Kookaburras' Pro League dream dies with England defeat
The defeat for Tim Brand's side, after a brilliant sequence of six straight wins in Argentina and Europe, finally put paid to their hopes at the Lee Valley Centre with the Netherlands sealing the title that the Aussies had won in 2024.
It was a frustrating end to their thrilling European push and they only had themselves to blame, Tom Craig having a penalty stroke brilliantly saved by a diving England keeper James Mazarelo and the team managing to convert only one of 16 penalty corners.
While England celebrated their first victory in hockey's 'Ashes' for 11 years, there was frustration for Brand as he reflected: "It's a shame to let that one slip today.
"But we've come away to learn on this tour, and second (place in the league) is still up for grabs. I'm very proud of what we've done so far, it's not over yet.
"We played well, created a lot of chances, we were physical and we had a lot of energy, but we just couldn't put the ball in the back of the net. We'll go away and look at that, it's a young group and we'll take a lot from this game."
Coming off a sensational 4-3 comeback win against the same opposition on Saturday, the Kookaburras had to win and also prevail in their final two league matches against the hosts in Germany next week to snatch the title from the Dutch.
But Brand proved the only Aussie to get on the scoresheet, tapping home following one corner to level the scores after England had taken the lead in the third quarter against the run of play through Jack Waller after the Kookaburras had already squandered 11 short corners and missed the penalty stroke.
Then Waller proved the home hero, scoring a brilliant winner in the fourth quarter to give the hosts their first win after nine straight losses against Australia since 2014.
"Our playing style at the moment is as good as anyone's, we can match anyone in the world," said Brand. "The game just didn't fall our way today."
Meanwhile, the Hockeyroos delivered a brilliant 4-3 come-from-behind triumph over Germany in Berlin to end their Pro League season on a high.
Just 24 hours after getting hammered 4-0 by the hosts in Berlin, the Aussie women turned the tables emphatically on a sweltering afternoon, overcoming a 3-1 halftime deficit to win thanks to 15-minute burst in the second half.
Goals from Greta Hayes, Courtney Schonell, Grace Stewart and Lexie Pickering earned the famous win in their last match before September's three-match World Cup qualifying showdown against New Zealand in Darwin.
"What a way to finish this Pro League season! It's been an up-and-down campaign over here in Europe," player of the match Hayes conceded.
The Hockeyroos are in fourth place in the standings with the Netherlands women having long since wrapped up the title.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Courier-Mail
34 minutes ago
- Courier-Mail
Wallabies vs British and Irish Lions: Third Test live stream, preview, how to watch
Don't miss out on the headlines from Rugby. Followed categories will be added to My News. This Lions tour was said to be the first step of Rugby Australia turning a $36.8 million deficit into a profit. That may still be the case, with tens of thousands of touring fans pouring through the turnstiles for all three Tests. But where will a series whitewash leave the game as a whole in Australia? FOLLOW THE BUILD-UP AND THIRD TEST IN OUR BLOG BELOW Aussies love a winner, but the Wallabies haven't been doing much of that recently. The U8s running around suburban grounds in Sydney and Brisbane don't care about RA's bank balance. They want to see their heroes winning games and lifting trophies. That's the only way to ensure the next generation grows up throwing a Gilbert around rather than a Steeden or a Sherrin. JOSEPH-AUKUSO SUAALII'S BEST POSITION Suaalii has played well enough on attack – his break to set up Tom Wright's try in Melbourne last weekend was a perfect example. But he has repeatedly been caught out defensively. At times, so has his midfield partner Len Ikitau, who has been moved to inside centre rather than his preferred spot at outside to accommodate Suaalii. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii is brought to a halt during the second Test. Despite growing calls for Suaalii to be switched to the wing so the Wallabies can select a proven centre pairing of Hunter Paisami and Len Ikitau, head coach Joe Schmidt is sticking with his same midfield combo for game three but he can expect some criticism if it doesn't work out. THE BENCH Harry Potter's injury was a hiccup – and the Lions have much more depth that Australia – but Andy Farrell's supporters will argue that he also out-coached Joe Schmidt at the Melbourne Cricket Ground last weekend. Owen Farrell came on in the final quarter and provided an instant impact, off the ball as much as on it. Meanwhile, Ben Donaldson – who has several years more experience at Test level than Tom Lynagh - was left stranded on the bench as Australia desperately tried to hang on but couldn't, raising questions about Schmidt's tactics. Question marks were asked after Ben Donaldson watched on from the bench in Melbourne. Strangely, Schmidt picked a 6-2 forwards-backs split for Melbourne in the belief that it would rain, but when there wasn't a drop in the sky, it gave the Lions the advantage because they went with a traditional 5-3 split. But this week, with heavy showers forecast for Accor Stadium, the Lions have added an extra forward as a precaution for the weather while the Wallabies have returned to the 5-3 split they abandoned last week. THE WHISTLEBLOWERS Georgian referee Nika Amashukeli and his assistants will be under intense