Women’s Junior World Cup Preview

Barely a week has passed since the top 6 women’s teams faced off in Sydney at the Champion’s Trophy for women. Now it’s time for the Junior Women’s World Cup (under 21s) hosted at Harvard in Boston.  For some it will be the first time abroad and just that alone is entire excitement. Others, this is another chance to show themselves on the world stage and push for senior selection.

It all starts on the 3rd of August, Boston, MA, USA.

In the case of two Gryphon Girls, they have just played in the Silver Medalist Australian team at Champion’s Trophy. Heather Langham and Emily Hurtz have both just played against the best in the world and matched them, and now look to cement their skill-set in Boston.

With twenty teams playing in the World Cup, there are a lot of girls strutting their best skills on the global stage, and as you can guess, Gryphon is a big part of that. At a quick glance:

AUS: B.Greenshields, E.Hurtz, K.Jenner, H.Langham, J.Warrender | NZ: K.Glynn, E.Gunson, S.Michelsen, C.Michelsen, A.Millington, B.Blackwood, F.Morrison | SOUTH AFRICA: J.Cass, C.Evans, S.Harley, N.Kemp, C.McNalty, P.Rabey | FRANCE: F.Verrier | GERMANY: C.Wilde, P.Grambusch, R.Muller, S.Schotten

The list above is by no means the only Gryphon contingent in Boston.  We at Gryphon HQ wish all the girls a great tournament and a fantastic experience. Also DC will be around the place taking photos and being your general go-to Gryphon Guy.

3-Nations Game 1, Australia-A v Canada

Australia-A 3 Canada 0

The depth of hockey talent in Australia has been reinforced tonight following Australia A’s convincing victory over Canada in Canberra.

With Kookaburra players Luke Doerner, Kiel Brown, Glenn Simpson, Ross Meadows and Ian Burcher in the Australia A squad, there was no shortage of talent.

Luke Doerner proved he is still very reliable from penalty corner situations, scoring Australia A’s first goal of the match at the eight minute mark.

Although Australia A were unable to score during the remainder of the half, the second half continued Australia A’s domination with Jason Wilson extending their lead only three minutes after half time.

Michael Bates then finished off the match in style, with a classy tomahawk goal with only second remaining in the match finishing off what was a promising performance from the young Australian players against the 11th world ranked Canadian team.

3-Nations Game 2, Australia v Malaysia

Kookaburras 11 Malaysia 3 (9-1 half time) Goals Australia – Abbott 1m FG, Ciriello 5m PC, Dwyer 6m FG/ 34m FG, Knowles 17m PC, Ford 22m FG/ 33m FG, Orchard 24m/ FG 66m FG, Hammond 30m FG, Schubert 59m PS, Malaysia – Saari 15m FG, Mohamad Nor 52m FG, Hanafi 68m PC

The Kookaburras have made amends for their recent 1-0 shock loss to Malaysia, defeating them 11-3 tonight in Canberra.

The best possible start was made by the Kookaburras, with prolific striker Des Abbott opening the goal scoring account only 30 seconds into the match.

This was an ominous sign for Malaysia, with the Kookaburras showing no mercy and upcoming star Chris Ciriello extending the Kookaburras lead from a penalty corner only minutes later.

When two time world player of the year Jamie Dwyer scored immediately after, the game appeared almost over with over 70 minutes of play still remaining, the Kookaburras simply outclassing the visitors.

This was reinforced throughout the first half, with Mark Knowles, Simon Orchard and Rob Hammond scoring goals while Dwyer added his second just prior to half time, with Russell Ford also scoring two first half goals to set up a 9-1 half time lead.

In complete contrast to the fast paced first half, the goal-fest didn’t quite continue after half time, with the first goal not coming until the 52 minute mark, going to Malaysia.

Despite having the game already won the Kookaburras continued to work hard, with striker Grant Schubert scoring at the 59 minute mark while Orchard scored his second goal at the 66 minute mark.

