Tassie’s key players at Hockey Australia’s U21 Championships

The majority of the squad earned a gold medal at U18 level, famously going undefeated, and return with a host of Premier League talents to avenge their ill fortune in last year’s medal rounds.

Coach Ben Read, believes as many as eight Tasmanian players could come into national contention for December’s Junior World Cup side, but selection will be a by-product of Tasmania producing a strong team result.

“Obviously we have a really strong team heading into the U21s next week, with a number of players having featured in the Tassie Tigers last year,” Read said.

“If we can keep everyone fit and healthy, and playing good team hockey, then I’m confident that we have a good chance of making the medal matches again.

“I think the guys will have learnt a lot from both the semi-final and the bronze medal game – both could easily have gone our way had we have taken our chances early in the games.”

The Mercury has taken a closer look at the players to watch out for, with all the action live streamed at livehockey.com starting with Tasmania against South Australia at 10am on Saturday.

Lachie Rogers (co-captain)

Set to become Tasmania’s first ever dual-Junior World Cup representative this year after featuring in 2023, where they fell 3-2 to eventual silver medallists France in their quarter-final. Rogers’ blistering speed and line breaking ability allows the third-year medicine student to make incisions in opposition defensive structures and counter attack with venom.

Oliver Stebbings (co-captain)

The 18-year-old has the world at his feet, much like idol Eddie Ockenden did at his age. He’s currently involved with Australia A and starred in their opening 10-1 flogging of Malaysia, under the watchful eye of Kookaburras coach Mark Hager. Effortlessly stepped up to Hockey One League level in 2024 and has been a mainstay of the Burras defence throughout their preparation.

Magnus McCausland

Earned the Goalkeeper of the Tournament award at the 2024 Sultan of Johor Cup and a strong Hockey One League campaign was followed by his heroics in the Junior World Cup qualifiers, where he won Australia the series with his penalty shootout saves in game three. Those performances have installed him as the number one keeper for the Junior World Cup and his incredible shot stopping ability will go a long way to determining Tasmania’s finishing position.

Oscar Pritchard

The Premier League’s top goal scorer in 2024 was rewarded with his Tassie Tigers debut and a late call-up for the Junior World Cup qualifiers, where he hit the scoreboard and impressed with his integration to the squad. His penalty corner flicking has been impressive at club level and he’ll be setting himself for a damaging week.

Max Johnstone

Injury and indifferent form in his recovery has marred his national selection hopes at key moments, but the enigmatic forward and danger man looks to be cherry ripe after clinching a hat-trick on Saturday for DiamondBacks. An ultimate team man, Johnstone works tirelessly in the attacking press and has an uncanny knack for scoring important goals. Part of a penalty corner flicking hierarchy with Stebbings, Pritchard and Oscar Sproule which is unrivalled across the nation in this age-group.

Oscar Sproule

A serious hamstring injury cruelled his national championship campaign 12 months ago, leaving Tasmania short of another key attacking threat in the medal rounds. A natural goal scorer and creator of chances, Sproule’s learning off-field during rehab will now see him raise his on-field leadership. A feast of goals and assists could thrust him into Burras contention and if he arrives there it would be difficult to place limits on what may be possible.

Ruben Hoey

There’s no denying the unparalleled talent that Hoey possesses, which was on full display when he claimed the Premier League MVP award in 2022 as a mere baby-face. But through inconsistency, Hoey’s stocks faded into glimpses at last year’s national championships, and he likely fell off the selectors first choice radar. If Read can light a fire in his belly and free him from the weight of personal expectation, there’s a potential big game matchwinner that would be hard to Stacy to ignore.

Jack Pritchard

The unassuming, yet incredibly reliable defender is admittedly a smokies chance at best, but his unquestionable reliability and polished disposal would be an asset in the national junior program in the years ahead. Others, such as Rogers and Stebbings, shine brighter with a player of Pritchard’s ilk beside them, and alongside teammate Will Sproule, he’ll form a dependable back group that is difficult to breakdown and impossible to outwork, even against older opponents.

Originally published as Tassie’s key players at Hockey Australia’s U21 Championships