HC Melbourne’s 22 ready for Season 3 of Hockey One

Published Thu 24 Aug 2023

Hockey Club Melbourne’s final 22 players are set to take on Season 3 of Hockey One which starts this October. With a host of new players and the depth of experience the new look squads are set to take a fresh approach into Round 1 against Tassie Tigers on Friday 6 October.

Three fresh players are welcomed into the Women’s squad including Jessie Dean from Mentone HC, Southern United’s Amelie Green and Charlotte Hodgson from Camberwell HC.

The Women’s squad welcomes back former Hockeyroo, Laura Barden, who played in Season 1 but missed the second season due to playing overseas for the KHC Dragons in Belgium. Veteran Sam Snow is also back into the team from the inaugural squad after recently becoming a mother and taking on a PhD.

Women’s Head Coach Dan Mitchell said, “selecting the final 22 was tough this year with so many quality players putting their hand up for selection. Ultimately, having one eye on the future while also putting the best group available to us on the pitch was key to the selection process this year.”

A string of new recruits heads up the Men’s squad with seven new athletes donning the black and gold jersey. Former Perth Thundersticks and current Doncaster HC player Frazer Gerrard joins the ranks as an experienced Defender/Midfielder. While Brad Marais from Southern United joins his brother Craig in the squad. Fresh from the U21 Burras squad, Nye Roberts also joins the squad after a stellar season with Altona HC.

Also joining the Men’s squad is Ben White from KBH, George McGeoch from MCC HS, and Carlin Walker from Southern United. The string of new players is sure to inject some fresh energy into the squad with Andrew Smith at the helm. Men’s Head Coach Andrew Smith noted, “the selection of the 22 players was both a challenging and exciting task that was undertaken by the selectors. It was challenging due to the quality of depth within the playing group and exciting to be able to look at the individual skill sets and experiences that each player will be able to bring to the team to work collectively towards a common goal.”