Kookaburras' Chance To Make Winning A Habit
The Age
Tuesday August 6, 2002
Hail the Kookaburras, kings of the Commonwealth hockey tournament.
Not for a moment did the team famed for falling at the final hurdle look like making a mess of things in Manchester, claiming gold where the Hockeyroos could not.
Those who doubted the Kookaburras had the character to succeed when the pressure was on have been largely silenced, albeit it with victory in a tournament that ranks below the best.
In five matches, the last a 5-2 victory over New Zealand in the final, they scored 38 goals and conceded six.
Having bagged World Cup silver behind Germany in March - and beaten the Germans twice en route to the Games - the Australians leave Manchester with their confidence high.
Some will head home, while seven will head for the prestigious Champions Trophy in Cologne, Germany, at the end of the month.
On their current form, the Kookaburras could win it, though captain Paul Gaudoin is urging caution.
``We are not the best in the world, but we can work towards that," he said after Sunday's final, which was his 200th match in the green and gold.
``We need to prove that, and the only way to do that is at a big tournament.
``As we keep on winning, that self-belief will keep on building - and if you get used to winning it's harder to lose."
Just ask the Hockeyroos. They were virtually unbeatable from late 1992 to 2000, when they won gold at the Sydney Olympics, but right now they cannot take a trick. They battled for bronze in Manchester and head to their Champions Trophy, in Macau, China, with a severe case of the yips.
A key to the Kookaburras' success, it seems, is the camaraderie they have built under coach Barry Dancer, who took the reins after the Olympics.
``At the moment we have a good group of guys who are tight, who are good mates and work hard for each other, on and off the field," Gaudoin said.
Another key is the potency of the strikeforce, in which Jamie Dwyer, 23, the hat-trick hero of the final, is an emerging force.
While Dwyer is stepping into the spotlight, a fellow striker has moved out of it. At 28, Matthew Smith will take up an eight-month playing contract in the Netherlands in October and does not expect to play for Australia again.
The departure of Smith is a blow, but the form of the young forward line in Manchester bodes well for the future.
They did what the Hockeyroos could not - finish off the opportunities created by the midfield, which was expertly led by Brent Livermore.
After the final, New Zealander Dion Gosling lamented: ``Their whole strike line is good. They revolve in and out around Livermore so they can always score."
The Kookaburras will be without Livermore and Troy Elder in Cologne. They were not considered for selection after going to the Netherlands to play club hockey after the World Cup, when the squad had been told to take three weeks' rest.
© 2002 The Age