The Australian Women's Junior Team, aka the Jillaroos, will enter the 2009 BDO Junior World Cup full of confidence, with six current Hockeyroos named in the squad of 18 players.
Hockeyroos Casey Eastham, Anna Flanagan, Emily Hurtz, Heather Langham, Georgia Nanscawen and Danielle Schubach will bolster Australia's side to compete in Boston, USA from 3-16 August.
Adding even further experience to the squad, four of those six Hockeyroos (Eastham, Hurtz, Langham and Nanscawen) recently competed at the Samsung Hockey Champions Trophy - Women 2009 tournament in Sydney, helping the team win the silver medal. With the Champions Trophy giving these players the opportunity to play against the top nations in the world including the Netherlands, Argentina and Germany, coach Katrina Powell says competing in this prestigious event provides invaluable experience ahead of the Junior World Cup.
ÔÇ£The opportunity that Emily, Heather and Georgia had to play in their first major tournament, and the fact that it was played on home soil, was very exciting. For the Junior World Cup team, going to Boston with a handful of players having had this level of senior representative experience will no doubt be of benefit,ÔÇØ said Powell.
Of particular interest is the inclusion of 20 year old Casey Eastham, who played at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and was one of the best players, scoring four goals.
ÔÇ£Casey brings a wealth of experience into the Junior World Cup team having already participated at an Olympic Games and this being her second Junior World Cup. Though, this time she will be a senior player and will be a key leader in our group.ÔÇØ
ÔÇ£There is a good balance in the team and certainly a lot of talent, but it is hard to judge how we will perform given how little we know about the other countries. I would expect that the traditional key hockey nations such as the Dutch and the Germans will be hard to beat, along with Korea who have won the last two Junior World Cups, said Powell.ÔÇØ
Source: Hockey Australia
