2023: A Year In Review
Published Mon 04 Dec 2023
2023 was another big year for hockey in Queensland, with our community celebrating many milestones, achievements, and successes! Let's look back at the year that was, month by month, with just a few highlights from each one. This was just a small snippet of what our Queenslanders got up to during the year.
JANUARY #TheYearThatWas
🏑 Tim Howard made his 100th appearance for the Kookaburras against South Africa at the FIH World Cup.
🏑 The 2023 Australian Indoor Championships made their return after a four-year hiatus. Our Queensland Teams had a spectacular campaign, notching up the following results:
- In the Opens Tournament, the Men finished 5th and the Women 4th, with Jess Moffat named Player of the Tournament.
- In the U21 Competition, both the Men’s team and the Women’s Maroon teams finished 4th, while the Women’s Gold team placed 5th, and Lucy Cooper was named as one of the recipients of the Player of the Tournament Award
- The U18 Women’s Maroon Team claimed gold 🥇, while the Gold Team finished 5th. Alex Risetto was the Highest Goals corer for the Tournament and Karissa van der Wath was named the Player of the Final. In the Men’s competition, the Gold team finished 5th and the Maroon team 6th.
- Both the U15 Boys and Girls Maroon teams won gold 🥇, while the Girls Gold team took 4th and the Boys Gold team finished in 5th, with Jordan Donald and Lily Punch both the Highest Goal scorer for their respective tournaments.
- The U13’s rounded out the competition, with all teams finishing 1st and 2nd in the nation, in an incredible achievement. The Girls Fire and Boys shots both took gold 🥇, and the Girls Flare and Boys Spur each took silver 🥈.
FEBRUARY #TheYearThatWas
🏑 After Trials were held in February, the 2023 U21 and U15 State Teams were selected.
🏑 The final Hockeyroos squad was announced, with eight Queenslanders named to the National Squad for 2023:
- Claire Colwill
- Hannah Cullum-Sanders
- Madison Fitzpatrick
- Rebecca Greiner
- Stephanie Kershaw
- Rosie Malone
- Tatum Stewart
- Renee Taylor
🏑 Morgan Gallagher and Meg Pearce were selected to the Women’s 2023 National Development Squad.
🏑 Five Queenslanders, including Claire Colwill, Madison Fitzpatrick, Rebecca Greiner, Stephanie Kershaw, and Rosie Malone were named to the Hockeyroos Squad that took on China and Germany in the Sydney leg of their FIH Pro League matches.
🏑 Jayden Atkinson made his debut for the Kookaburras, named to the squad who opened their FIH Pro League 2022-23 campaign in Hobart, alongside fellow Queenslanders Jacob Anderson and Tim Howard. For the Hockeyroos, Claire Colwill, Hannah Cullum-Sanders, Rebecca Greiner, Meg Pearce, and Renee Taylor were named to the squad who also competed in Hobart.
🏑 12 Queenslanders were selected in the extended Australian Hockey5s squads.
Women:
- Karina Curtis (gk)
- Holly Gilbar
- Eva Kersovnoske
- Jessica Moffat
- Samantha Morris
- Jessie Staples
- Leigh Thomas
- Jessica Wilkinson
Men
- Mitchell Ivory
- Jaylob Lobley (gk)
- Zac Profke
- Jun Sugio
🏑 The 2023 Australian Men’s and Women’s Junior (U21) Squads were announced, as were the 2023 Australian Men’s and Women’s Emerging (U18) Squads, with a total of 35 Queenslanders selected across the four squads.
🏑 The Australian Junior Women's Indoor Hockey Team, which included Queenslanders Ella White, Jessica Moffat, Gen Ferguson and Anniston Chappell, were crowned the USA National Indoor Tournament Champions.
🏑 Queenslanders Jordan Bliss, Madeline Kenny, Kyra Livermore, and Jade Reid joined the Australian U21 Jillaroos Team that took on Japan.
🏑 The 2023 Indoor World Cup wrapped up, with Queenslander Jackson Willie part of the team that finished 11th.
