PREPARATIONS x WC10 x HAMMOND x VIDEO

DC back on board with Rob Hammond at his hotel before the first games.

This time Rob lets us into the preparations the Kookaburras have gone through in the direct lead up to the World Cup trip as well the past few days here in India and what’s ahead.

ACCOMMODATIONS x WC10 x HAMMOND x VIDEO

Hi all, DC here writing from New Delhi, the day before the opening games of the 2010 World Cup.

Today I was lucky enough to get through the rigour of making my way through security check-points to catch up with Rob Hammond at his hotel in New Delhi. Here’s a quick run-down of his life for the next three weeks (and already a week past).

In the video RH makes note of a prang on the round-a-bout.  Well here’s the incident. Highlight of the day not only of Rob but all in the area.

Till tomorrow.

DC

A PROMISE I’D LIKE TO KEEP

Well, almost all the preparation is done. We’ve touched down here in India, checked in to the Hotel and also had a couple runs on the pitch. The excitement is really starting to build as per norm when you finally arrive at these tournaments and see the mass of hype at the field. Things also seem to be magnified ten fold here in India. Major Dhyan Chand stadium is amazing and I can’t wait to step out for the first game against England. Hopefully with 16,000 Indian hockey lovers going crazy and with a couple of Aussies in between.

I remember making a promise to our old assistant coach Colin Batch after the 3rd-4th play-off final in Beijing. We will win the WC in 2010. Most of you know I couldn’t take part in that match and also the 2006 WC due to a knee injury. My memories of not being able to play those games/finals or also take part in the medal ceremony we’re some of my worst and tuff to swallow. I never like the feeling of not being able to contribute to the cause, especially when they are big tournaments, finals or when things aren’t going to plan.

So as things unfold over the next 3 weeks, I’m sure it won’t all go smoothly or to plan. I will however be doing everything in my power to help the boys win on the last day.

Later,

Shuby

PHOTOS: DANIEL CARSON | DC IMAGES

WELCOME PATO

Welcome, welcome, welcome. Mark Paterson is the latest of the Aussie crew to be wielding a new 2010 Blue Steel in their hands.

Mark is a Sydney man throughout and continues to play for NSW in the AHL. He made his Kookaburra debut in February 2009 in Canberra against Belgium. Mark’s an imposing striker with genuine potential to be a serious focal point in the Aussie attack. Expect to see a lot more of him in the green and gold in the future.

One thing his stats wont say is how much he loves getting out and enjoying himself. Pato, as he’s commonly known as, spends his days as a Physical Education teacher.

We are proud to welcome Pato to the Gryphon family.

LIVING HOCKEY’S GOALSHOOTING CAMPS x FEB 10 x TODD

Now the winter here in the UK has been pretty grim. It’s been darker than a bat’s loungeroom and about as fun as having your car clamped. Consequently, Brett and I decided that if we were all going to be silly enough to be trying to play hockey at our February Living Hockey Camp, then we needed to bring some people in to warm it up a bit.

I suggested a steel band to give a Carribean feel to the fog and -2 degree rain. Brett suggested getting Australian Olympic Gold Medal winning strikers Mick McCann and Michelle Mitchell in to run a goalshooting camp. Luckily, after much debate, Calypso Magic had Monday and Tuesday off and instead we had two days of fantastic coaching and demonstrations from a couple of goalscoring legends at the excellent facilities at St George’s School in Weybridge.

Along with Mick and Michelle, we also had current England and GB forward Rob Moore blatantly showing off (well, at least as far as Brett and I were concerned) by using his Taboo to smash reverse stick shots on demand from way too close to the backline.

So, despite it being a bit wet and a bit frozen at times, this was definitely the way to put a bit of warmth into February. Luckily Mick’s knee didn’t completely seize up (although it didn’t stop him wearing a silly hat) and Michelle managed to avoid the 84 mph (about 140 kmh) missile from the ball machine and still deflect it in the net after Brett decided to “see how fast this thing can get up to”.

Stay tuned for details of the next camp and our next guest coaches. And to see more photos and some great video, check out www.living-hockey.com

Cheers

Todd

GRYPHON REPRESENT x INDIA

With the biggest tournament in the hockey calendar right around the corner, the best players in the world will be there. They will be representing their countries in the fight for the best nation in the world, bragging rights and automatic entry into Champions Trophies for years to come. All the athletes have been tuning themselves for this for years.

What about the guys that are representing the extended Gryphon family?

Well we (Gryphon) are going to be there on the ground cheering them on (with maybe some country bias) and sitting proud as punch seeing the guys out there on the biggest stage of them all.

The G-Team in India is looking a little like this:

ARGENTINA: Mario ALAMADA, Matias REY, Ignacio BERGNER, Fernando ZYLBERBERG, Matias GONZALEZ

AUSTRALIA: Kiel BROWN, Greame BEGBIE, Fergus KAVANAGH, Robert HAMMOND, Grant SCHUBERT

CANADA: David JAMESON

ENGLAND: Robert MOORE, James TINDALL

HOLLAND: Wouter JOLIE

NEW ZEALAND: Simon CHILD, Dave GREEN

SOUTH AFRICA: Lloyd NORRIS JONES, Justin Reid ROSS, Julian HYKES, Lloyd MADSEN, Wayde PATON, Paul BLAKE

SOUTH KOREA: S I LEE, S H YOON

Last World Cup in Germany, the hosts came from behind to beat the Aussies and many are tipping the same two teams again to fight in the finals. Time will tell.

Stay with us for video, interviews, photos and more from the ground in New Delhi.

