Spoonful Of Woes For Kookaburras
The Sunday Age
Sunday September 8, 2002
THE Olympic preparations, funding and credibility of Australian men's hockey will be at stake today when the Kookaburras battle to avoid relegation from the 2003 Champions Trophy.
They must beat South Korea in the playoff for the wooden spoon at the elite six-nation tournament, with the loser relegated from next year's tournament.
Australia went to Cologne ranked No. 2 in the world behind host Germany, but with an inexperienced squad. It lost to the Netherlands, the Olympic champion, in a lead-up event, then began its Champions Trophy campaign with losses to South Korea, the Dutch and India - the first time Australia has lost four internationals in a row for 60 years.
A heartbreaking 3-2 loss to Germany and yesterday's 2-0 surrender to Pakistan extended the losing streak to six and consigned Australia to the foot of the table.
Missing the Champions Trophy next year would severely disrupt the Kookaburras' 2004 Olympic build-up and could also damage their funding under the Medal Incentive Scheme, which is based on results and world rankings.
Coach Barry Dancer acknowledged the predicament. ``To play the top six teams in the world in a tournament is not easy to replace (with other fixtures)," he said.
``If we miss out on that opportunity next year, it would be a real setback to our program for 2004.
``We came into the tournament unsure of what we would achieve but we had a minimum goal of qualifying for the next tournament, and we thought we would do that," Dancer said. ``It's still within reach."
As well as introducing young, relatively untested players, Dancer also made the brave decision to omit key figures Brent Livermore and Troy Elder from the squad for disciplinary reasons.
Yesterday, former Australian great Jay Stacy said he was surprised by the Kookaburras' loss of form.
``It is a rebuilding phase, but they have still not performed," he said. ``If they miss next year's Champion's Trophy, it will put a serious dent in their preparations for Athens."
Germany and the Netherlands meet in the Champions Trophy final today.
© 2002 The Sunday Age