Here at The Hockey Show we like to stay on-top of the big issues and with the Australian women’s hockey team The Hockeyroos tonight losing to the less-fancied Chinese team, the question has to be asked – what went wrong?
The Aussie girls looked totally out classed with China far more efficent in their ball movement and defending resolutely throughout the game. The endeavour was noticeably better from the hometeam and although the girls raked one back in with 20 mins to go in the game – and then a flukey little deflection…they just didn’t look like it at all tonight. It was a case of too little too late I think and appeared that the Hockeyroos were perhaps a little disrespectful to their Chinese opponents and as a result their intensity was seriously lacking.
All in all, the team was strong, their preperation immpecable and thorough – but throughout the tournament we’ve seen some strange play and decision making from our top female players. Furthermore as “Booges” commented on in the forumsthat “Australia were trying to play on off-side trap in their first game, which hasn’t been a tactic since Atlanta, where Frank Murray was last coaching Olympics”…
So: Is it time for the man with the floppy Greg Chappel hat to hang up the aforementioned hat on a well-worn hook and depart?
His record is somewhat impressive taking the girls to Commonwealth Games Gold and the final of the World Cup – but a result such as this in the Olympic games, especially after finishing a disapointing fifth in Athens raises some pretty big questions.
I guess more globally, what is a shelflife of a coach? When do you start asking the tough questions and where does accountablity lay?
Anyway – a massive disapointment.
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August 19th, 2008 at 1:05 am
HIT THE BLOODY BALL FLAT!
August 19th, 2008 at 9:47 am
They have misssed out on Goal difference, notably they hit more goals than the chinese but they let in more. How many more i hear you ask? Well funnily enough the aussie girls conceded 4 more goals than the chinese, the same amount of goals our offside trap cost us in the first half of the first game.
Girls should be very proud, woud have medalled for sure if they got in the semis, none of the top teams appear to be playing particularly well, the Dutch should win with their drag flicker and a little bit more class around the field than the rest.
August 19th, 2008 at 10:14 am
Frank Murray + Hockey = Terrible, just terrible.
August 19th, 2008 at 11:27 am
Ask Wansy or Ash Carey how Frank stacks up tactically.
Or maybe ask Frank’s current (or previous) medical support staff how much they enjoy dealing with the overtraining injuries.
August 19th, 2008 at 11:57 am
Easy to blame the coach, but the players must take some responsibility. The last corner was one big stuff up. Not only the push out, but when Angie Lambert finally got the ball she had an unmarked player just to her right. All she needed to do was push the ball to her and that player would have had a clear shot at goal as all the Chinese defenders and goal keeper had moved across to the other side. And the ball they had near the half line with about 10 seconds to go, they needed to keep possession and move it towards the circle. There was an unmarked player to the right, instead a long pass that went to no one went over the back line. And where was their captain, hardly saw her all game? May not be the best coach in the world, but there’s only so much a coach can do, especially in the dying stages of a must-win game. And why do women’s teams always have men coaches? When was the last time you saw an international men’s team with a female coach? Certain female assistant waiting in the wings?
August 19th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
ballza, they were not strong or well prepared, they haven’t beaten anyone for a year. 4th ranked, came 5th at champions trophy, played bunnies in the first 3 games, did not play well and were lucky. murray paranoid of change or testing the team against the best – unlike dancer who improves his team by playing the best and putting the players under continual pressure. murray has made a mockery of the history of the hockeyroos.
August 19th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
stop bagging me I’ll get you with my notepad
August 19th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
if you truly are a ‘hockey tragic’ then you’ll know that Frank is the answer.
BTW- longest. post. ever. boring.
August 19th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Ballza wrote: His record is somewhat impressive taking the girls to Commonwealth Games Gold…
SM response: How difficult is it to win Commonwealth Gold…..How many teams ranked in the world top 10 compete in the Commonwealth Games ?
Marketing
August 19th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Ballza-thought the Hockeyroos drew with China 2-2?
August 19th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Same Same but Different Henry…
August 19th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
No doubt massive disappointment for all involved but it seems that it was defence that cost the girls this OG rather than the attacking side of things that they have struggled with lately.
On paper, and previous performances, they have probably the best back line in the world – Imison, McGurk, Halliday & Lambert BUT they have no weapons up front bar Hudson who has been hot and cold for some time now. Add to that a poor PC line up and they are always going to struggle to score goals.
Ultimately the coach has to take responsibility but he (or she) can only work with what they have so the bigger question is WHAT IS WRONG WITH WOMEN’S HOCKEY?
August 19th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Sorry Alf, didn’t know there was an acceptable post length for people with short attention spans. Guess I should have learnt from your first post, only one line but so insightful…
August 19th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
I thought the decision to hit long continually from defence was a questionable tactic, but may have worked against the Wagga Wagga thirds.
August 19th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
WHAT IS WRONG WITH WOMEN’S HOCKEY?
Don’t get me started….The sport is too closely tied to success at the Olympics.
It’s run and administered in the belief that you can hide away in WA and comes out once every four years.
Play endless and meaningless tournaments in front of zero crowds and then wonder why the sport and its players have no sponsors.
Is it any wonder Girls are just not taking up the sport.
Marketing
August 19th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
I accept your apology hockeytragic. I also don’t remember mentioning short attention spans. Clearly it was just zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
August 19th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
They just didn’t play that disciplined, organised hockey they used to… Often they looked like they didn’t know where each other was, where their opponent was in defence or where the next pass needed to go when they got it(I’m going to assume hitting over the back line wasn’t actually the aim).
The Chinese looked like they’ve practiced hard, had a plan, and were committed to carrying it out.
To me, that’s practice (as opposed to fitness).
