Kookaburras not convincing in Olympics wins, but South West boys strong

A pair of South West hockey players have been instrumental in the Kookaburras’ first two Olympics wins, but reigning gold medallists Belgium trumped the green and gold on Wednesday. The Belgium game was a Tokyo 2020 final rematch, a game in which Australia fell just short of gold after a thrilling penalty shootout. Their latest match-up was not so close, with Belgium coming out on top in a 6-2 thrashing. Skippering the side which includes Dardanup product Jake Harvie — making his Olympics debut in these Games — is Margaret River’s Aran Zalewski. On Monday evening, WA time, the pair came up against Ireland where they logged an unconvincing 2-1 win. The game seemed a grind for the Kookaburras, but they got the points in the end. On Saturday, Harvie played a key role as the Kookaburras started their Olympics campaign in winning fashion by beating Argentina. Coming off the bench for his Games debut, the Boyanup Hockey Club junior played an important role in defence while having plenty of licence to push forward as his side opened their quest for gold with a 1-0 win over the world No.7 side. He spent two minutes on the sidelines in the third quarter after receiving a green card, but coach Colin Batch said he was happy with Harvie’s performance. Zalewski was also a solid contributor in that win, putting in a typically industrious performance in his midfield role and as skipper. The Kookaburras also have India and New Zealand in their group as they try to win gold for the first time since 2004. They will clash against New Zealand on August 1, and will come up against India on August 2 (Paris time).