After three years of delays, Australia's leading hockey competition, Hockey One, is set to get underway this week, with the NSW Pride looking to defend it's crown following their 8-3 demolition job over Brisbane in the grand final back in 2019.
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Kookaburras regular and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Flynn Ogilvie will return to the side, however work commitments mean he will not be able to play in every game for the Pride.
It seems like a lifetime ago, but Ogilvie was a crucial part of the Pride team that finished first on the ladder in an undefeated side. The Wollongong local was awarded as player of the final and contributed to the side with three goals from midfield during the season.
The Pride will kick-off their campaign against a solid Melbourne side away from home on Thursday night.
He told the Mercury that whilst he was disappointed he could not commit to every game this season, he was excited that the campaign was about to get underway.
"It's going to be a strange one for me because I won't be able to play every game of the season," he said.
"So I won't be able to play every game but I will be back for our third game, which is against Perth at home.
"We've also got a few senior guys out early in the season like Lachlan Sharp who is recovering from a concussion injury.
"But on the plus side it will be great to see what our young guys can do early on in the year against some really good teams," he said.
Ogilvie said that he was not concerned about the team missing a couple of senior heads at the start of the season and had full faith in the youngsters to get the job done in the early fixtures.
"I'm excited to watch them play," he said.
"They definitely have a good test first up against Melbourne who are going to be very strong this season.
"I'm pretty confident they will be able to play at this level because in NSW we have some really strong juniors coming through the ranks," Ogilvie said.
Every game of Hockey One will be shown live on Kayo Sports between September to November.
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Jordan Warren
Illawarra Mercury sports journalist. Feel free to get in touch jordan.warren@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
Illawarra Mercury sports journalist. Feel free to get in touch jordan.warren@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
