Maroons skipper faces big challenge

IT will be more than just the icy weather in Shepparton that Townsville hockey star Grant Dilger has to adapt to this week.

The Commercials Hockey Club stalwart will pull on the captain’s leg band as he attempts to lead the Queensland Country side to glory at the Hockey Australia Country Championships.

It will be a shot at redemption for the Maroons after missing out in the gold medal match for the past two seasons.

But it is one that has been made just that much harder with a roster overhaul and the introduction of a new playing style.

Queensland has called up 10 fresh faces for their tilt at the championships, while the coaching staff will also introduce a new defensive system that has been limited to international level until this point.

The system will involve zone marking rather than man-to-man, with the Queensland defensive outfit to work as a unit to shut down the play when the ball reaches their ‘hot zones’.

It will require a higher level of defensive and team cohesion that the side has only one day to build.

“I guess it is a case of out with the old and in with the new this year,” Dilger said.

“I am a bit nervous with the new structures, it is either going to be rocks or diamonds.

“We had our first and only training session (yesterday), it was a big session where we went over a lot of what we have to do.”

He will be joined in the Queensland Country squad by fellow Commercials juniors Cody Rintala and Elliott Dale.

In a massive coup for the local Townsville club, another former junior Alice Arnold will also take the field in Shepparton for the Queensland Country women’s side.

All four Townsville players will hope to earn further selection in the 2020 Australian Country sides.