Despite conceding a late goal with only two minutes remaining, nothing could dampen the performance of the Kookaburras as they prepare for their next game against Canada tomorrow evening in Canberra.

Review – Australia v Malaysia Game 2

In what was a complete turn-around in result, Malaysia defeated Australia 1-0 at the Pines Stadium in Adelaide on Sunday evening, following their 1-8 loss the night before.

The stats tell a different story to the score, with Australia again dominating play and generating 19 Goal Shots and several PC’s, however converted none. Malaysia on the other hand earned 4 PC’s and generated only 2 Goal Shots, but converted one PC which was defelected off the Australian runner and had the Keeper going in the wrong direction.

Australia constantly pressured the Malaysian defence and a bulk of their counter opportunities came from this. In the final 15 minutes, they had numerous chances in front of net but the elusive goal did not drop, and resulted in the elated Malaysian men satisfied with their 1st victory over Australia since 1994. That’s 15yrs long years.

Both Teams are now in Canberra, ACT, to contest the 3-Nations Tournament, along with Canada and Australia-A, although victories and losses against Australia-A do not count to the tournament, as Aus-A cannot contest the final.

England’s Gemma on CT09

From our perspective we were using the Champions Trophy as the main preparation for our European Nations Cup in August. This was for many reasons, the squad has changed massively from the one that finished 6th at the Beijing Olympics, it has been injected with a lot of youth and talent, but a long with this comes inexperience and little exposure to this top flight hockey. A good few of the squad only made their senior debut in the October of 08 against Germany. So although every player deserved their place, the Champions Trophy was seen as an opportunity to give these the much needed experience of senior international hockey, so as to arm them for the more important tournament of the year. We were also in the fortunate position as to not be pressured by our
finishing position as we are hosting the competition next year so our place is already guaranteed. This did not make the performances at the Champions Trophy any less important, we went in with the aim of making continual improvement and instilling/creating tactics that are necessary to compete with these top teams.

The Champions Trophy was created in order that the top teams are competing with each other, in that it is viewed at the top 6 teams in the world at that time. We were included due to our finishing position at the last Olympics, even though our current World Ranking is 8th. This meant this
tournament was always going to be a testing and difficult endeavour, but it was one we relished. Viewing and discussing the tournament through our preparation we knew it was unlikely we would have a high finish, but we had teams we knew we could target and we have clear development aims. Looking over our results we most obviously started well, but in all fairness the scores do not reflect the games, we competed and fought hard in each and every game (apart from the last one), testing and asking questions of these dominating teams in world hockey. The young players learnt very good, but hard lessons, in that top level hockey is harsh and the margins are very small. One mistake up front can mean a goal is conceded 10 seconds later. It showed
us that if much needed improvements can be made in corners and increased contact time can be gained to work on the areas we know we need to, then we are not far behind and can emerge our self into the top six and stay there.

It was also an honour to play against some of the best womens players in hockey, the likes of  Naomi Van As and Luciana Aymar were at times mesmorising and give you something to aspire to be and learn from. In all the Champions Trophy was the learning experience we all hoped for and small steps in the right direction were made. We know that we don’t want to finish 6th again and where we hope to be in the future.

Did I mention it was held in Sydney, Australia at the Olympic venue? Which only gave it an added aura and gave us drive for our 2012 Olympic campaign and podium finish we crave. Not to mention be able to see some famous sights, such as Darling Harbour, Sydney bridge and opera house, Manley Beach and Taronga zoo (pictures can be seen). We know how lucky we are to travel the world, playing the sport we love in amazing venues, and rest assured England and GB hockey wants to start not only taking these opportunities but relishing them and performing at them. So, rest assured we have massive aspirations and our sights are most definitely set high!

Gemma

Review – Australia v Malaysia

Australia hosted Malaysia in a two-test series over the Weekend in Adelaide, Australia. These matches served as the lead up to the coming 3-Nations Tournament in Canberra comencing on Wednesday.

