After rocky year, Flanagan ready to roll for Hockeyroos
FORMER Hockeyroos star Anna Flanagan can take a significant step towards a return to the national side when she plays in the Australian Hockey League in Perth next week.
Flanagan hasn’t pulled on the green and gold since Hockey Australia’s decision to stand her down from a tournament last November due to a breach of team protocol. She subsequently walked away from the game for four months, leaving her career in tatters.
But a move to Sydney, and a new working arrangement under former Hockeyroos captain Katrina Powell, has reinvigorated her love for the sport and kickstarted her attempt at a comeback.
Flanagan will now turn out for Canberra Strikers in the 11-day event, her first major appearance since picking up her stick again in March. With next month’s Oceania Cup squad already decided, a strong showing in Perth would boost her chances of selection for November’s International Festival of Hockey in Melbourne.
But Flanagan’s main goal is to be back in the side by next year’s Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, before the World Cup in July.
“There’s some tournaments coming up after AHL that I could potentially be eligible for, but basically the squad’s picked again at the end of the year for next year,” Flanagan said.
“There’s a bunch of tour- naments coming up, there’s a big Comm Games and then World Cup.
“It’s going to be hard because it’s a really competitive group. The game’s changed, I’ve changed, so it’s really going to depend on how I perform in Perth.”
The 25-year-old insists she has addressed the issues that resulted in her spectacular fall from grace last year, including a controversial omission from the Olympics campaign in Rio.
That decision arose from revelations of a drink driving conviction she had kept hidden from Hockey Australia officials. She rejoined the team soon after but struggled to stay onside with team management.
“I wasn’t happy. I just came back too soon,” she said.