Kookas Forward Ready To Strike

Newcastle Herald

Thursday November 15, 2007

By RENEE VALENTINE

GOALSCORING machine Jamie Dwyer predicts there will be no holding back by the Kookaburras when they make their first appearance in Newcastle for 17 years on Wednesday night.

Australia host New Zealand in a three-match series this month starting with the clash at the Newcastle International Hockey Centre next week.

The series is completed in Sydney and will be used by the Kookaburras as a final hit-out before they leave for the Champions Trophy in Malaysia.

"We've got our best team here, and New Zealand have a very good team also, so it's going to be full-on," Dwyer said yesterday.

"We're going to go for it we need to get in good form before the Champions Trophy.

"We had a couple of months off after the Olympic qualifiers, so it's important to get back into the rhythm of things, and hopefully by next Wednesday night we'll be pretty close to our best."

Australia will attempt to defend their Olympic crown in Beijing next year.

How they perform at the Champions Trophy this year could have a bearing on that.

"I think it's the toughest tournament in the world because every game you play in is a very hard game and you have to be right on top of your game for the whole time," Dwyer said.

"Last year we were fourth that was before the World Cup.

"We weren't too worried about the Champions Trophy result because our main focus was the World Cup, and the top eight teams in the world can win that tournament.

"This year's Champions Trophy is very important it's our major tournament for the year, and our funding for next year is based on it and how we go."

Dwyer, who is based in Sydney but hails from Rockhampton, said it was a rare treat for the Australian team to play international fixtures in regional areas.

"We like to go to regional areas because 90 per cent of our team is from the country area, and we find that playing in a country town you get more crowds and it's a good feeling to come and play in places like this," Dwyer said.

Australia boast three NSW-bred players in Grafton's Brent Livermore, who is the Kookaburras' most capped player with 275 games in the green and gold, plus Goulburn goalkeeper Daniel McPherson and Bathurst's Matthew Naylor.

© 2007 Newcastle Herald

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