Tara Murray
Altona captain Andrew Scanlon is relishing the opportunity to be part of the HC Melbourne squad for the HockeyOne competition.
Now in the back part of his career,Scanlon hadn’t been involved in the senior Victorian squad since 2018.
He is now is part of this year’s 25-man squad.
“It’s pretty cool,” he said. “I had a few years off with Covid and it took a back seat.
“I hadn’t really thought about it and it wasn’t on my radar.Someone then pushed me to go for it.”
Scanlon said coaches put forward the names of their players and an initial squad of 40 is picked.
That is whittled down to 25 after three trial matches.
Scanlon said it was pretty cool to be part of the squad. It’s the first time he has been part of the HockeyOne competition.
“I’m one of the older ones,” he said. “Last time was in 2018, which was six years ago.
“A lot has changed. Last time I played it was the Victoria Vikings, it’s Melbourne now.
“It’s pretty cool.”
Scanlon said the change of competitions as well meant things were a lot different.
He said the HockeyOne competition is a lot bigger than the old format.
“There’s a lot more sponsors and commercial rights,” he said. “It used to be a two week tournament.
“The hockey community knew about it but no one else did. It’s a lot bigger being in the fourth year, it’s set up really well.”
HockeyOne kicked off on October 11.
Scanlon has pretty simple hopes for this year.
“Step one is that I want to play,” he said. “It’s a really strong squad of 25 that is picked from each week.
“A medal would be awesome, but I’m just happy to be involved.”
Joining Scanlon in the squad are Altona teammates Kade Leigh, Nye Roberts, Connar Otterbach, Cooper Burns and Ben Hooppell.
Scanlon said it was a massive effort to have that many of the group selected.
“It’s an achievement for the club, I’ve seen some of these guys grow up.”
While HockeyOne is in the background, the group is focused on helping Altona try and win a premiership.
The Seagulls claimed the club’s first premier minor premiership since 1995.
“We had high expectations,” he said. “We set out to make finals and then we had a good start and we kept going.
“If we win the game this weekend we will be in the grand final for the first time in 25 years.
“Across the board it’s been a good season. All five senior men’s teams are still alive in the finals.
‘It’s testament to the work done off the field.”
