Ockenden to fight Fire
WARNING Adelaide Fire: Eddie Ockenden is back, and he is ready to put on a show.
After being forced to watch the first round of the new Hockey One national competition on Kayo with the Tassie Tigers drawing the bye, Ockenden touched down in Hobart ready to put on a show for Tasmanian sports fans tonight from 6.30pm.
“It’s so cool to have both a men’s and women’s Tassie Tiger team in a new and exciting national competition, something hockey has a long history of and should be proud of,” Ockenden said.
“We always get great support from the hockey community and we’re really pushing people who may not have experienced hockey to come along.
“Whenever I have invited people to come and watch for the first time, they think ‘ wow, that was awesome’.
“The aim is to reach out to those people who may not have seen hockey before, bring the kids along and I think it’s a great sport to get kids into playing.”
Normally stationed as a defender for the national side he skippers, Ockenden will be thrown forward to terrorise the Adelaide defence with the Tasmanian backline also featuring international star Jeremy Hayward alongside dual Olympian Tim Deavin.
“Jeremy is a huge inclusion. He’s a high-quality player in the international game and his penalty corner strength adds something extra,” Ockenden said.
“If we can force some extra set pieces, he will be very dangerous.”
The Tigers will also hand debuts to excitement machines Josh Brooks and Kurt Budgeon and Ockenden knows that to make the top four, they can’t afford to slip up at home.
“It’s going to be a very close competition and all games will be tight, so it’s a big focus to get off to a good start at home.
“There is a lot of interest in Hockey One and the games are being streamed on Kayo, so all of these things contribute to the players’ energy on the field and I can’t wait to be part of it.”
The Tigers women kickstart proceedings at 5pm, in what is a coming of age for the state’s women’s program and their clash against the highly rated Fire is a genuine 50-50.
New coach Luke Doerner, a former Kookaburras champion, has taken the reins and has determined that merely being competitive is not good enough.
Junior stars Sophie Rockefeller, Philly Bridley and Laura Spandler will be thrust into key roles to accelerate their development, while three international imports will support a Tasmanian nucleus capable of finishing high up the ladder.