HOCKEY
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
BATHURST hockey star Tamsin Bunt has been given the best confirmation yet that she is firmly in the sights of national selectors after being named in a preliminary squad for the Australian indoor side.
Bunt is one of 28 players named in the women’s team, having impressed while representing New South Wales at the Australian Championships in January where they finished second behind Queensland.
Last week the men’s and women’s squads were named, and both will be trimmed or altered as required in the run-up to the 2018 World Cup.
Bunt was a near certainty to go to the last World Cup but had those hopes ended by injury. That knee problem interrupted her progress not only at an indoor level, but in terms of her field hockey career with the NSW Arrows as well.
While she said that field hockey is marginally more of a priority, Bunt is delighted to see that her efforts to regain her best form have been rewarded.
“We finished second at the nationals. We had a draw with Queensland in the round games but they got us 5-3 in the final, which was probably a bit of a surprise because traditionally they’ve done well in outdoor hockey, but not so much at indoor level,” Bunt said.
“I didn’t get to go to the last World Cup because it came around just as I picked up my injury, so to get re-selected kind of re-assures me that I’m good enough if I’m fit.
“As far as I understand it, they are going to try and keep this same squad together for the next 18 months and although there will no doubt be the odd change here and there depending on players’ fitness and that sort of thing, I think the final World Cup team will come from the 28 they’ve already named.
“There aren’t as many opportunities to play at indoor tournaments or go on tours as there are with outdoor, so it is important that whenever I get the chance, I make the most of it.”
The men’s indoor team have a European tour already loosely scheduled for December this year, while it is expected that the women’s side will also head overseas at around the same time before the 2017 national titles in January.
As she tries to put her name back in the mix for Hockeyroos selection, Bunt will put her indoor commitments to the side for a while, beginning with the NSW Field Hockey Championships on the June long weekend with the Bathurst team.
Her husband Jye will coach the Bathurst team, who have been in training for the tournament. Bunt wants to ensure that she is picked for the NSW Arrows leading into the Australian Hockey League competition in September by playing well at that event.
“I love both forms of the game, the schedule of outdoor hockey is probably more demanding, but maybe I would consider it slightly more important than the indoor stuff,” she said.
“Every year I love the chance to get back into the Bathurst side and we’re working hard to make sure that we have a good shot at the title this year.
“Some years you get there and a lot of the players are only meeting one another the night before it starts. This time around we’re training each week and because I’m spending a few days a week in Bathurst, it has given me a good chance to train with the rest of the team.”
Her selection to the Australian indoor squad coincides with National Hockey Week, an initiative designed to help celebrate the game in general as well as the people who play it, notably stars like Bunt and other state and national representatives.
It heralds a busy time for Bathurst hockey, with the state championship campaigns looming as well as a school holiday clinic being held here in July.
The under 12 development clinic is being run by Hockey NSW and anyone interested in registering can do so by visiting https://developclinics.eventdesq.com/