Posted By: Luke

on May 9, 2008

After Australia’s recent win in the 4 Nations Tournament in Darwin, we managed to catch up with centurion, Andrew Smith.

Congratulations on the milestone, was it an enjoyable game for you?

Thanks guys, I knew that I’d be playing it at some stage in the 4 nations series. We had a win and I got to lead the boys off in the team song, so it was an enjoyable evening.
(I never knew there was a team song. It could become a karaoke classic. We’ll try to get Smitty and the boys to perform it on THS later in the year)

Any extra nerves? Or do you become more settled at that level over the

course of 100 games?

I wouldn’t really say that there was any more nerves, I was just a bit keener and pumped up ready to get out there and play. I’m feeling pretty comfortable and confidant at this level after being in the group for about 7 years now.

Did you have any relatives or friends in the crowd? Or just your great mate gimpy?

Nah, I didn’t have any family come up and watch, but I did get to play with Gimpy, Rusty- a fellow Donny and Vic boy- and the other big Vic fella Luke Dorener. Unfortunately Brooksy is having a few injury problems so he wasn’t there, or able to play. Having all the Vic boys playing would have been awesome.
We certainly hope there will be plenty of Vic boys in the squad.

Did the team acknowledge your 100? How about Hockey Australia? Is that something that is done normally?

The team acknowledged my hundredth game in the pre-game meeting, and then we had a team photo done immediately before the start of the game. Later on that night after the game we had dinner, afterwards Baz got up and said a few words and presented me with an engraved hip flask and an A4 laminated copy of the team shot. Milestones are always recognised within the group, 50, 100, 150 200 caps etc. Its something that as a group we’re very proud of.
Engraved hip flask?!? Not sure how appropriate that is for someone who barely drinks. Is he trying to encourage you to get on it?

Anyway, back to hockey, how many of your 100 games have been played in Melbourne?

 

Well I scored my first goal in the Aussie shirt against Korea in Melbourne in ‘02, where I played 4 games in that series. And I also played 2 or 3 games against Spain in Jan ‘06. So all up it would be either 6 or 7 games.
Nowhere near enough for our liking, they should move the next few tournaments here so we can see a bit more of you.

What positions did you play/have you been playing?

Prior to my time away in ‘06 I had only played as an outside striker, but since coming back I’ve played all positions on the forward line. The majority of the games have been at inside forward, but I’ve also played on the wing and more recently had a run at centre foreward in two of the games in Darwin.

How would you rate your own performance? It sounds like Gimp is also playing well.

My performance over the games in Perth and Darwin was mixed, with some stuff I was pretty happy with and some things which I’m defenitely keen to improve on. Gimpy is in some pretty good form, he’s a bit of a freak that fella.

Indeed he is, although I think you (and he) are pretty modest. You should talk it up a bit…
There seem to be some young guns playing and scoring that many Victorians may not know.

Yeah, Des Abbott is one of the younger players in the group and played some fantastic hockey up in darwin scoring three goals in his three games up there. Eli Matheson was also in some great form and scored some fantastic goals.

Most Australians would never have seen the Chinese mens team, what are they like? Are they a classic asian side in their style and skills?

We played the Chinese guys in the final of a test event in Beijing in August last year, and they have improved markedly since then. They are coached by the former Korean coach, and so play a very similar style to the korean team. they are very fit and quick with a real tenacious attitude. they’ve got a handful of players that a very skillfull, and base their game around that.

How will they fare at the Olympics?

With a home crowd, I think they’ll cause a few upsets at the Olympics.

The final sounded pretty intense, going to strokes. Did you take one? If so, did you get it in?

The final was pretty intense, and very hot! To go into sudden death strokes made it even more exciting. Unfortunately I wasn’t called upon to take a stroke. I would have loved to have taken one though.

(No doubt if you’d taken one it would never have got to sudden death strokes in the first place)
What did you think of the tournament overall- Aus performance, your own tournament, the opposition?

The series was a very good learning experience for us as a team, and also for me individually. We played some very good periods during the games, but then also had times when we were poor in basic skill execution. Pretty sure that our focus leading up to the Champions Trophy is going to be on that basic skill execution, and putting the very good hockey into a full 70 minutes.

What’s next for you guys, and over the next few months?

Our next big tournament is the Champions Trophy in Rotterdam in June. I’ll be finding out about selection either the end of this week, or early next week. The CT will be our final hitout and opportunity to impress for Olympic selection, so I’m hoping that I’m in the group to go away and I can keep putting in the hard yards and hopefully get that Olympic shirt.

You’ve always put in the hard yards Smitty. We’ll cross everything for you and the other Vic guys.We really wish you all the best over the next few months, and hope you rack up some more caps, especially in August.

Thanks guys, the support from you guys and everyone back home has been awesome for all the Vic boys over here.

 

Posted By: THS

on May 8, 2008

It’s finally here! Hold onto your hats people, or if you’re super trendy hang on to your designer fedora - because HOCKEY ONE is here. The official season launch party for THS in 2008. A great chance for all the hockey community to get together and have a great night. It’s on Friday 6th of June, which is the Queen’s B’Day weekend (so there’s no hockey!).

