Seven NSWIS athletes named in National Junior Squad

Seven NSWIS athletes have been named in Hockey Australia’s 25-man National Junior Squad as the national junior program moves into its next phase of preparation for the Junior World Cup, which takes place in Lucknow, India, in December.

Tim Brand, Isaac Farmilo, Sam Liles, Kurt Lovett, Ryan Proctor, Lachlan Sharp and Ashley Thomas have all been rewarded for their good form, work ethic and enormous potential with inclusion in the squad. 

Furthermore, NSWIS’ Tom Craig and Blake Govers have also been named as additional athletes eligible for the Junior World Cup, however both players are currently in the National Senior Squad.

The next six months also include the Sultan of Johor Cup in Malaysia in October, the junior equivalent of the prestigious Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, which provides Australia’s young athletes with a high quality international competition. 

Australia’s preparation for the Junior World Cup is significantly boosted through the support of the Australian Commonwealth Games Association through its NextGEN AUSComGames program, which is helping the team compete at the Sultan of Johor Cup.

The National Junior Squad comprises athletes in the under 21 age group, in preparation for the Junior World Cup. In addition to those named in the squad, a number of junior players currently participating in the senior and development high performance programs remain eligible for Junior World Cup selection.

Hockey Australia men’s National Junior Coach Ben Bishop said, “It has been a difficult task to refine our Junior World Cup squad, which is a testament to the hard work that players and coaches have been undertaking in their home environments. 

“In addition to their home state and territory institutes and academies, we have been able to assess our players on an international stage at last year’s Sultan of Johor Cup and the Junior World Cup Qualifier in January, and domestically in the U21 Australian Championships and the NTC Challenge.

“Over the next six months, we will continue to work with the athletes on their development in becoming the next Kookaburras, while also preparing through training and competition opportunities for the Junior World Cup in December which we are very much looking forward to. 

“We are immensely grateful to the Australian Commonwealth Games Association for its support of our program and in helping us to fund high quality competition exposure for our young athletes.”

At the Junior World Cup, Australia join 15 other top nations to compete for the biggest prize in junior hockey. Competing alongside the Burras in Lucknow will be Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Egypt, England, Germany, India, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan and Spain.

2016 Men’s National Junior Squad:

Athlete                    (Hometown / suburb)            [Representative state/territory]

Jacob Anderson            Stafford, QLD                Queensland

Tim Brand             Chatswood, NSW          New South Wales

Matthew Bird     Coolbellup, WA                 Western Australia

Jonathon Bretherton     Brighton, VIC                  Victoria

Joshua Bretherton      Brighton, VIC         Victoria

Oliver Crane     Casuarina, NSW                  Queensland

Isaac Farmilo     Tamworth, NSW                New South Wales

Matthew Finn     Paddington, QLD          Queensland

Stephen Gale     Bulleen, VIC                Victoria

Frazer Gerrard     Cottesloe, WA                       Western Australia

Max Harris             Glen Iris, VIC                Victoria

Jake Harvie             Dardanup, WA               Western Australia

Max Hendry             Camberwell, VIC               Victoria

Tim Howard             Wakerley, QLD               Queensland

Sam Liles             Tamworth, NSW                New South Wales

Kurt Lovett             Parkes, NSW                New South Wales

Ryan Proctor     Engadine, NSW                New South Wales

Alec Rasmussen             Stirling, WA                Western Australia

Andrew Scanlon             Werribee, VIC                 Victoria

Joshua Simmonds     Ringwood North, VIC          Victoria

Lachlan Sharp     Lithgow, NSW               New South Wales

Ashley Thomas     Baulkam Hills, NSW       New South Wales

Jack Welch             Hobart, TAS               Tasmania

Corey Weyer     Biggera Waters, QLD         Queensland

Blake Wotherspoon       Bulimba, QLD               Queensland

Additional athletes eligible for JWC 2016:

Kiran Arunasalam^    Doncaster East, VIC     Victoria

Josh Beltz*            Hobart, TAS             Tasmania

Tom Craig*            Lane Cove, NSW             New South Wales

Blake Govers*    Wollongong, NSW             New South Wales

Ash Bingle            Sandringham, VIC             Victoria

Joel Rintala            Carina, QLD             Queensland

JWC Shadow Squad:

Coby Green            Waterloo, WA                    Western Australia

Hayden Walker    Nedlands, WA                   Western Australia

^National Development Squad

*National Senior Squad