Selection ticked off Dilger’s check list

AS his comeback to hockey from an ACL injury neared, Grant Dilger set himself a list of goals to accomplish.

One of which, representation in the Queensland Country side, stood out, and now the target has been ticked.

It was after the now 28year-old’s first knee reconstruction when he entered the Country foray, overcoming that setback to become a staple on the national stage. But in his past three campaigns, he and his teammates have come away with the silver medal.

It is that fuel which the Townsville Hockey stalwart believes could be the catalyst to a breakthrough tournament.

“Coming back from injury, you set yourself some standards and benchmarks to make, and this was definitely on the list,” Dilger said.

“New South Wales have won the last 10 years. We haven’t lost to them in robin games, they just come to the grand final and lift an extra three notches and destroy us.

“It’s something I want to tick off as well — who knows, maybe it’s the new unit Queensland has chosen.”

Among the new unit is fellow Townsville star Curtis James, who is on his maiden Queensland Country campaign. Dilger said the teenager’s ability to cast aside the disappointment of missing under-21s selection for his state, to then be the player of the state open men’s championships, was a testament to his resilience.

Now he said the pair — along with Cody Rintala — had a responsibility to bring the experiences they are about to gain back to the local hockey landscape. “Our basics really sharpen and lift, it’s really noticeable when people come back from these championships how well the speed of the tournaments have picked the skills up,” Dilger said.