WHAT: The Hockey Show season launch

WHEN: Friday the 6th of June (from 8pm til late)

WHERE: Roxanne Parlour, Coverlid Place, City.

HOW MUCH: You can buy tix for $10 online (just click on the shop link above) or $15 on the night.

NB: It’s strictly an 18yo+ event.

So grab your tickets online now and save yourself $5 while guaranteeing your spot at the hockey event of the year.

 

Posted By: Ballza

on May 7, 2008

Aaah, the glory days of the Victorian Redbacks.

Below is the 1997 squad - see how many you can remember? Bonus points if you get their nicknames according to the media pack at the time!!

Great to see that some of these players are still kicking around…and in SL1 no less!

 

Posted By: Ballza

on May 6, 2008

Hawthorn’s long-haired lothario Paul MacKinnon has been kind enough to write us a little piece on his time over in Spain, where he’s been playing for the last little bit.

We at THS thought it might open everyone’s eyes to the possibilities of playing overseas and how wicked it can be!! Over to you Paul…

Hey all you hockey buffs.

As most of you were aware, the Victorian league has been invaded by a number of Spanish Conquistadors last year and again this year. But I decided to get a little bit back and made the journey in the opposite direction to harass them, Australian style.

I’ve been playing with Club Egara in the city of Terrassa. Of any city in the world you could go to for hockey this maybe the best. Hockey here is seriously ‘The’ most important sport in the city. Sure football is loved but the status of hockey is amazing.

The Spanish league itself is country wide so from any given weekend we are travelling and playing anywhere from Barcelona to the west coast just above Portugal and to the beaches of San Sebastion. So through the hockey I have been able to see a lot of Spain.

The club houses at some of the clubs are amazing, and my club is one of the good ones. My club, where hockey was the original sole sport, has 2 full fields and a half field. 14 tennis courts, 6 padel courts (Spanish tennis), an indoor and outdoor pool, fitness rooms, a new gym, a café, a restaurant, a hair dresser (no funnily enough I know what you are thinking but I haven’t used it), a day spa (or this) and a kids day care. Yes it is a lot different to the shack at Greensborough or the two rooms at Hawthorn. And this is not the biggest club. Club de Campo has two golf courses and their own post code!!

The hockey is a very good level. The league itself is somewhere in between SL1 and AHL, but the top 4 teams would be competitive if not have a chance of winning AHL. With players such as Edi Tubau, Pol Amat and Sander van der Veida (all nominated for World Player of the Year at some stage) you can imagine the league is pretty good. My team finished as minor premiers in the league but unfortunately lost in the semi finals last week. Unlike in Melbourne, here we have a 3 match series and the winner goes into the final.

On top of the regular season there is the Copa Del Rei (King’s Cup) which we lost in the final of and also, which has been an unbelievable experience to play in, the Euro League. If you are unaware of the Euro League, it is like the Champions league of football. The best 24 teams from all of Europe come together for a competition. We have gone from 24 teams and now after our four games, one of them beating Bloemendaal and Teun de Nooijer (my old team), we are into the final 4 of this competition to be played this weekend in Rotterdam, Holland.

So without going into too much detail I hope this has given you all a little insight into my hockey experience in Spain. I look forward to getting back to Australia and getting stuck into the SL1 comp again soon.

Paul MacKinnon

If you have a story you want to have heard, or simply want to spread the word on something…(that’s relevant of course) send it to us at info@thehockeyshow.org

 

Posted By: Bartos

on May 4, 2008

Thats right for another week myself and my good fiend ALF (I say fiend not friend) have thrown another podcast together - use the links on the right to hear it if it so pleases you to do so.

All the regular segments are back and we add our Stick Handler of the Week Award.

So be brave, listen in and prepare to hear words you never thought would be associated with hockey and attack dogs.

Cheers,

Bartos.

 

Posted By: THS

on April 30, 2008

We at The Hockey Show don’t mince words when it comes to Andrew Smith. It’d be fair to say, we reckon he’s an alright bloke and a great hockey player to boot.

Since earning slection in the Australian squad in 2002, it’s been an interesting ride for our man - the Smit-Dawg. He’s had plenty of success and his fair share of setbacks along the way, but through it all, he’s kept his integrity and reputation as one of the nicest blokes going ’round.

The 191cm man mountain is an imposing unit in full stride and it’s little wonder he’s bagged himself some 40 odd international goals in his time with the Kookaburras. However, tonight Smitty reaches an even more significant milestone in his hockey career. As he takes the field in Darwin versus China, the 29 year old will be playing in his 100th international game.

A sterling effort and one that we at The Hockey Show, and no doubt all the Victorian hockey community, applaud.

Well done Smit.

Snag a couple for us.

THS

 

Posted By: Ballza

on April 28, 2008

There’s something in our here sport that is decidedly lacking.

It’s the goal celebration.

A few years back on The Hockey Show we covered Goal Celebrations in an attempt to bring them into our game. There were some great ones: the worm, the bowling pins, the grenade, the spiderman etc. But now, in 2008. We’re going after it harder than ever.

