Dwyer ready to fire

New Delhi, Feb. 22: Jamie Dwyer is considered as the most lethal striker in world hockey, but there is something even this 30-year Australian cannot do — win every game 10-0 for coach Ric Charlesworth.

The Aussies recently won the Champions Trophy in Melbourne — they beat Asian champions South Korea 4-0, routed Netherlands 7-2, beat England 2-1, streamrolled Spain 10-3 before beating world champions Germany 4-3 in the final — but what Charlesworth said later stunned everyone. “This wasn’t our best performance. I am not happy,” was the coach’s observation.

The statement is a clear insight into what goes into Australia’s success as a hockey-playing nation. It also speaks volumes of the impeccable abilities of a man named Ric Charlesworth, the legendary coach who was booted out by the India authorities in the past.

Explains Dwyer, “Ric Charlesworth does set the bar very high and until we win every game 10-0, he wouldn’t be happy. He expects perfection and that makes you as an individual try to reach that level.

“The team have changed a bit since Ric has taken over.

“He is a perfectionist and has an aura about him that brings confidence to the team and to the individual. He thinks outside the box and changes the way the game is played and that’s what makes him the best.”

As a player, Dwyer’s achievements are exemplary. While most players are happy to even be picked among the FIH’s prestigious World Hockey Player of the year nominees, Dwyer has the honour of winning it thrice.

The defining moment in his career though came when Dwyer scored the golden goal against the Dutch in the final of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, breaking Australia’s 48-year Olympic gold drought.

Interestingly, Dwyer had once turned down a cricket scholarship to pursue his career in hockey. “I always wanted to win an Olympic gold. It is bigger than cricket, isn’t it?” he said.

Though the Australian skipper did realise his childhood dream at the 2004 Athens Games, the last World Cups have been heartbreaking for him.

Australia reached the final of the 2002 and 2006 edition, only to be beaten by eventual winners Germany.

“The last two World Cups were great fun, but it would have been better if we had won one or both. We will go into the tournament with high expectations and hopefully we will be there on the last day playing the final. It’s going to be very tough as there are so many good teams,” he said.

The Australians, who arrived in the city on the day, have a new face in the 21-year Kieran Govers — the striker has played only three internationals — while established names like Brent Livermore and Brent Dancer are missing. “Kieran Govers is a great young talent. It must have been a tough job for the selectors but they picked what they thought is the best team to hopefully win the World Cup,” he said.

The Aussies begin as one of the favourites here, but Dwyer believes beating India at the home turf will be tough.

“I haven’t seen them play too much over the last two years, but I know that any Indian team are dangerous and can win any game they play. If the crowd get behind their team they will be hard to beat,” said Dwyer, adding that the Hockeyroos would do every bit to lay their hands on the coveted trophy after a gap of 24 years.

Harpreet Kaur Lamba