JAY Stacy believes the Burras will make an enthralling impact coupled with individual brilliance in the FIH Junior World Cup from Dec 5-16 at the National Hockey Stadium.
The Australians, ranked ninth in the FIH World Rankings behind host Malaysia, have made changes to the squad that finished second to Germany in the 11th edition of the Sultan of Johor Cup earlier this month.
Perhaps one of the greatest Kookaburras of all time, Stacy, who represented Australia on 321 occasions and scored 172 goals, said there are some changes to the squad that played in the Sultan of Johor Cup recently.
“We have 28 pretty talented players. Some players went to Europe in June on tour and also played in Johor. We wanted to allow everyone to play in international matches,” said Stacy, a highly respected coach after his retirement from playing. He had also competed in four Summer Olympics.
“We selected the Junior World Cup team taking into consideration all their performances, and we picked the best 18.”
The four-time Olympian stressed that Australia, like all the other teams, plans to move forward and qualify for the next rounds.
“There are a lot of steps on the ladder, and we just want to make sure we take it one step at a time, and make sure we improve throughout the tournament, both individually and as a team.
“There are certainly some individual players in the team who can turn the game around. And then there are other players who we rely a lot on structure and steadiness to allow those players to play their natural game.” Added Stacy.
The Australians, added Stacy, have a good balance in the team.
“We have some playmakers and game-changers. We are a compact team. There are some very talented individual players, and that is a nice thing for a coach to have. Physically fit and mentally strong, also,” said Stacy.
Malaysia, defending champions Argentina, Australians, and Chileans are drawn in Group A.
“We have very good opponents in Argentina, Chile and also the host nation. They are all difficult matches and represent different challenges. The players did some homework before coming here. They studied all our opponents in small groups on videos,” he said.
He admitted that the Malaysians have improved a lot after watching Mohammad Amin’s boys perform at the SOJC.
“They are the host nation and will provide some emotions and motivations,” Stacy said.