Question: Excited to play overseas and experience various cultures?
Emily Smith: Yeah really exciting but more excited that we will have some high-quality matches in Australia. It is very rare that we have the likes of Netherlands, Argentina traveling all the way to Australia. So, it will be really exciting for the Hockey fans to see that and hope it will help to grow Hockey, back home as well
Q: What does #FIHProLeague mean to your team?
ES: It is very exciting, for instance, nobody from our squad has been here before in China so it is about being able to adapt to different cultures. Food has been a bit of a challenge for us, but we pride ourselves for being resilient and performing no matter what. Those are just little hurdles along the way. Every team has to come here and play on the same pitch. These are tine hurdles and if we cannot let that worry us then when we come out on the field our focus is only on Hockey.
Q: Expecting similar crowds as 2018 Commonwealth games for Hockey matches?
ES: Yes, definitely. Hockey is a family sport in Australia and once one person plays the whole family plays. So there will be a lot of people supporting and coming out to see some of the high quality teams play in Australia, which is a rarity. So, really looking forward to the challenge of the #FIHProLeague.
Q: Will #FIHProLeague change your approach to international fixtures?
ES: Yes but we haven’t changed too much so far but of course we have got the support staff who are working behind the scenes to make sure that everything is ready to go when we get back in 2019. In Australia we have got a lot of sporting, we do that regularly in the AFL and the Rugby League and we are a tight-knit sporting community so we use their resources and what they have done for the last 20 years to be able to learn quickly and hopefully adapt to the quickest with the very educated and specialized people in the area. They can help us with that, we are just athletes and do what we are told and trust the program that they are doing the right things for us and we just come out and play Hockey.
#FIHProLeague
