Burras talent enters 2024 National Men's Development Squad

The Men’s National Development Squad (NDS) has expanded for 2024 with four more spots added in preparation for what will be a huge year, headlined by the Olympic Games in Paris.

Seven states are represented in the 2024 squad with five from Victoria, four from WA, three from NSW and ACT, two from South Australia and 1 each from Queensland and Tasmania.

Kookaburras Head Coach Colin Batch has shown that he’s open to calling up players from the NDS with Davis Atkin, Hayden Beltz, Anand Gupte, Ben Staines and Ash Thomas all earning debuts for the senior national side this year.

Following his first Kookaburras appearances, Ash Thomas has been elevated to the senior national squad for 2024, an amazing feat and show of determination with the NSW goalkeeper spending 6 years in the NDS, having first been selected in 2017.

The recent Junior World Cup and Sultan of Johor tournaments provided a platform for many of the under 21 players to shine with Cooper Burns, Nathan Czinner, Cam Geddes, Oliver Higgins and Liam Henderson’s standout performances catching the eye of Batch and earning them selection into the NDS for the first time. 

Mitch Nicholson finds himself in the NDS once again, with his inclusion coming as no surprise to those who watched the recent Hockey One season where the Brisbane Blaze goalie’s shootout heroics earned his side the 2023 title.

Canberra Chill’s Ben Staines has retained his spot in the NDS for 2024 as well, following up his maiden Kookaburras appearances with a standout Hockey One season in which he put away 7 goals to finish equal third top goal scorer.

The National Development Squad (NDS) athletes train at their home National Training Centre (NTC) under guidance of their NAPP coaches. Athletes in this squad may be invited to Perth to train with the Kookaburras as part of Visiting Athlete Agreements (VAA).