WCQ ONE – LILLE

Starting Saturday we will see pressure like no other as six teams battle it out for one ticket in the first of the WCQ’s to the Hero Honda FIH World Cup 2010, scheduled for March in Delhi, India. The fav’s for the winner take all final next Sunday are undoubtably Pakistan, however with their fluctuating form, rivals France, Italy, Japan, Poland and Russia could cause and upset in the one off final between the two highest ranked teams after the round robin.

We’ll keep you in the loop with updates right here, and as the tournament progresses be sure to comment and let the world know your allegiance!

My first blog, last tour of the year!

Hi all,

I have just found out about Gryphon Life and thought it would be nice to contribute so here is my first blog!

Firstly I probably should introduce myself – I’m Emily, more often than not people call me Hurtzy or just Em but any will do. Anyway, enough with the introductions I’ll get onto the stuff that you come here to read.

I have recently returned from the Hockeyroos last trip of the year (thank god – it has been a looonng year!). At the end of September we left Aus and headed for Barcelona in Spain where we would play three test matches against Spain before flying to Argentina. We got there on the Wednesday and had our first game on the Thursday. So with swollen ankles and no idea of what the turf or anything was going to be like we rocked up to our first test. Gladly we won 1-0 despite the jet lag and other things. We were confident going into the 2nd and 3rd test matches knowing that if we played well we could beat the Spainish but also knowing that if for one second we dropped off that they would punish us. We won the second game 2-0 however we drew the third test 2-2 – not good –  the Spanish did just as we thought they would by not letting us cruise our way through 3 test matches.

Whilst in Spain we stayed at a hotel that was just out of the centre of town. Often on tour you eat at the hotel you are staying at as some of the costs are covered by the host team. So for the week whilst we were in Spain we ate at the resturant in the hotel. We were all dumbfounded on the first night when we were told the resturant didn’t open until 8PM – couldn’t believe it!!!!! Plus to make things funnier there were 4 dishes that came out – first a salad, second some pasta, third chicken then dessert haha! That didn’t last long though, we asked to have the meals cut down a bit!

We then had 2 days touristing in Barcelona (doesn’t often happen so we made the most of it!). Barcelona has got to be one of the best cities I have been to – loved it. We did the common tourist thing and got a 2 day ticket on the tourist bus and tripped around to all the sights. The Sagrada Familia was amazing – if you ever go there I highly recommend going to see it and going up it. It was a pretty full on 2 days (almost harder than playing hockey ha !), we then got on a plane to Madrid and then to Santigo in Chile and then ANOTHER plane to Mendoza in Argentina - inland of the west coast of Sth America.

Our first impression of Mendoza was ok, it’s no Barcelona but it will do – but as the tournament and week went on it really started to grow on us. We were playing in a 5 test series against Argentina starting 2 days after we arrived. Once again before the first game we had no idea of what to expect in terms of the turf – we were meant to train the day before but the bus hadn’t turned up so that got canned and we did a session in the PDA park across the road (a park that had unusually large amounts of “public display of affection”). Anyway we had three test matches in the first three days. We won them all 1-0, 3-2, and 1-0. In all three Argentina had the majority of possession in the first half and then it would even out in the second. The second test was quite exciting – we were down 2-0 at half time and came back to 3-2 by full time. Not only were we fighting the Argies but also the crowd. I always knew Womens hockey was big in Argentina but not that big. The roar from the crowd when that called out Aymar before the games was unbelievable.

The last 2 test matches we went down 1-0 and 2-0. However, we were glad to have won the series. After the last game the majority of the girls were giving away some part if not all their uniform – the Argentinian crowd were going crazy for anything – some girls even gave them their shoes. I couldn’t do it they were sopping wet and were wrecked and I just thought it was hilarious that someone would want my shoes..! Anyway after, most of us had headed back to the bench to grab our stuff and head to the change rooms when all of a sudden half the crowd had jumped the fence and were running towards us on the bench – surrounding us and asking for anything and everything. Thank god we had security guards because they just forced us through everyone and out to the change rooms. When we got to the change rooms we did a head count and someone was missing – of course guess who it was … Socs (Sarah O’Connor) ! She had been on the other side of the field so she was trapped and so the security guard had to go rescue her. She pretty much picked Socs up by her legs and carried her through the crowd of people ! Soo funny.

So end of tour we headed to Buenos Aires for the flight back to Sydney. A group of 6 – myself, Socs, Staci, Messi, Junior and Ali stayed on as tourists and went up to Iguazu Falls for 2 days. Iguazu falls is on the border of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. The waterfalls were amazing. They told us it flows 8 million litres of water a sec – it was insane. We signed up to go on a tour in a boat at the bottom of the falls – stupid and niave we thought we weren’t going to get to wet – but boy did we get wet, we were saturated! Messy and I had spare plastics bags so we had ripped them and wore them as shirts to keep dry - definitely did not work. After a nervous flight back to Buenos Aires ( the flight on the way up was the worst I have EVER experienced – we free fell for about 5secs – no joke) we just chilled for 2 days till we caught our flight back to Sydney.