🏑 14 Queenslanders were appointed to various roles at the three FIH Events held in February, including Adam Barry (Umpire) and Joe Greensill (Technical Official) at the 2023 Men's FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup; Aleisha Neumann (umpire) and Kerry Liebenberg (technical judge) at the Sydney Pro League Matches; and Jennie Reynolds (Technical Delegate, Lynn Cowie-McAlister (Umpire Manager), Tara Leonard (umpire), Chris Harris (technical officer), Naomi Crase (technical officer), Tracey Doyle (technical judge), Kathryn Austen (technical judge), Carol Chiu Chong (technical judge), Caitlin Gotting (technical judge), and Jan Walker (technical judge) at the U21s Jillaroos vs Japan Test series.
🏑 Aaron Gotting and Tara Leonard were appointed to the inaugural Oceania Officials Development Program.
🏑 The Hockey Australia Technical Skills Camp was held at the State Hockey Centre with our up-and-coming superstars having the opportunity to learn from hockey legends Mark Knowles, Mark Hager, Angie Lambert, Matt Wells and Lee Bodimeade.
MARCH #TheYearThatWas
🏑 100 Years of Women's Hockey in Queensland was celebrated.
🏑 The Australian Senior 2023 Indoor Squads were announced, with 11 Queenslanders named to the Women’s and Men’s Squads
Women:
- Anniston Chappell
- Holly Gilbar
- Eden Jackat
- Jess Moffat
- Ella White
- Emily Witheyman-Crump
Men
- Joshua Blakey
- Josh McPaul
- Zac Profke
- Jun Sugio
- Jackson Willie
🏑 Morgan Gallagher and Tatum Stewart debuted for the Hockeyroos.
Queenslanders Jacob Anderson, Jake Whetton, Tim Howard and Jayden Atkinson were named to the Kookaburras Squad that competed against India and Germany in the Rourkela leg of the FIH Pro League matches.
🏑 The Australian U21 Championships concluded, with the Women finishing 🥈 second to NSW and the Men finishing 🥉 third in a thrilling shootout victory against Victoria. Both of our Queensland teams brought home the Player the Whistle awards in true #TeamQLD style.
APRIL #TheYearThatWas
🏑 The Women’s and Men’s Australian Junior (Under 21) squads (Jillaroos and Burras) were announced, with Queenslanders representing a third of the selected Jillaroo Squad and four of the selected Burras Squad.
Women:
- Jordan Bliss
- Mihaylia Howell
- Madeline Kenny
- Kyra Livermore
- Camryn Mathison
- Jade Reid
- Karissa Van der Wath
- Keeley Walker
- Georgina West
Men:
- Diarmid Chappell
- Noah Fahy
- Will Mathison
- Eddie Westcott
🏑 Joel Rintala debuted for the Kookaburras.
🏑 Jake Whetton made his 250th appearance for the Kookaburras.
🏑 Seven Queenslanders were named to the Hockeyroos Squad that took on New Zealand and Great Britain in the FIH Pro League 'mini tournament’, including Claire Colwill, Hannah Callum-Sanders, Maddy Fitzpatrick, Rebecca Greiner, Rosie Malone, Tatum Stewart, and Renee Taylor, with Meg Pearce selected as a non-travelling reserve.
🏑 Keegan Popowski was appointed as National Women's Hockey5s Coach.
🏑 The Australian U15 Championships wrapped up with Queensland have had a dominating campaign, coming home with both Gold Medals 🥇 after an undefeated run by the Maroon Boys and Girls Teams. The Gold Girls finished the tournament in 4th and the Gold Boys in equal 5th. Lily Punch (Maroon) and Cody Hale (Maroon) both won their respective Top Scorer Awards, with Lily finishing with 22 and Cody with 21. Aurora Kovacevich finished up as second highest female scorer with 12 goals, and Daniel Evans as third highest male scorer with 11.
MAY #TheYearThatWas
🏑 Six Queenslanders were named to the Australian Hockey5s Teams
Women
- Holly Gilbar
- Eva Kersovnoske
- Jessica Moffat
- Samantha Morris
Men
- Zac Profke
- Jun Sugio
🏑 The Hockey Queensland Championship wrapped up, bringing over 300 of Queensland's best athletes together across 21 teams to fight it out for their Associations. In the Men’s competition, Toowoomba dug deep and blew the score out in the final quarter to finish State Champions 9 – 3 over Ipswich. The Women's Grand Final brought Ipswich and Gold Coast head-to-head for a thrilling match, with Gold Coast becoming State Champions 5 - 3.
