Altona Hockey Club’s Cooper Burns and Connar Otterbach grew up dreaming of playing for the Kookaburras together.
From the pitches at Altona, through to state programs, Altona’s senior side, under-age Australian teams and Hockey One League, the pair have done it all together.
So it seemed somewhat fitting that they would make their Australian senior debut in the same match.
That moment came in the opening match of the FIH Pro League series in Sydney, with both getting starts.
“It is still like settling in now,” Otterbach said. ”It’s been pretty crazy the last few weeks.
“It was amazing to be able to do it in Australia with a home crowd and so many family and friends coming up to Sydney.
“That is pretty special. We always spoke about it but didn’t think it would pan out this way.”
Burns said it was pretty special to achieve something he had been focused on his whole life.
He said Altona was a really family oriented club and it was good to see them come up and support them.
“It was a goal of mine throughout the years,” he said. “To have a lot of family and friends come up made it more special.
“I’ve got to keep working hard. It’s always harder to keep your spot.
“I’m pretty happy but there’s still things to work on.”
The two had slightly different journeys to making their senior Australian debuts.
Burns was named in a 17-man Kookaburras squad for this year, meaning he was an automatic selection.
He played in each of the games and managed to score his first senior goal for his country.
Burns said there were some nerves early on but felt at home at that level.
“I scored my first goal in the second game,” he said. “As a striker it’s pretty handy to get that off your back,
“It was good to get it early and hopefully more to come. It’s something that I will remember for a long time to come.”
Otterbach, along with another Altona teammate Nye Roberts, were named in a 17-man development squad, with the last eight spots in the Kookaburras squad to come from that group.
He was told in December he would be part of the Sydney squad.
“I just put my best foot forward and hopefully I can get one of those last spots,” he said.
For Otterbach, he wasn’t sure he would get the opportunity to play for Australia.
It’s been an injury riddled few years. Last year alone he broke his foot and tore his hamstring.
Burns will now head with the Kookaburras side to Argentina for the next stage of the FIH Pro League stage. He’ll then head to Perth with the rest of the Kookaburras squad.
“It is exciting,” he said. “It will be tough and it won’t be easy.
“Belgium will be there as well and are a quality side. I’ll keep working hard to sustain it.
“I want to keep my spot. I’ll then get home and continue to work hard and train with the boys.”
Otterbach is hoping to move to Perth as well if he gets a call up to the final squad.
He said if not, the task is simple.
“Keep working and working until I get there.”