scrutiny this week after the controversial ending to the second Test when the match officials opted against penalising the Lions' backrower Jac Morgan for his clean-out on Carlo Tizzano. Schmidt launched a blistering attack over the ruling, saying it went against the game's pledge to player safety, which drew a sharp rebuke from World Rugby, which is trying to protect referees from the vile abuse they sometimes cop on social media. Nika Amashukeli shows Owen Farrell a yellow card. Regardless, with matches regularly stopped while Television Match Officials pore over replays of contentious incidents, the whistleblowers will be under more pressure than usual this weekend. TACKLE, TACKLE, TACKLE All the complaining in the world won't change the result from the first two matches but there is one area that might make a difference if they fix things up. When the Wallabies were the best team in the world, the cornerstone of their success was their outstanding defence. When they last won the World Cup, in 1999, they famously conceded just one try in six matches in the entire tournament. But in the two Tests against the Lions so far, they have given up eight tries, three in Brisbane then five in Melbourne, while also repeatedly falling off tackles. In Brisbane, the Wallabies missed 29 tackles in an eight point loss then missed 23 tackles in their three point loss in Melbourne. If they can plug those holes, they won't need to worry about blaming officials because they might just win. Originally published as Wallabies vs British and Irish Lions: Third Test preview, how to watch
The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
Young shades Rai for Wyndham lead, Aussie Scott falters
American Cameron Young has a one-stroke lead over defending champion Aaron Rai with play in the second round of the Wyndham Championship suspended by lightning. The PGA Tour's regular-season finale was halted on Friday afternoon with lightning in the area of the Sedgefield Country Club. The bad weather moved in as Australia's Adam Scott slipped down the leader board, likely dashing his chances of making the FedEx Cup playoffs. The round will resume on Saturday morning. Young and Rai were among those still on the course when play was called. Young had just birdied 14 and 15 to get to seven under for the round and 14 under for the tournament. Rai, from England, had six birdies through 13 holes completed. South Korea's Im Sung-jae shot 64 for the second straight day and shares the clubhouse lead with Mac Meissner at 12 under. Meissner fired a seven under 63 to climb the leaderboard. Mark Hubbard is alone in fifth at 11 under following a 66. After a strong first round, when he was just four shots off the lead, Scott fell back into a tie for 41st. He was one over for the second round through 14 holes to leave him four under for the tournament. The 45-year-old fired two birdies in a bright start to the front nine but matched that with two bogeys. A double bogey six at the 10th had him on the back foot before he scrambled a birdie at the 13th. Unless he can pull off something extraordinary, Scott will miss out on securing a spot in the playoffs starting next week. The Aussie needed to finish with a two-way tie for third or better to have a reason to fly to Memphis, something that was likely to require shooting 20 under in Greensboro. Meanwhile, fellow Australian Karl Vilips shot a three-under 67 in his completed second round to be tied for 22nd and six under for tournament. Joel Dahmen, the first-round leader thanks to a white-hot 61, was even par through 10 holes on Friday to remain at nine under. American Cameron Young has a one-stroke lead over defending champion Aaron Rai with play in the second round of the Wyndham Championship suspended by lightning. The PGA Tour's regular-season finale was halted on Friday afternoon with lightning in the area of the Sedgefield Country Club. The bad weather moved in as Australia's Adam Scott slipped down the leader board, likely dashing his chances of making the FedEx Cup playoffs. The round will resume on Saturday morning. Young and Rai were among those still on the course when play was called. Young had just birdied 14 and 15 to get to seven under for the round and 14 under for the tournament. Rai, from England, had six birdies through 13 holes completed. South Korea's Im Sung-jae shot 64 for the second straight day and shares the clubhouse lead with Mac Meissner at 12 under. Meissner fired a seven under 63 to climb the leaderboard. Mark Hubbard is alone in fifth at 11 under following a 66. After a strong first round, when he was just four shots off the lead, Scott fell back into a tie for 41st. He was one over for the second round through 14 holes to leave him four under for the tournament. The 45-year-old fired two birdies in a bright start to the front nine but matched that with two bogeys. A double bogey six at the 10th had him on the back foot before he scrambled a birdie at the 13th. Unless he can pull off something extraordinary, Scott will miss out on securing a spot in the playoffs starting next week. The Aussie needed to finish with a two-way tie for third or better to have a reason to fly to Memphis, something that was likely to require shooting 20 under in Greensboro. Meanwhile, fellow Australian Karl Vilips shot a three-under 67 in his completed second round to be tied for 22nd and six under for tournament. Joel Dahmen, the first-round leader thanks to a white-hot 61, was even par through 10 holes on Friday to remain at nine under. American Cameron Young has a one-stroke lead over defending champion Aaron Rai with play in the second round of the Wyndham Championship suspended by lightning. The