🏑 Noah Fahy was selected to compete in the Burras Team European Tour.
🏑 Paul Mantell was elected as President of the Hockey Queensland Board, following Steve Stewart stepping down after 7 years as President.
🏑 The first Junior State Championships of the year, the Chemist Warehouse U18 Men’s Championship, wrapped up in style. In the Division 1 Final, Toowoomba 1 met Brisbane 1, with Toowoomba 1 taking the title, while in Division 2, Bundaberg were the winners over Townsville 1.
🏑 Following the Men’s Competition, the Women’s U18 Championships were also run and won, and saw Brisbane 1 claim honours in Division 1, Sunshine Coast in Divison 2, and Cairns 2 in Division 3. At the completion the competitions, the Queensland U18 Teams were announced.
🏑 Hockey Queensland received a Silver Tier Rating at the Pride in Sport Australia Awards.
🏑 Queenslanders Jacob Anderson, Daniel Beale, Tim Howard, and Jake Whetton were selected to the Kookaburras Squad for the European Pro League Tour.
🏑 Morgan Gallagher, Meg Pearce, Tatum Stewart were named to represent Australia in a 3-match test series against India.
🏑 Morgan Gallagher, Meg Pearce were also selected to the Australian A Team that also took on India, along with Casey Dolkens, Ruby Harris and Jade Smith.
🏑 The 2023 Big Hockey Hit Out Teams were announced, with a total of 144 athletes named to the 8 teams, vying for selection to the Men’s and Women’s Blaze Squads for the 2023 Hockey One Season.
🏑 The players selected for the 2023 Country Queensland Teams were announced, with the teams set to compete at the Australian Country Championships in August.
JUNE #TheYearThatWas
🏑 Former Hockeyroo Tracey Belbin OAM was announced as a recipient of a Hockey Australia Award of Merit.
🏑 The Hockey Queensland Women’s Masters State Championships saw 50 teams compete in Toowoomba, with Brisbane 1 crowned the champions of the Division 1 competition, Mackay 1 the Division 2 Champions, Brisbane 3 the Division 3 Champions, Ipswich 2 the Division 4 Champions, Toowoomba 3 the Division 5 Champions, and Tweed 3 the Division 6 Champions. It was also announced that the Player of the Tournament Award would now be known as the “Jenny Tidey Player of the Tournament”, with Jenny Tidey OAM a life member of Hockey Queensland.
🏑 Following the completion of the Women’s Masters State Championships, players were selected and announced for the 2023 Queensland Women’s Masters State Teams.
🏑 The Big Hockey Hit Out (BHHO) - Queensland's most competitive event – was run, with players vying for selection the Men’s and Women’s 2023 Blaze Squads. In the Men’s Competition, the Stingers defeated Thunder in a shootout, while in the Women’s, Reef defeated Rays. Following the BHHO, the extended 2023 Brisbane Blaze Squads were announced.
🏑 Hockey Queensland announced a partnership with TAFE QLD to launch the Brisbane Blaze TAFE at School Program.
🏑 The North and Central Regional Camps were held in Townsville and Rockhampton.
JULY #TheYearThatWas
🏑 Six Queenslanders were announced to the Hockeyroos 18-player team for the 2023 Oceania Cup, including Claire Colwill, Rebecca Greiner, Stephanie Kershaw, Rosie Malone, Tatum Stewart, and Renee Taylor, with the competition doubling as qualification to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
🏑 Three Queenslanders – Daniel Beale, Tim Howard, and Jacob Whetton – were named to the Kookaburras Squad to compete at the 2023 Oceania Cup, the competition doubling as qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
🏑 The Hockey Queensland Chemist Warehouse U13 Boy’s State Championships wrapped up, with 20 teams competing in Cairns. In Division 1, Brisbane 1 were the winners while in Division 2, it was Townsville 1 who topped the podium.
🏑 The Hockey Queensland Chemist Warehouse U13 Girl’s State Championships saw 27 teams competing on the Sunshine Coast. In Division 1, Brisbane 1 were once again the winners, while Fraser Coast and Mackay took honours in Divisions 2 and 3 respectively. Following the two competitions, the 2023 Queensland U13 Boy’s and Girl’s Teams were both announced.