The two games saw very surprising results, the 1st match finishing 8-1 in favour of the Aussies, after some very clinical lead up play and finishing from the men down under. Malaysia were stunned from the first minute of the game and failed to match the intensity and speed of their more fancied opponents. Creating 20 goals shots, and converting 8 of these resulted in an impressive 40% return in front of net, which was a tribute to the overall dominant performance from the Australians. Malaysia were slow with their ball movement and lacked defensive pressure, which allowed the opposition to tear apart their midfield traps and attack their deep defence at will. In their limited attacking opportunities, Malaysia generated only 2 goal scoring opportunities for the entire match. They did however convert one of these for a 50% return in front of net. All in all, it looked like a training run for the Australians and the score line reflected such.

Game 2 was a turn around in form for the Malaysians. They came to play, and matched the Australians in intensity and creativity. Improved outletting and decision making in the attacking third saw a great return on possession as Malaysia had several PC’s and GSO’ throughout the match. Australia on the other hand looked wasteful in possesion at times, failing to string together penetrative passing efforts. Surprisingly they did generate 19 goal shots, one less than the night before, but failed to convert one of these, so with a 0% return in front of net it summed up the night for them as near enough, but not good enough.

Both teams are travelling today, will train tomorrow in preparation for the next leg, the 3-Nations in Canberra. Stay tuned for more posts from both G-Life and our G-Team boys.

Gemma Darrington reviews the Paw V2

The new Paw V2 glove brought out by Gryphon is, if possible, an improved version of its predecessor! It still combines the highest protection with ultimate comfort. It is the only glove in the game that combines these two elements to the highest standards, so I have the highest confidence when going in to tackles with the best players in the world. It’s continued sleek design enables undisturbed hand contact with the stick and does not effect the ease of movement, which some bulky gloves can. It effectively is like wearing no glove at all. The new material Gryphon have used on the underside of the glove (the grip part) is softer, but yet does not lose it’s grip or become slippy when it gets wet (a high possibility when playing on water base).

This new material makes the glove even more comfortable than it use to, something between silk and cotton. It now comes in an alternative colour of white (so you can imitate Michael Jackson if you would like), to go with variations in stick or playing kit colour.

Enjoy your hockey,

Cheers, Gemma

Preview – 3 Nations Series | Canberra, Australia

The month of July and August will see 36 of the very best players in Australia converge on Canberra to contest the 3 Nations Test Event. Competing will be Australia, Australia-A, Canada and Malaysia.

In what will be an exciting week of competition, it will also be a pressure cooker for the Aussie | Aussie-A guys as they vie for selection for the upcoming World Cup Qualifier in Invercargill, NZ. The concept behind the 4-Team, 3 Nations event was last trialed in 2003 when Australia-A performed beyond expectations, beating Australia 7-2 in Perth and drawing their 2nd encounter a week later in Sydney 3-3. Australia-A also posted wins and draws against Pakistan and India over the 2-leg, 3 Nation series.

This series is timely as several Junior World Cup players have been included after their impressive performance’s in Singapore/Malaysia last month, along with the entire Development and Kookaburra’s squad. Strong performances here will be hard for Head Coach Ric Charlesworth to ignore.

From the Gryphon stable the players to watch will be seasoned Internationalists Kiel Brown (2008 Olympian | Defender), Fergy Kavanagh (2008 Olympian | Midfielder) and Rob Hammond (2004-2008 Olympian | Midfielder). The next wave of up and coming talent hot on the heels of some of their more established counterparts are current AHL Champions Brent Dancer (Defender | PC Specialist) and Jonathon Charlesworth (2005 JWC | Striker) along with rising star Michael Bates (2009 JWC | Striker). All these guys are amoungst a new breed of talented, flexible players who fit the Australian system perfectly.

Prior to the 3 Nations Series the Australian Team will be playing 2 tests against Malaysia in Adelaide (Pines Stadium) at 7pm on Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th July. These matches will prove to be valuable lead up games to ensure the boys are on point for the Canberra Series.

