBN 1864660635. OCLC 57337092.
- ^ Dorling Kindersley Limited. (1999). The Olympic Games. St. Leonards, N.S.W.: Dorling Kindersley. p. 343. ISBN 1864660635. OCLC 57337092.
- ^ a b Petrie, Andrea (18 October 2009). "Sons a chip off the old stick – HOCKEY". The Sunday Age. Melbourne, Australia. p. 19. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
- ^ a b c "Fédération Internationale de Hockey | Official Website". International Hockey Federation.
- ^ "World Cup – FIH". International Hockey Federation.
- ^ "Champions Trophy". FIH.
- ^ "Australia pull out of Champions Trophy". 12 October 2004.
- ^ "FIH confirms Spain men and Belgium women join Hockey Pro League". FIH.
- ^ "Oceania Cup". Hockey Australia. Archived from the original on 11 January 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
- ^ "Other". FIH.
- ^ "2024 Paris Olympic Games Squad". hockey.org.au. Hockey Australia. 1 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ "Batch names strong 2024 Kookaburras squad ahead of Olympic year". hockey.org.au. International Hockey Federation. 6 December 2024. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
- ^ Department of Sport, Recreation and Tourism; Australian Sport Commission (1985). Australian Sport, a profile. Canberra, Australia: Australian Government Publish Service. p. 116. ISBN 0644036672.
- ^ a b c "Australian Sports Awards". Confederation of Australian Sport. Archived from the original on 8 February 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ^ "Rabbitohs, Fearnley, Fox win top ASPAS". Australian Sports Commission News, 11 February 2015. Archived from the original on 11 February 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
Further reading
- The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games n.d., Tokyo 2020, olympics.com. Retrieved 3 August 2021.