Waikato
by Peter Cawkwell
10 July 2003
Anyone spending 5 minutes with the young Australians would be impressed by their manner and behaviour both on and off the field. Indeed, Hockey Australia was in good hands with its young ambassadors.
When the Aussie Hockey Caravan rolled into Hamilton, they immediately made friends by offering to spend their valuable time coaching Waikatos young Hatch cup / Collier rep. squads.
The match against the Midlands Invitation Squad was an eye-opener for the speed at which the Aussies took the game to our players. In the first half, Australia had 75% possession of the ball; probing a tight Waikato defence under the leadership of Brad Bellamy. Waikato kept Australia at bay, only conceding one goal after a devastating run by the Aussie No:4. A measure of Waikato's good defence is the fact that it took 38 minutes before it conceded its first penalty corner. Keeper, Dean Armstrong(the Ginger Ninja) was very handy around the the goal-mouth, but a well-paced penalty shot took the Aussies 2 up.
Final score 1-4