PGA Tour's regular-season finale was halted on Friday afternoon with lightning in the area of the Sedgefield Country Club. The bad weather moved in as Australia's Adam Scott slipped down the leader board, likely dashing his chances of making the FedEx Cup playoffs. The round will resume on Saturday morning. Young and Rai were among those still on the course when play was called. Young had just birdied 14 and 15 to get to seven under for the round and 14 under for the tournament. Rai, from England, had six birdies through 13 holes completed. South Korea's Im Sung-jae shot 64 for the second straight day and shares the clubhouse lead with Mac Meissner at 12 under. Meissner fired a seven under 63 to climb the leaderboard. Mark Hubbard is alone in fifth at 11 under following a 66. After a strong first round, when he was just four shots off the lead, Scott fell back into a tie for 41st. He was one over for the second round through 14 holes to leave him four under for the tournament. The 45-year-old fired two birdies in a bright start to the front nine but matched that with two bogeys. A double bogey six at the 10th had him on the back foot before he scrambled a birdie at the 13th. Unless he can pull off something extraordinary, Scott will miss out on securing a spot in the playoffs starting next week. The Aussie needed to finish with a two-way tie for third or better to have a reason to fly to Memphis, something that was likely to require shooting 20 under in Greensboro. Meanwhile, fellow Australian Karl Vilips shot a three-under 67 in his completed second round to be tied for 22nd and six under for tournament. Joel Dahmen, the first-round leader thanks to a white-hot 61, was even par through 10 holes on Friday to remain at nine under. American Cameron Young has a one-stroke lead over defending champion Aaron Rai with play in the second round of the Wyndham Championship suspended by lightning. The PGA Tour's regular-season finale was halted on Friday afternoon with lightning in the area of the Sedgefield Country Club. The bad weather moved in as Australia's Adam Scott slipped down the leader board, likely dashing his chances of making the FedEx Cup playoffs. The round will resume on Saturday morning. Young and Rai were among those still on the course when play was called. Young had just birdied 14 and 15 to get to seven under for the round and 14 under for the tournament. Rai, from England, had six birdies through 13 holes completed. South Korea's Im Sung-jae shot 64 for the second straight day and shares the clubhouse lead with Mac Meissner at 12 under. Meissner fired a seven under 63 to climb the leaderboard. Mark Hubbard is alone in fifth at 11 under following a 66. After a strong first round, when he was just four shots off the lead, Scott fell back into a tie for 41st. He was one over for the second round through 14 holes to leave him four under for the tournament. The 45-year-old fired two birdies in a bright start to the front nine but matched that with two bogeys. A double bogey six at the 10th had him on the back foot before he scrambled a birdie at the 13th. Unless he can pull off something extraordinary, Scott will miss out on securing a spot in the playoffs starting next week. The Aussie needed to finish with a two-way tie for third or better to have a reason to fly to Memphis, something that was likely to require shooting 20 under in Greensboro. Meanwhile, fellow Australian Karl Vilips shot a three-under 67 in his completed second round to be tied for 22nd and six under for tournament. Joel Dahmen, the first-round leader thanks to a white-hot 61, was even par through 10 holes on Friday to remain at nine under.
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Young shades Rai for Wyndham lead, Aussie Scott falters
American Cameron Young has a one-stroke lead over defending champion Aaron Rai with play in the second round of the Wyndham Championship suspended by lightning. The PGA Tour's regular-season finale was halted on Friday afternoon with lightning in the area of the Sedgefield Country Club. The bad weather moved in as Australia's Adam Scott slipped down the leader board, likely dashing his chances of making the FedEx Cup playoffs. The round will resume on Saturday morning. Young and Rai were among those still on the course when play was called. Young had just birdied 14 and 15 to get to seven under for the round and 14 under for the tournament. Rai, from England, had six birdies through 13 holes completed. South Korea's Im Sung-jae shot 64 for the second straight day and shares the clubhouse lead with Mac Meissner at 12 under. Meissner fired a seven under 63 to climb the leaderboard. Mark Hubbard is alone in fifth at 11 under following a 66. After a strong first round, when he was just four shots off the lead, Scott fell back into a tie for 41st. He was one over for the second round through 14 holes to leave him four under for the tournament. The 45-year-old fired two birdies in a bright start to the front nine but matched that with two bogeys. A double bogey six at the 10th had him on the back foot before he scrambled a birdie at the 13th. Unless he can pull off something extraordinary, Scott will miss out on securing a spot in the playoffs starting next week. The Aussie needed to finish with a two-way tie for third or better to have a reason to fly to Memphis, something that was likely to require shooting 20 under in Greensboro. Meanwhile, fellow Australian Karl Vilips shot a three-under 67 in his completed second round to be tied for 22nd and six under for tournament. Joel Dahmen, the first-round leader thanks to a white-hot 61, was even par through 10 holes on Friday to remain at nine under.
