Kookaburras Name Two Debutants for Azlan Shah Cup as Australia Chase an 11th Title
Australia are going to Ipoh with a squad that looks both familiar and brand new. Hockey Australia have named their 18 for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, 20 to 28 November, and the headline is right at the top: two debutants, and a whole lot of youth around a World Cup core.
Matthew Hawthorne of Queensland and Duncan Jackson of Victoria are the new faces. Jackson arrives with serious form behind him. He was named Player of the Tournament and top goalscorer at the 2026 U21 National Championships, which isn’t a bad way to force your way into a senior squad. Hawthorne gets his chance alongside him, and both are part of Hockey Australia’s Talent Accelerator 2032 programme, the pathway built towards a home Olympics in Brisbane.
The spine stays, the edges change
Eight members of the 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup squad are back. Co-captain Tim Howard leads them, with Nathan Ephraums, Lachlan Sharp and goalkeeper Jed Snowden among the returnees. Around them, five players who earned their first Kookaburras call-ups this year: Davis Atkin, Dylan Downey, Ian Grobbelaar, Magnus McCausland and Lachlan Rogers.
Grobbelaar is a name to watch. He scored both goals, including a 59th-minute winner, as the Burras beat India 2-1 in the 2025 Sultan of Johor Cup final, and McCausland was named Goalkeeper of the Tournament there. That is the kind of big-game record that travels well to Ipoh.
Five of the 18 come from the inaugural TA32 cohort: Hawthorne, Jackson, Downey, Grobbelaar and McCausland, with non-travelling reserve Oliver Stebbings in the same programme. Hockey Australia say the pathway will be anchored by their new Centre of Excellence, currently being built at Curtin University in Perth.
What is at stake
This is Australia’s first international hit-out since the World Cup, and a key part of their build towards the 2026-27 FIH Pro League season. They are the most successful nation in Azlan Shah Cup history with 10 titles, the most recent in 2018. World No. 3, six-team round robin, top two into the final on 28 November. For our money, they start as favourites again, but the interesting part is not the trophy count. It’s whether this younger group can win a tournament, not just play in one.
Australia open against the USA on Friday 20 November, then face Korea on Saturday 21 November, Pakistan on Monday 23 November, hosts Malaysia on Tuesday 24 November and Canada on Thursday 26 November. The finals day on Saturday 28 November has the fifth-place game, the bronze-medal match and then the final.
Kookaburras squad, Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2026: Davis Atkin (ACT), Cooper Burns (VIC), James Collins (WA), Nathan Czinner (NSW), Dylan Downey (NSW), Nathan Ephraums (VIC), Cambell Geddes (WA), Ian Grobbelaar (WA), Anand Gupte (ACT), Matthew Hawthorne (QLD), Tim Howard (QLD), Duncan Jackson (VIC), Craig Marais (VIC), Magnus McCausland (TAS), Lachlan Rogers (TAS), Lachlan Sharp (NSW), Jed Snowden (VIC), Jack Welch (TAS). Non-travelling reserves: Dylan Brick (ACT), Max Larkin (TAS), Oliver Stebbings (TAS), Thomas Wycherley (QLD).
Australia’s fixtures (Ipoh local time, with PKT in brackets): Fri 20 Nov v USA, 3:00pm (12:00pm PKT); Sat 21 Nov v Korea, 5:15pm (2:15pm PKT); Mon 23 Nov v Pakistan, 5:15pm (2:15pm PKT); Tue 24 Nov v Malaysia, 7:30pm (4:30pm PKT); Thu 26 Nov v Canada, 3:00pm (12:00pm PKT); Sat 28 Nov finals, 3:00pm fifth-place game (12:00pm PKT), 5:30pm bronze (2:30pm PKT), 8:00pm final (5:00pm PKT).
Related:
https://sportscursor.com/usmnt-azlan-shah-cup-2026-first-ever-squad/
https://sportscursor.com/azlan-shah-cup-2026-korea-pakistan-in-scotland-south-africa-out/