PHOTOS: DANIEL CARSON | DC IMAGES

LET THE GAMES BEGIN x AUSvNZ x ATTARD

The first international matches of 2010 and wow, welcome back. The Kiwi’s play a hard, tough game and it was great to have a good hit out.

The first international matches of 2010 and wow, welcome back. The Kiwi’s play a hard, tough game and it was great to have a good hit out.

It was a bit of a rusty start for us Aussies in the first game going down 2-0 after 10 minutes, but we were able to pull it back and get up 3-2 in front of the country crowd in Rockingham.

Game 2 and 3 saw us back in Perth playing in front of friends and family, with some good patches played and more composure we got up in both games, 2-0 and 4-1.

These games were the first of a few upcoming matches, with Korea and Argentina to come before we take off for the World Cup Qualifier in April.

The body has held up pretty good, minus a couple of stitches to the head and a lovely black eye! (I was hit in game 3, looking good). Now its the weekend off before testing bright and early Monday morning….

Peace out for now

TRANS-TASMAN HITOUT

It’s getting close. I mean really close. Down to days and not weeks before the 2010 World Cup kicks off on the 28th of this month. Each country is going about their business for preparation. Over in the Oceania part of the world the brother/sister nations of  Australia and New Zealand are having a small series of test matches.  The men are hitting out for World Cup practice while the women are getting ready for their WC qualifiers. Perth is a plethora of black and gold and green on any given night.

Every now and then you catch the sound of people shouting out “thut was funtustuc!” during the games.

For the guys, Perth’s weather is a good warm up (pun has been inserted) for the upcoming Indian weather. Here it’s roughly 32 to 37 deg, and New Delhi is looking to be around 31 at the start of the tournament.

The Hockeyroos are looking good with three wins from three games, while the Kookaburras notched a solid seven to one win in their first over the Black Sticks. In the mix are the AIS (Aus A squads) for both teams and they have also proven victorious over the funny sounding tourists.

Teneal Attard has made a solid return to the Aussie Women’s team joining Fi Johnson and Sarah O’Connor holding the distinctive Blue Steel.  In the black, using Blue Sticks, Captain Krystal Forgesson, Ella Gunson and Jasmin McQuinn are leading the very young team on a great learning curve.

In the guys, recent G-Team members Graeme Begbie and Grant Schubert got to show off their new 2010 sticks joining the already steady brigade of Rob Hammond, Kiel Brown and Fergus Kavanagh in their warm-up games. These five are all crucial to the Kookaburra make-up creating a steady spine for the team at any given point in time. On the other side of the water based turf, Simon Child and Dave Green are prepping themselves for the upcoming months both supporting Blue Steels.

One more game to go with the Kookas and the Black Sticks this friday and then they are off leaving on a Jet plane on the weekend bound for India.

TWO WEEKS

It’s Monday in Perth and there is now only two weeks until we start our campaign in Delhi. This week we are finalising our preparation here in Western Australia with two matches against New Zealand. The Kiwis are based here all week and will also play the Australian-A team, which in my opinion would be a top 6 finisher at the WC if they could compete.

A big claim? Perhaps. But as I see it the depth of Australian hockey over the past seven years has grown to a stage where we now have 36 players who could all do the job for the number 2 ranked team in the World. In 2003 Australia hosted a 4-Nations home series which included Pakistan, India and Australia-A. Aust-A went on the record wins over Australia and India and draws with Pakistan in the duel-leg series, the highlight being when they dispatched Australia 7-2. Since then, the Australian-A team has recorded wins against full strength top ten team around the world. Many of the Australian Teams entered into minor tournaments have been development lists that have either won or medaled in these global tournaments.

So what does Australia’A's power have to do with the World Cup? Well, since the Champions Trophy in Melbourne last year our squad has played countless “in-house” matches against our selves. We’ve had a squad of 27 based in Perth training full time since Jan 4th, with countless other players flying in and out to extend the group. The competition for the final 18 spots to represent the nation at the WC has never, ever, been so fierce. We haven’t traveled much since the CT, preferring to tune our tactics and skills away from the eyes of the rest of the world, but we have trained. We’ve only had 6 rest days in the past 6 weeks and as I said in my last post, the WC will be a walk in the park compared to our preparation… But I know better, the WC will be anything but and I for one am looking forward to the challenge!

Catch you in Dehli…

Rob

PHOTOS: DANIEL CARSON | DC IMAGES

HOCKEYROOS GIRLS NIGHT IN x HURTZ

Hello fellow Gryphon lovers,

I’m writing to update you on a little task that Teneal Attard and I have been working on over the last few weeks. Late last year we were invited to become ambassadors for an initiative known as ‘Girls Night In’. It is an initiative ran by the Australian Cancer Council in a hope to fundraise money towards womens cancer. It involves girls getting together to do what we do best – talk, eat, enjoy each others company and listen to the finest tunes. The idea is that as group you get together and spend a night ‘in’ and donate the money you would have spent on a night ‘out’. So assuming most girls spend a few bit in prep and on a night out we thought that with the Hockeyroos we could raise a fair bit.

It started off as just fundraising the money that we would raise on the night i.e. what we all donated, however it turned into a public affair and we have successfully raised over $2600. We have been overwhelmed by the support of friends and family, clubs and businesses considering we really didn’t put alot of effort into promoting the event.

It is a great cause so if you would like to contribute to our fundraising efforts please go to the link below:

http://wa.cancercouncilfundraising.org.au/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=142301

Also check out some of the photos from the night!

Hurtzzz

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