Read leads versatile team into battle in quest for medal

HIGHLY-credentialed coach Ben Read will again guide Tasmania’s under 21 men’s hockey side, with the nucleus of the side hoping to sign off their junior careers with a national medal when the championships commence in Perth tomorrow.

The men’s side is littered with players with national underage identification such as Josh Brooks, Max Larkin, Magnus

McCausland, Max Johnstone, Tyler McDonald, Ruben Hoey and Oliver Pritchard.

“I would also say that this year’s group of U/21s is one of the most versatile that I have coached, in terms of positional flexibility,” Read said.

“We have a number of guys who can play across multiple lines, so finding the right balance will be essential for us if we are to achieve our goals.”

Those goals include finishing in the top four with the side possessing strengths on attacking penalty corners through Brooks, McDonald and Pritchard, while goalkeepers McCausland and Larkin will be equal to any shot stopper on the defensive end.

The men commence their championships against tournament favourite Queensland from noon tomorrow.

Tasmania’s U/21 women’s team, coached by Sarah and Sam McCambridge, boasts six players who have been identified by national selectors as possible future Hockeyroos, including national U/21 squad members Evie Dalton and Maddi Brooks.

The latter claimed the Player of the Tournament and Leading Goal Scorer awards at the U/18 National Championships in April.

The side also features four players selected in the National U/18 squad following those championships, where Tasmania

secured a bronze medal, in Taylor Brooks, Madison Clark, Isabelle Kruimink and Emily Rockefeller.

All the action can be livestreamed through the LIVEHockey platform at livehockey.com.au. Meanwhile, Australian skipper Eddie Ockenden scored a penalty corner winner in the Kookaburras’ 4-3 defeat of Spain yesterday, as they finalise preparations for the Commonwealth Games.