Three WA athletes named in 2022 Men’s National Development Squad

Kookaburras Head Coach Colin Batch has laid down the challenge to the 20 players selected in this year’s Men’s National Development Squad (NDS) – opportunities will present themselves so continue to improve.

Batch announced the next crop of players aspiring to break into the Kookaburras squad following the recent Domestic Series which was used as a selection trial.

Three Western Australians were selected into the squad, with Liam Flynn, Tom Harvie and Christian Starkie all selected after showing they're more than capable to compete with the best.

With the COVID disruptions of the past two years, Batch has every intention to provide this NDS group with the chance to show their potential and demonstrate their capability at the elite level.

“There has been a lack of opportunity for athletes in the National Development Squad over the past few years…of course there are reasons for that but the statement is accurate,” said Batch.

“So this was an interesting selection for us. We are thinking ahead of who from the NDS could take the next step. There will be enough opportunity for these players to develop and show that they have the quality and skill to play for the Kookaburras.

“We want to give players an opportunity and we want to see constant improvement.”

“We are looking forward to assessing these players during the year with Visiting Athlete Agreement opportunities and then watching them perform in the Sultana Bran Hockey One League to see who could break into the Kookaburras squad.”

“There are a host of players who have come from the Junior (Under 21) Squad so we want to give them an opportunity to show us what they’ve got.”

Batch sees the NDS as an important stepping stone to the Kookaburras. One of the main positives is the NDS allows players who bloom later than others to hold onto the dream of representing their country on the highest stage.

“We are trying to assess players who can go to the level of what we expect elite international hockey to be,” said Batch.

“There is no single process with development. Some players take longer than others and it is valuable to have the National Development Squad for that reason.”

“There could be some late developers that break into a squad later than what some do who come straight out of the Junior Squad.”

In the immediate term, the players selected in the Men’s NDS will continue to train and develop at their home National Training Centre (NTC) under the guidance of National Pathways Program coaches.

2022 Men’s National Development Squad
Name (State/Territory)
Hayden Beltz (TAS)
Jonathan Bretherton (VIC)
Luca Brown (QLD)
Liam Flynn (WA)
Michael Francis (QLD)
Gobin Gill (TAS)
Fred Gray (SA)
Sam Gray (NSW)
Anand Gupte (ACT)
Tom Harvie (WA)
Ehren Hazell (NSW)
Sam McCulloch (TAS)
Mitch Nicholson (QLD)
Daine Richards (NSW)
Joel Rintala (QLD)
Ben Staines (ACT)
Jake Staines (ACT)
Christian Starkie (WA)
Damon Steffens (VIC)
Ash Thomas (NSW)