Big games set stage for locals to dream

ONE of Tasmania’s most decorated athletes launched his Australian career with a debut against an international powerhouse side in front of a huge home crowd.

Twenty years later, Jack Welch hopes to follow in the footsteps of Matthew Wells, with confirmation that Hobart will host eight marquee international men’s and women’s hockey matches in February 2019 and 2020.

Hockey Australia yesterday announced that the Kookaburras will face Pakistan and Germany, while the Hockeyroos will meet China and Germany on February 9 and 10 next year.

Hobart is one of only three venues, along with Melbourne and Sydney, to secure four matches in the inaugural 2019 Pro League and another four matches in the 2020 edition.

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) Pro League pits the world’s best nine teams in a 16-match homeand-away competition from January to June annually, with a top four progressing to a grand final in the Netherlands.

“It would be every athlete’s dream come true to earn a debut for their country in a big game such as playing Germany, let alone to play in front of a huge home crowd,” Welch said.

“I know our current guys in the Kookaburras squad [Eddie Ockenden, Jeremy Edwards and Josh Beltz] will be extra motivated to play in front of the Tasmanian sporting public and inspire lots of kids.”

A debut for DiamondBacks’ Welch or OHA’s Kurt Mackey on home soil would be the icing on the cake for Hockey Tasmania chairman Ken Read, who hailed international hockey’s return to the state.

“We will see the best Tasmanians playing for Australia against the world’s best, with their exploits beamed to the estimated two billion hockey fans around the globe,” Read said.

He recalled fondly the scenes in Hobart in 1998 when Matthew Wells debuted for the Kookaburras against the Netherlands in front of 4000 Tasmanians packed virtually on top of one another.

Wells famously struck the woodwork from a penalty corner as the match ended in a draw, before embarking on a 242-game career that included the 2004 Olympic gold medal.