THIS time four years ago, Goulburn hockey player Dean Robertson was getting excited about travelling to Fiji for the first time to play with the Australian Country U21s team in the Oceania Pacific Cup.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
He was 17 then.
Now he is 21, and he is experiencing that same feeling of excitement again.
He is about to board an aeroplane heading for Fiji to play with the Australian Country U21s at the World League round one hockey tournament, for the very last time.
There is a big difference this time around though. In 2010, Dean was the youngest in the Australian Country team, and prior to the tournament, the coach was wondering why such a young player (17-years) was selected in the U21s team. After the tournament, the coach confessed that Dean had held his own and was glad he was in the team.
Now in 2014, Dean is top age and will be a member of the players’ leadership group. His experience at this tournament should help him in this role. This will be Dean’s fourth representation as a member of the Australian Country U21s.
He also played in 2011 and 2012, and only missed last year due to a ruling from Hockey Australia that disqualified him from playing country hockey because he had represented at the National U21 Championships earlier that year.
With the full entourage of medals in his cabinet from his previous three encounters at the Pacific Tournament, Dean is hoping to bring home the gold in his final year, as he did in 2012.
His team won bronze in 2010 and silver in 2011.
Dean will arrive in Fiji on December 4. The team has a couple of training sessions scheduled the next day to help acclimatise to the heat and humidity, and for the players to get to know each other’s style of play, then the tournament commences on the Dec 6. Australia Country will play against New Zealand President’s XI, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Vanuatu and the host nation Fiji.
Following the tournament, which finishes on Dec 13, the team will look forward to a couple of days relaxing at a resort on Fiji’s coral coast before flying back to Australia on the 16th.
Before flying to Fiji next Thursday, Dean has one other hockey representative commitment to fulfil. Commencing
tomorrow the Australian Indoor Championships are to be held in Canberra at the National Hockey Centre. Dean will join the U21 NSW team for the second consecutive year at this tournament, which runs for four days.
Kristy, Dean’s sister, will also take part in this indoor hockey tournament, not as a player, but as an officiating umpire. She has been working her way up the Hockey Australia umpiring ranks over the past four years.
This is her second year on the U21womens indoor panel.
Earlier in the year, she debuted on the U21womens field hockey panel in Perth. Being on these national panels is a huge achievement.
Indoor hockey is a high-paced, highly skilled game which is very exciting to watch. With the national tournament virtually on our doorstep, it would be an ideal opportunity for Goulburn’s many hockey enthusiasts to travel to Canberra to watch some games this weekend. Dean would like to thank his boss, Shane Elliott for allowing him to have so much time off work to fulfil his hockey commitments.
He would also like to thank Taurus for their sponsorship and his parents for their ongoing support.