🏑 The 2023 U18 Australian Hockey Championships wrapped up, with Queensland having had another outstanding campaign. The Maroon Women came home with a Gold Medal 🥇 after an undefeated run and the Maroon Men brought home a Silver Medal 🥈, while Women's Gold Team finished in 5th and the Men's Gold Team finished 8th. Camryn Mathison was named the Women’s Player of the Tournament and Queensland Gold won the Play by the Whistle Award, while Matt Hawthorne was the Men’s Top Goal Scorer (10).
🏑 Tidy Connect signed a partnership with Hockey Queensland.
🏑 Brent Brown (Technical Official), Lynn Cowie-McAlister (Umpire Manager), Aleisha Neumann (Umpire) and Steve Rogers (Umpire), were selected to officiate at the 2023 FIH Oceania Cup, while Joanne Greensill (Technical Official) and Lynn Cowie-McAlister (Umpire Manager) were announced for the 2024 Hockey 5s World Cup (Women’s Competition).
🏑 15 Queenslanders were selected to the 2023 Australia U18 Futures Squads.
🏑 The Australian Men’s and Women’s Hockey 5s Teams, which included six Queenslanders – won the inaugural Oceania Cup, qualifying for the 2024 Hockey5s World Cup in the process.
AUGUST #TheYearThatWas
🏑 The 2023 Australian Country Championships concluded, with the Queensland Women making it back-to-back titles 🥇 after prevailing in one the most exciting finishes to a Country Championships match on record, outlasting New South Wales 4-3 in a shootout after scores were locked 3-3 at full time. Queensland also won the Men’s bronze medal 🥉 with a 4-1 victory over New South Wales, all five goals coming from the 45th minute onwards. Holly Gilbar was also named the Women’s Player of the Tournament.
🏑 The final squads of 22 were announced for the Men’s and Women’s Brisbane Blaze Teams were announced, ahead of Season 3 of the Hockey One League kicking off in October.
🏑 Eight Queenslanders were named to the 23-player Jillaroos (Australia U21 Women’s) squad, including Jordan Bliss, Claire Colwill, Hannah Cullum-Sanders, Mihaylia Howell, Camryn Mathison, Jade Reid, Tatum Stewart, and Karissa Van der Wath.
🏑 Hockey Queensland hosted the Brisbane Tri-Series between the Australian U21 Jillaroos, Japanese Women’s Club Team Coca Cola Red Sparks and QLD Women’s High Performance, with the series held in conjunction with the Australian Jillaroos Camp, which featured 9 Queenslanders.
🏑 The Hockeyroos and Kookaburras Teams – which included nine Queenslanders across the two teams – both won the Oceania Cup, securing their qualification to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
SEPTEMBER #TheYearThatWas
🏑 Aleisha Neumann and Steve Rogers were named as two of the five Australian Officials appointed to officiate at the 2024 Olympics in Paris by FIH.
🏑 The Hockey Queensland Chemist Warehouse U15 Boy’s State Championships wrapped with 19 teams having competed in Hervey Bay. Brisbane 1 won the Division 1 competition and Gympie won the Division 2 Competition.
🏑 The Girl’s competition also concluded in after 23 teams came together to compete in Mackay, with Brisbane 1 winning Division 1, Fraser Coast Division 2, and Gladstone Division 3. Following the conclusion of the competition, the 2024 U16 Squads were named.
🏑 Three Queenslanders were named to represent the Burras (Australia’s Under 21 Men’s Hockey Team) at the 2023 Sultan of Johor Cup, including Diarmid Chappell, Noah Fahy, and Will Mathison.
🏑 Panasonic Air Conditioning signed a partnership agreement with the Brisbane Blaze.
🏑 The 2023 Australian U13 Carnival concluded. In the Girl’s competition, the Queensland Cinders claimed the Australian Title 🥇, while the Embers finished with the bronze medal 🥉. In the Boy’s competition, the Cutters finished in 4th and the Sabres in 7th.
OCTOBER #TheYearThatWas
🏑 Aaron Averay and Kendall Gilding were appointed to the Hockey Queensland Board.
🏑 Season 3 of the JDH Hockey One League kicked off, with the Brisbane Blaze teams eyeing off the chance to improve their finishes from the 2022 season.
🏑 The Australian and Australia A Teams to represent Australia at the 2024 Masters World Cups were announced, with an incredible 186 Queenslanders selected across the 30 teams, including shadow players.