That’s why its time for:

“The Campaign For Hockey Goal Celebrations”.

Now. There are some necessary things that have to be considered:

Safety.
At no stage should violence enter the equation in your goal celebration. You have to be careful with poking fingers, errant high-fives etc. Last thing you want to do is injure an excited teammate. A wayward fistpump or piston foream can spell danger in inexperienced hands.

Incorporation of props and/or team-mates.
Strongly encouraged. A blind man’s cane, the gun in the holster, a mobile phone in the pocket to notify family and friends of your goalscoring success or a pair of glasses down the socks to hand to the flailing goalkeeper. These are all useful options in your celebration.

Avoid Imitations.
Been there, done that bought the T-Shirt. Don’t need to see the thumb in the mouth, the boxing of the corner flag or the mid-air chesting of the teammate. Nor do we want to see the hand to the ear encouraging a roar - you’ve clearly been playing too much Fifa on your Playstation - originality is the key. …or alternatively well choreographed hockey specific celebrations are of course encouraged. THS recommends setting aside the necessary practice time at training to perfect your routines.

Game Situation.
It’s no use celebrating a goal if its the leveler at 1-1 with 60 minutes to go in the game. Especially if you’re wearing a headband and your name starts with Lincoln and ends with Stephen and play for MCC in the mens SL1 competition against TEM on the 28th of April 2008 and it’s a tap in when someone else has done all the work. A consolation goal is called a consolation goal for a reason. It does not need to be celebrated and this must be kept firmly in mind at all times. Reserve goal celebrations for scorchers, gamebreakers and last-ditched efforts getting your team over the line.

Crowd Interaction.
Whats the sound of one hand clapping? That’s the bottom line. The goal celebration is no use if there’s no one watching and the crowd loves a good one. High-fives down the sideline or a knowing wink to a “special” spectator these are all good. Tony Lockett goal style run-ons from the crowd are to be encouraged. There’s nothing like sticking it to the opposition crowd too.

You have got to have a celebration that you’ve seen and want free range to comment on? Get commenting!

So there you have it. THS’s very own guide to making your hockey goal celebrations something to remember.

Good Luck.

 

Posted By: Ballza

on

Beechworth And District Hockey Club have just notified THS that their club has reached the final of the Home Hardware “Sporting Moments” video competition.
They are in the final 3 and it is worth $10,000 to the club if they win and they need your help!

To vote:

Ring: 1902 555 123

or

SMS: “Video A” to 1997 66 99.

Anybody who votes is also eligible to win a $2000 shopping voucher from Home Hardware!

You’re wondering why your club never heard about this? Its only open to regional Australia who receive WIN TV!

Get on board! Its not everyday that a hockey club can go up against the big guns of those rubbish other sports.

 

Posted By: Bartos

on

This weeks episode of the ball handlers (a somewhat truncated version due to the Anzac Day Long Weekend) was thrown up last night at 9:30pm - use the links on the right side of the page to listen in!

We need your help though folks!!

We need players/coaches/hangers on from the SL1 teams to hit us with an email with their contact phone numbers so that we can have a base of people from each club to call on Sunday nights to get match reports and scorelines.

We desperately need people from all clubs so we can give the most up do date and in depth information during the podcast - so please email us your number today!

Don’t forget if you want to…

> Give your club a pump up
> Dob in someone who did something hilariously stupid
> have the chance to win prizes by predicting your own future
> have a chat to someone on Sunday night cause you’re lonely like us

Then send us an email and keep your phone handy on Sunday nights! Without you the ball handlers would just be two guys sitting in a dark room together chatting to each other which would be terribly uncomfortable and somewhat disturbing - so please for the love of god help us out!!

Cheers,

Bartos & ALF.

 

Posted By: Ballza

on April 22, 2008

Me: Hey you - Yes you! Have you started the 2008 season and thought to yourself…”Hmmm, this old stick really ain’t cutting the mustard?”

*insert lots of nodding heads*

You: Why yes! Yes I have!

Me: WELL - thanks to THS and F-H-E you can say bye bye to that old hunk of you know what and hello to a brand spanking new Gryphon Taboo Amber ‘08, for $100 off the RRP! Yes, you read right…$100 off the RRP!

You: It can’t be true…can it?

Me: Hell yeah it can! Thanks to our friends at F-H-E, they’ve announced a monthly for Hockey Show subscribers!

You: …but hang on a minute, I’m not a THS subscriber yet…wow, this is awkward.

Me: WHY NOT? WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WHY DO YOU READ THIS AND NOT SIGN UP TO OUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE? DON’T YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE MISSING OUT ON? ARGGGGHHHH…..

You: Errr…..ummm…..sorry, I guess I’m a little lazy.

Me: Damn straight you are. But just cause I like you a little bit and the way you drag, you can have a brief insight into the crazy mixed up world of a THS subscriber…for a few days.

You: This infomercial has really deteriorated rather quickly.

Me: I know. I get carried away.

CLICK HERE for all the details! and then SUBSCRIBE, SUBSCRIBE, SUBSCRIBE.

…but hurry - this offer ends April 30. Steak knives not included.