The schedule for the 3 Nations Series at the National Hockey Centre (Lyneham, Canberra) are as follows:

Wednesday 29th July: 4:30pm + 6:30pm

Thursday 30th July: 4:30pm + 6:30pm

Saturday 1st August: 1:00pm + 3:00pm

Sunday 2nd August: 1:00pm + 3:30pm

The selections for the tournament are as follows:

AUSTRALIA ( against Malaysia in Adelaide and 3-Nations in Canberra)

Nathan Burgers, George Bazeley, Chris Ciriello, Graham Begbie, Matthew Butterini, David Guest, Mark Knowles, Brent Livermore, Liam DeYoung, Jamie Dwyer, Rob Hammond, Fergus Kavanagh, Mark Paterson, Simon Orchard, Des Abbott, Grant Schubert, Eli Matheson, Russell Ford

AUSTRALIA ‘A’ (3-Nations in Canberra)

Ross Meadows, Leon Hayward, Brent Dancer, Joel Carroll, Kiel Brown, Kris Glass, Luke Doerner, Ian Burcher, Malcolm Kemp, Matthew Swan, Glenn Simpson, Tim Deavin, Jonathon Charlesworth, Josh Pollard, Tim Bates, Michael Bates, Glenn Turner, Jason Wilson

Introducing DC – Photographer | Designer

Daniel “DC” Carson has a background in architecture and photography. He is also a very accomplished designer whom has found his way into the hockey world. DC produces some of the best actions shots that you’ll see in the sport and his folio includes the 2008 Men’s Champions Trophy, 2008 Olympics as well as the recent 2009 Women’s Champions Trophy in Sydney. He’s also the man who created our latest Gryphon website and the majority of our current artworks and designs. He has an eye for detail and fine art and this reflects in both his shots and designs. When he’s not shooting or designing, you’ll find DC pursuing his passion for motor-sport, basketball and hockey.

If you like any images seen here throughout the Women’s Champions Trophy, or are looking for something in particular from the tournament, then check out our staff photographer | designer’s website for some truly amazing shots. When on his site, ensure you also checkout the “Sydney Sky” sunset shots from the Sydney Olympic Park last week, and you’ll then understand why we give this guy big wraps. “DC” travels the world following the major hockey tournaments and catalogues them brilliantly on his site,www.dotdxf.com/gallery2/main.php

His next assignments are the European Championships in Amsterdam, then the Women’s Junior World Cup in Boston. If you see DC around any of the tournaments then be sure to say hello and have a chat as he’s super approachable. Stay tuned for more pic’s and post’s from DC as his globe trotting adventures and tweets continue.

Your Thoughts – 2009 CTT | New Rules

With the completion of another Champions Trophy, the women’s game looks to be evolving once again with some exciting hockey played over the two weeks. The new rules were put on display for the first time in a Major, and we’d like your thoughts on how they have impacted on the game we love.

AUTO-PLAY
The new auto-play rule has been embraced and highlighted the speed that the game can be played at. It has meant that the girls are fitter and faster and now need to think differently with and without the ball. Running angles has never been more important from stoppages and those that do it well dominate the midfield and eliminate swarming defences and presses.

ATTACKING 25 FREE HITS
The jury is out on this rule. Its interpretation is varied and although having a positive impact in the reduction of dangerous balls into the circle, it has also meant that fewer balls reach the critical zone in and around the circle. Where circle free-hits were anticipated in the past (is it going to result in a corner, a goal, a deflection, some great defending) they are now slow, congested and in some opinions, a blight on the game. An alternative view-point is that teams must now reinvent their tactics and sharpen their ability to get the ball into the critical zone through slicker passing, better skills, and perhaps the most exciting development, 3D skills on the circle’s edge to beat the defensive line. Where this has been the domain of the Argies and Spanish in the past, more teams and individuals are getting better at lifting and moving the ball several times in the air to eliminate low, mobile defences. Watch this space as this could be the start of something big in World Hockey.

THE VERDICT
Well, we have our opinions, so what are yours? Let us know by commenting below as the greatest innovators in World Hockey are the players themselves at all levels, and its important that your voice is heard…

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