🏑Seven Queenslanders were selected the 18-player Jillaroos Team to represent Australia at the 10th edition of the FIH Hockey Junior Women’s World Cup 2023. They were Jordan Bliss, Claire Colwill, Hannah Cullum-Sanders, Maddy Kenny, Jade Reid, Tatum Stewart, and Karissa van der Wath.
🏑 12 Queensland officials were appointed for the 2023 JDH Hockey One League, including:
- Technical Officials – Jennie Reynolds, Kerry Liebenberg, Brent Brown, and Joanne Greensill
- Umpires – Steve Rogers, Aleisha Neumann, Ben de Young, Aaron Gotting, and Deb O’Connell
- Umpire Managers – Lynn Cowie-McAlister, Adam Barry, and Julie Ashton-Lucy
🏑 The Hockey Queensland Annual Awards Night returned to great acclaim. Congratulations to our finalists and winners and thank you to everyone for their support in ensuring the night was a smashing success!
🏑 Hockey Queensland held the Parliamentary Friends of Hockey activation on the Speakers Green at Queensland Parliament, which saw Hockey Chairs Joan Pease MP and Sam O'Connor MP continue their support in advocating for hockey.
NOVEMBER #TheYearThatWas
🏑 The 2024 Queensland U15 Indoor Boys Teams were announced, with the teams set to compete at the U15 Australian Indoor Championships.
🏑 The 2024 Queensland Open & U21 Indoor Men's and Women’s Teams were announced, with the teams set to compete at their respective events - the Australian Indoor Open Championships and the Australian Indoor U21 Championships.
🏑 The 2024 Queensland U13 Girls Indoor Teams were announced, with the teams set to compete at the Australian Indoor U13 Championships
🏑 Queenslanders Noah Fahy, Diarmid Chappell and Will Mathison were selected in the 20-player Burras (Australian Under 21 Men’s Hockey) Squad set to compete at the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup in December.
🏑 John Paul College signed a partnership agreement with Hockey Queensland and the Brisbane Blaze.
🏑 The home and away leg of Season 3 of the JDH Hockey One League wrapped up in incredible style! The home game attendance records were broken twice, as the Blaze Women took top place on the ladder, while the Blaze Men finished in second. Additionally, Brisbane Blaze won the inaugural One Hockey Cup, pipping NSW Pride on goals for!
🏑 The Brisbane Blaze Women and Men both won the 2023 JDH Hockey One League. The women took the victory with a 4-1 win over the Canberra Chill, whilst the men went to shootouts after the score was locked up 3-3 in regular tine. Jake Whetton slotted his 1v1 to lead the boys to their first ever Hockey One League victory.
🏑 The 2024 u21 Squads were named. Congratulations to the squad of players who have been selected. The squads will trial in Brisbane at the State Hockey Centre on January 19-20, 2024.
🏑The two 'Australian All Stars' teams full of Queenslanders that competed at the Mirnawan Cup, an U17 Invitational Tournament held from 18th – 26th November 2023 have came home with Gold and 4th.
DECEMBER #TheYearThatWas
🏑 The Hockey Queensland Indoor State Championships wrapped up after 9 events in 7 weeks www.hockeyqld.com.au/news/indoor-state-championships-wrap-up
🏑 The remaining Indoor State Teams were named for the Australian Indoor Championships beginning in January in Canberra
🏑 At the Queensland Sport Awards Dinner Brent Brown was named as the BCC QLD Volunteer of the Year and Lyn Hill was awarded a Queensland Government Service To Sport Award
🏑 7 of our Queensland Men were named in the 2024 Kookaburras Squad including:
• Jacob Anderson
• Jayden Atkinson
• Daniel Beale
• Tim Howard
• Joel Rintala
• Corey Weyer
• Jake Whetton
🏑 6 of our Queensland Women have been named in the 2024 Hockeyroos Squad including
• Claire Colwill
• Rebecca Greiner
• Steph Kershaw
• Rosie Malone
• Tatum Stewart
• Renee Taylor
🏑 7 Queenslanders were named in the 2024 National Women’s Development Squad including:
• Hannah Cullum-Sanders
• Dayle Dolkens
• Casey Dolkens
• Madison Fitzpatrick
• Kendra Fitzpatrick
