Experienced leaders named as Perth Thundersticks prepare for 2025 Hockey One Season opener

As the Perth Thundersticks gear up to launch their 2025 One Active Hockey One campaign in Brisbane, the teams have turned to seasoned talent to lead the charge.

Kookaburra Jake Harvie will continue as captain of the Men’s team, supported by fellow Kookaburras James Collins and Tom Harvie as vice-captains.

On the Women’s side, Hockeyroo Penny Squibb and former South African international Liné Malan will share leadership duties as co-captains.

Harvie enters his second season as captain, having co-led the team alongside Tom Wickham in 2024.

With a number of fresh faces in the squad, Harvie said the group is beginning to find its rhythm ahead of the season opener.

“It was a little bit slow at the start to just get a few guys out of their shells – we’ve got some quiet guys in our group, but we’ve had some opportunity to spend some time together now and I think everyone’s coming together,” he said.

“Everyone’s just really excited to get into game one to see how we go and then develop from there.”

Squibb and Malan are equally enthusiastic about their shared leadership role as the Women’s team looks to defend their championship title.

“It’s exciting to share the role and its responsibilities with Liné over the tournament,” Squibb said.

“I think Liné is super deserving of it but we always say in our group that we are a team of leaders.

“Everyone has their own leadership qualities and we want them to bring those each week, [Liné and I] just happen to be the ones that wear the Captain’s band on the day.”

Malan echoed the sentiment, highlighting the strength of their partnership.

“Penny’s a very good leader and I think we compliment one another quite well so I think the teamwork is pretty exciting and I’m excited to step in the field as co-captain,” she said.

The Thundersticks will kick off their campaign with high-stakes rematches against Brisbane Blaze—revisiting last season’s Men’s Bronze Medal match and Women’s Grand Final.

While the Men’s team enters with a new dynamic, Harvie said the squad is eager to hit the pitch.

“Brisbane’s a great opposition, we’ve had a lot of great battles against them,” he said.

“There’ll be a lot of focus just on our process in our game and just really enjoying that.”

Squibb added that after a solid pre-season, the Women’s team is ready to get started.

“It’s been a decent lead-up, we’ve had quite a few practice matches so I think everyone’s just excited to get away, start the tournament and get rolling,” she said.

The Perth Thundersticks is proudly supported by Bravo Apples, ERM High Voltage Asset Specialists, Polytan, Session Equity, and Project Innovations.

The Perth Thundersticks Women’s program is also proudly supported by the WA State Government.