Ok well, I think I have written enough for now – hope you enjoy ! I’ll attach some photos if I can work out how to.

Blog you later,

Hurtzy

Kookaburra’s Malaysian Tour 2009

Hi All

I thought this an opportune time to open “my blog account” with Gryphon Life and throw together a quick “wrap up” of the Kookaburra’s recent tour to Malaysia. A quick tour summary – 10 days, 7 training sessions, 5 test matches (which included a 6 hour return bus ride for the 3rd match) and a lot of meetings, pretty much summed up our tour!

Despite the relatively full schedule, I can’t for a second say we did it tough. If you have a spare second, Google – “The Palace of the Golden Horses”, that is the hotel where we stayed!!! Buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner… it was so tough ;o) The cheap shopping and abundance of sun was not lost on us either! Most of the boys took advantage and stock up on items for birthdays, Christmas and other special occasion. And the ladies think we don’t plan anything ;o)

All the fun and games aside though, it was a tour full of special milestones for a couple of Gryphon guys! Gryphon boy Jonathon Charlesworth registered his first cap for Australia, Fergus Kavanagh notched up his first cap as Captain of the Kookaburras and Brent Dancer managed to put the ball in the back of the net for the first time in international hockey! A big “tip of the hat” for the boys!

For all those that may actually be interested in the results of the hockey games, (I better put in a shameless plug for Hockey Australia) check out their website. Otherwise, know that we won the series 3-0!

That about sums it all up! If you want to know anymore about our tour/s, or what’s on the horizon for the Kookaburra’s, stay tuned to Gryphon-Life!!

It’s been fun, til next time – Keep it real!

Kiel Brown

Introducing Kiel Brown

Gryphon-Life proudly welcomes Kiel Brown as a contributor to the site. He is one of Australia’s most consistent defenders and was rewarded with Olympic Selection in 2008 after only 18 months in the Senior Squad. Having now played well over 50 times with the national team he is a standout performer and one of the best tacklers in the game. The new generation of defenders with the Australian team are now required to not only defend, but also to launch counter attacks, and this is one of Kiel’s biggest strengths. His deft passing, ability to dribble out of trouble and agility make him a hard target for opposition strikers to press and pin down. His versatility is regularly shown as he also fills crucial midfield roles with both the Kookaburras and the WA Smokefree Thundersticks in the AHL.

Originating from Toowoomba, Queensland, he played his junior hockey with Queensland and debut for the OAMPS Queensland Blades in the AHL before switching in 2006 to the WA Smokefree Thundersticks, in a bid to gain National Selection. This tough switch worked as he played extremely well in the central midfield role and gained the respect of the selectors as he was rewarded with his first National Cap in January 2007, at home against The Netherlands.

Keep tuned to hear and read more from KB, such has his video post about Movember.

The end of the Hotspurs in Europe

Hi gang,

Well the tour has finally come to an end with a few boys hoping on the plane a little under the weather. It has been a gruelling test for the troops with the 11 games and late nights finally taking there tole on a few stayers. However over the last few days we have played Royal Antwerp and Lille Hockey Club as well as a BBQ match that was played in very chilly conditions in Lille. Royal Antwerp were using the match as a warm up for their EHL preparation so we knew it was going to be a real test for the Hotspurs. After the first 15 minutes we went down 2 nil with the boys struggling to cope with a different style of play. David Parker who has coached us on the trip gave a stirring speech at half time that raised the gents from the depths. In easily the best second half performance of the tour we played our style and come through with a 4 all draw. Gryphon workhorse Tom Edwards was instrumental in the game and was best afield.

After the performance the boys moved onto Lille where we faced two WA boys in the Boyne brothers. With the end of the tour now in site the boys tried their luck but unfortunately must have had a batch of bad crepes one day and the team was hit with a bug that sidelined a few for the final match. It meant we played with one reserve in what was going to be a tough match. Once again a slow start saw us go in 1 nil down at half time. However with yet another rising speech from Coach Parker it got the boys moving and we celebrated the end with a 2-1 win.

Overall it meant we had a very successful tour both on and off the field with the boys needing a week off when they return to Perth. Thanks to everybody who has had a hand in the European Tour that was a sensational experience for all involved.
Smithy.

A day at the Arena.

Hey everyone,

A few weeks since the last post and with a lot going on thought it was a good time for an update. The Hoofdklasse is now 7 rounds in and while nothing is certain the table is starting to take shape. At OZ we have managed to recover from losing our first 2 games of the season. After drawing 5-5 with SCHC, we went on to beat Hurley 0-3, Pinoke 4-2 and Tilburg 1-2. Last sunday we went down to Amsterdam 2-1 in a game which saw us create enough chances to at least have grabbed a point. We didn’t concede any short corners however Amsterdam did give us a lesson in efficiency and taking the chances that come your way. We have been busy the last few weeks with running lines up front and its great to see that this extra work is starting to pay off. The younger guys are starting to find their feet. The next step is of course converting ball possession into circle penetrations that lead to corners and goals.

