Awesome Aussie Hockeyroos a hard act to beat

Published on Sunday 21 July 2002 01:00

Australia’s Alyson Annan, the International Hockey Federation’s player of the year after the Sydney Olympics, has spent the last 12 months playing for Klein Zwitzerland in the Dutch league where, she insists, club standards are better and more competitive than in her own country.

That’s an astonishing statement from the most respected female hockey player on the planet who, by playing in Holland, has ruled herself out of her national team for the Commonwealth Games in Manchester. The Hockeyroos, as reigning Commonwealth champions, play Scotland in the opening match of the women’s tournament at the Belle Vue stadium on Friday, July 26.

Annan goes on to explain: "The difference at international level comes from the fact that in Australia most of us have been playing together for ten years. That’s why we’ve been so successful at Olympic and World Cup level."

Annan herself came into hockey a little accidentally, at the age of 10. "My first choice sport was athletics," she recalled. "But there was only one car in the family, and my older brother played hockey, so that’s where I had to go, too."

She soon stepped on to the representative sporting ladder. At the age of 12, she was playing youth hockey at state level. Four years later, she made her senior state debut, and within six months had been picked out to join Australia’s national squad. The highlight of her career? "The Olympics," she said without hesitation, and she’s been to the last three of them. "Indeed ’92 was the highlight because, although we didn’t win the tournament, the team atmosphere was terrific."

Australia will be firm favourites to win both the men’s and women’s titles in Manchester, as they did four years ago in Kuala Lumpur, where they totally dominated the women’s event, demolishing England 8-1 in the final.

From the gold medal winning side of Sydney 2000, there remain only four players: Nikki Hudson, Rachel Imison, Katrina Powell and Angie Skirving. Any other country would perhaps accept mediocrity with such a major transit of players, but the Hockeyroos are still favourites for the Commonwealth Games crown.

A lot will now depend on captain Katrina Powell, scorer of four Olympic goals in Sydney, who takes over from Annan as Australia’s current leading striker.

Hudson was the top goal-scorer in the Sydney Olympics, and this dual strike force is not too dissimilar to Scotland’s own twin threat of Rhona Simpson and Sue MacDonald.

But what of the new blood? The pick of the bunch must be the FIH’s young player of the year, 21-year-old Angie Skirving, who plays for the Australian national league side Queensland Scorchers.

She is a tall, athletic defender with a long tackling reach similar in style to Scotland’s own Emma Rochlin. Angie was the youngest player selected in the Sydney gold-winning side, after making her debut in 1999 and following an excellent performance in the 2000 Champions Trophy.

The Scots will enjoy the spotlight of the glamour game that opens the tournament in Manchester. But they will certainly not be expected to win the event. Perhaps, though, they can learn how the game, when played the Australian way, Annan’s way, can be really beautiful.