August 19th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
For the first time in his life Mike Sheehan has hit the nail on the head. Muzza has them playing long out of the back, never passing to the centre halves and insides (why play 2 CH’s if you never use them?!). It may work against the lowly ranked sides he chooses to play to keep his record in tact, but decent teams must rub their hands together. Along with 50 other simple simon strategies (zone marking in the D) it’s the reason why they get spanked at major tournaments.
August 19th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
the amount of passes straight to a chinese stick, a lot coming from kobe mcgurk made me sick. most were from free hits aswell, it was just hit and hope, reminded me a shit juniors team
August 19th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
I agree with SM 100%
Forget about the wrong tactics,players and the coach.Have a look at the big picture.
Problem-There’s no $$$$$.Who wants to sponsor national teams based out of Perth?Nobody does.Why?No national exposure.
Solution-Get a blank piece of paper and start again.Otherwise,in the words of Talking Heads,”…we’re on the road to nowhere”.Have a look at Collingwood FC,good old Eddie Maguire got rid of the coach,support/medical staff,a crap ground and started again.
Hockey Australia is based in Melbourne so here’s as good a place as any to relocate to.Big population and an existing hockey base/culture.If not here then Syd./Bris.,but no where else.
Get some big names to drive it and at least the game will move forward.
If all else fails why not send Eddie a junior hockey kit or two for his kids.They have to be bored watching the Magpies each week.Just imagine if one of his kids took up hockey.Regardless of age and ability he/she gets fast tracked into the national squad with promises of a possible Olympic spot.Bing,bing,bong sponsors coming from everywhere to get on board.Then all cashed up with the State/Federal Govt.’s behind hockey,we build an indoor water based pitch and training facility at let’s say the Junction oval site.What a dream!
August 19th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
Frank Murray could coach Geelong FC to 9th.
He could coach Essendon HC to SL3.
His record speaks for itself. What looks like a moron, acts like a moron, and comments like a moron – surely then is……..(for clarity) a moron.
Whether it be tactics, communication, selection, team bonding, goal setting, strategy, Frank Murray is sadly lacking. He cost the Men, now it is the women. Will AHA ever learn?
August 20th, 2008 at 12:06 am
Deverstating for the Team. There were just too many errors. The Chinese were like a pack of hungry terriers, they were tenacious and did not give up. The Aussies did well too draw, but at the end of the day, they needed to win by more goals earlier in the tornament.
August 20th, 2008 at 8:47 am
frank must move on , should have gone ages ago
certain assistant coached the senior vic team to where ?And how many vics in the aust team ?
not a great recomendation .
zone defence made china look good .
The centre of hockey should not be in wa
Expected the team to be in a playoff for 5/6 did well to give themselves a sniff of finals .
Hockey aust stuffed up again , eastern seaboard .
Dont bang away on womens hockey , neither team had a major sponsor 6 months ago , when they play tests . No promotion . what value add does a sponsor get when the team is in perth , player dinners , training days , motivational and tactical days for sponsors must be impossible , no-one sponsors unless they get value , a 1mill sponsor in afl may get 600,000 in “value”
August 20th, 2008 at 11:48 am
The Hockeyroos have in the past been highly successful, but who have they had to compete with, two maybe three countries.
Put simply, the Hockeyroos have looked good because women in other countries don’t have the same opportunities as women in Australia. This over inflated view of the Hockeyroos success has allowed WA to take control of the sport in the belief that they know what they are doing. As more countries with serious teams come into Women’s Hockey, the WA centred hold on the sport will not scale.
The deeper issues in the sport are not being addressed.
Marketing
August 20th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Why is it that the location of the HPP becomes a problem when the team loses? Where was it based when the Hockeyroos went undefeated for so long under Charlesworth? Where has it been based for the past four years while the men’s team have headed the rankings? I think you need to find another tree to bark up!
August 20th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
fair enough Reality, and as far as i’m aware the HA board has decided that the program is to stay in Perth for another 3 Olympic cycles (12 years)..
August 20th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
16 years but who’s counting?
August 21st, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Interesting to note that the Hockeyroos lost by a goal and drew with the two teams that will contest the gold medal play off. So close but yet so far.
August 21st, 2008 at 2:38 pm
another 16 years and where are the major sponsors ?where do we play tests and how big are the crowds , are the participation rates increasing ?
FGS womens soccer just got $22 mill to fund a womens soccer national league to be televised , supposedly on the back of huge female participation rates
August 21st, 2008 at 4:31 pm
The week before the games, Nicky Hudson and Kate HollYWOOd were pumping up gold. Why? and why didn’t Rank reign them in?
He is totally clueless. Why was he saying ‘a pool of death’? when you are ranked 4th, and qualify second, thats the draw. If you are serious about medals, it shouldn’t matter – you are going to have to over acheive to get one anyway.
Why did he keep saying that Korea were his second favourite for gold? Korea were ranked 9th?, didn’t even qualify or play at champion’s trophy, were paying 40-1 at sportsbet before the games and are now playing off for last and second last.
Hockey Australia has a cardboard box waiting for him in his office
August 24th, 2008 at 11:10 am
Murray on London 2012
“If the players accept that they can work just as hard and that this could still happen again (5th) then they have to accept that and be prepared to do it,”
Very strange to be entertaining the thought that they may fail again with 4 years to go? work just as hard? maybe work harder?
“We came second in the World Cup, we won the Commonwealth Games and the one Champions Trophy that we took our top squad to in 2005 we finished second after penalty strokes,” he observed.
The ‘one’ champion’s trophy? he took his top squad to the champions trophy a month before the olympics. they came 5th. never let fact get in the way of begging for your job.