Best of Australian Men’s Under 21s talent named in Burras squad for 2024 Sultan of Johor Cup

An 18-strong side has been named to represent Australia’s Under 21 Men’s Hockey Team, the Burras, for the 2024 Sultan of Johor Cup in Johor, Malaysia from 19 – 26 October this year. 

The Sultan of Johor Cup, in its 12th instalment this year, is an FIH-endorsed international tournament showcasing some of the world’s very best under 21s development talent with teams from Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Great Britain, New Zealand, South Africa, Germany and Australia. Founded in 2011, the event is held in Malaysia each year. 

Head Coach, Jay Stacy has named a promising squad, featuring seven players who starred in the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup in December last year. The team includes talent from right across Australia, including five players from Western Australia, four from Victoria, three from Tasmania, two from Queensland, two from NSW and one each from the ACT and South Australia. 

Selections were based on performances at Hockey Australia’s National U21s Championships in March this year, hosted in Newcastle NSW, and a four-match Australian U21 Men’s Invitational Series against a Malaysia U21s side in Brisbane in July. 

Head Coach Jay Stacy says he is excited to lead the Burras at the Sultan of Johor Cup once again.

“This group of young men have earnt their right to be selected both from their performances at recent tournaments, and their commitment and quality in the daily training environment of their home states,” Stacy said. 

“Playing and performing well at this event is obviously a key goal of ours. At the same time, however, developing our ability to play well under pressure at next year’s 2025 Junior World Cup will also be a key focus. This is why the Sultan of Johor Cup, as an entry level tournament that comes with all the FIH standard and procedures, is such an opportune event.

“Off the field, we have increased the importance of mental performance through Hockey Australia’s Pathways support and their Mental Performance in Competition (MPC) program adapted from the AIS. We have also enhanced the development and input of our leadership programs to support both short- and long-term success. The Technical Lead of Hockey Australia’s Pathways, Mark Knowles, and I both believe this will help support the journey of ensuring we inject the very best level of talent into our national Kookaburras squad.”

The Sultan of Johor Cup is a great opportunity for Australian hockey’s next generation of talent to showcase their form on the world stage, with 11 of the named squad eligible for the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup in India in December 2025 given they will still be Under 21 years of age come 31 December 2024. 

For others, it will be their last chance to play at international junior level, and therefore a timely occasion to be considered for the national men’s Kookaburras 2025 squad named at the end of this year. 

The Burras were pipped at the post in the last instalment of the event, going down to Junior World Cup Champions, Germany in a shootout in the 2023 Sultan of Johor Cup Final after being drawn nil-all at full time. They experienced a similar campaign in 2022 which also was lost in a shootout to India due to a 1-1 draw at full-time. 

The team will be looking to go one better this year. Australia have won the tournament twice behind only Great Britain and India, who have won it three times.