This week has been relatively light on the training front. After a double weekend it is always good to be given a chance to recharge the batteries. Yesterday we all headed up to Amsterdam. Although most of the guys in the group (myself included) are PSV fans, we were given the opportunity to spend the afternoon at the training complex of football club AJAX. In the afternoon we were treated to a football clinic from dutch football great Aron Winter at the youth training centre ’de toekomst’ (the future). A pretty impressive place with a highlight seeing Dennis Berkgamp giving training to the 12 year old stars of the future. After our clinic we headed over to the stadium to take in the Europa League game between Ajax and Dinamo Zagreb. Ajax got up 2-1 in what was a pretty good game of football. The whole day was made possible by our head sponsor ABN AMRO. For the record PSV also got up, beating FC Kopenhagen 1-0.

Tonight we’re back on the training field and although it was a disappointing result last week our attention has now turned to the must win clash with Laren this weekend. A team that is stacked with international talent Laren have been causing a bit of a stir up until now. With Aussies Luke Doerner and Eddie Ockenden, Pakistan Internationals Salman Akbar and Rehan Butt, the Korean Jong Ho Seo and American Pat Harris there is enough quality to always be a threat. Our plan of attack is really just to build on the progress of the last few weeks. By staying compact, not giving away short corners and being smarter with the ball up front we should be able to create enough opportunities to give us a chance of a result. We haven’t had a great deal of success against Laren the last few years so it will be a challenge but the 4 points are really needed if we want to stay in touch with the top 4. At the moment Bloemendaal are leading the way with 19 pts (from 7 games), then Amsterdam with 16 (8), HGC with 16 (7) and Rotterdam with 15 (6). We close out the top 6 with Laren, both on 10 pts from 7 games. Amsterdam and Bloemendaal are not playing this weekend due to EHL commitments in Paris so a win over Laren could potentially close the gap with Amsterdam to 3 points.

Will let you know how it pans out. Cheers, Lucas.

Welcome Wouter Jolie

The crew at Gryphon would like to welcome a guy who’s been around for some time in the international circles and done  many tours, but still is young with a great future.  It’s rare to have someone so capable at such an early age. Wouter is the latest ambassador from Holland for Gryphon and we openly welcome into the family, and well we want the world to know about it. Even better is that he’s with us for the long haul until the London Olympics.

He’s no stranger to success. Just last season his club, HC Bloemendaal, won both the Hoofdklasse and the EHL. A massive double achievement which Jolie was instrumental in. This season they are back on the hunt to repeat this amazing feat.

Wouter is active around hockey in many capacities and is known for being an outgoing fun guy.  We hope that Wouter can bring these attributes to Gryphon-Life.com in the future.

Look out for Mr. Jolie at Champion’s Trophy in Melbourne later this year.

Welcome mate.

Hotspurs enter Paris

So we have left the dusty roads of Cairo behind us with the boys finishing this leg of the journey off with a fantastic 1-0 win over a strong and fast Egyptian side. After yet another night on the town we put on the skins in the 6 degrees and faced up against a French junior national side in Paris. After conceding 3 goals in the first 15 minutes the mighty Hotspurs kicked into gear. Tom Edwards and Ben Donisi were brilliant for the side with the boys getting back in the match and at half time had clawed back to 3-2. A little bit of niggle kicked in during the second half with Tommy Edwards getting sent off and some screaming and yelling coming out of both camps. However at the end of the day the boys produced the best half of hockey we have played so far for the tour coming out with a 5-4 win in the final minute of the match.

The feelings were left on the field and yet another Heineken was downed with the younger boys after the match. Last night saw us move to Racing Club in paris where we lost our dominate CH in Chris Bausor as he had to play for the club that he will be representing in the French league this year. Another Aussie in David “Blades” Viner is coaching the side that is hoping to push for EHL selection in a year or so. The Hotspurs started a lot better in the match and were a stronger side for the majority of the match. We played out a 3-1 win, however the forward line had plenty of opportunities to make it a much larger win.

Today has seen most of the troops spend the majority of the day in bed after yet another 6am arrival back at the hotel. Somehow I think these nights may catch up with us as we play Antwerp and Lille in the next few days. Stay tuned for the updates as we progress through the second half of the European tour.

Smithy over an out.

RABO HOOFDKLASSE x ROTTERDAM v PINOKE x VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

Rotterdam at home to Pinoke. Gryphon ambassador and live-wire Paul Mass is in action for the home side.

Kiel Brown on Movember – Video

We caught up with Kiel Brown just before a promo photo shoot with the Kookaburras about Movember.  KB will be involved in this so keep tuned to find out how to support his and other Gryphon players in the charity event and see photo updates right here on Gryphon-Life.com.

Photos from the shoot can be found at www.dcimages.org

More about Movember here.

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