Germany deny Kookaburras fairytale finale with 5-0 defeat in Berlin

The Kookaburras have wrapped up their 2024/25 FIH Pro League campaign with a 5-0 loss to Germany in Berlin, in what was a tough end to an intense European tour.

It was a bittersweet occasion for NSW striker Tom Craig, who was celebrating a special milestone night as he brought up his 150th international cap in green and gold, and as the Kookaburras sought to bounce back from their 3-2 defeat to Germany just 24 hours earlier.

"Germany were super clinical tonight, as they typically are, and it was a tricky way to finish a long tour," Tom conceded post-match.

"This trip was about development, and we gave ourselves the opportunity to go pretty deep into the tournament as well. Unfortunately, we came a little bit unstuck in the last few games, but I think we've made a lot of big steps, and we've got a lot of footage as a team now to review with next year's World Cup in mind.

"I love my teammates so much, I love playing hockey so much, and I also love the community and the people who are supporting me, so this 150 is all for them.

"Lachie Sharp put together a really cool video today, and there was a little bit of footage when I was a fresh-faced, 19-year-old on the scene, and to think about the player I was back then and the person I was back then. 

"It's definitely been a long journey, and maybe tonight I'll sit down and reflect on, maybe not this game, but the 149 before it, and feel a bit of pride."

Playing their eighth match in just 12 days, the Kookaburras showed plenty of fight, but they couldn’t match Germany’s clinical finishing and second-game spark. 

Despite carving out chances and earning five penalty corners, it was Germany who capitalised on nearly every opportunity to secure a commanding win and leapfrog Australia into second on the standings and qualify for the all-important 2026 FIH World Cup.

"We want to play attacking hockey, that's been our main focus, is our style of play and our brand of hockey, and we probably got punished for that a little bit tonight," Head Coach Mark Hager said. 

"We opened ourselves up at the back because we were being so aggressive, so I need to learn from that and look at where we have opportunity next time."

Germany had the Kookaburras on the back foot early, converting a penalty corner inside five minutes before punishing Australia with a second goal soon after, pouncing on a loose ball in the circle. 

The Kookaburras looked threatening, and Victoria's Cooper Burns thought he’d pulled one back before a foot violation ruled it out, but by quarter-time, the hosts were firmly in control.

The second quarter followed a similar script. Joel Rintala looked a certainty to deliver in his trademark form with a strong drag flick from a penalty corner, only to be denied by a sharp save.

Moments later, Germany punished their efforts and made it three with a slick deflection off a set play, before adding a fourth through Malte Hellwig to take a commanding 4-0 lead into halftime.

The milestone man, Tom Craig, won a penalty corner early in the third quarter, but again the shot missed its mark. While Germany was delivering on a perfectly executed game plan, adding a fifth goal on the counterattack as Australia struggled to hold shape during repeated stints down to 10 men due to green and yellow cards.

The final quarter saw Australia battle right to the end. Ky Willott and Blake Govers both created scoring chances, and two late crucial penalty corners saw Jeremy Hayward's flick ricochet off the post. The Kookaburras simply couldn’t find a breakthrough.
          
A frustrating finale to an otherwise vigorous European tour that once saw Australia in a race for the title as they notched five wins from eight matches. 

"I have to be a little bit careful not to get disillusioned with today's game and to say, 'look this is where we're at, but we've made some good gains and a lot of players played on this tour," Mark added.

"The real plus is we've given a lot of players international exposure, many of our players have only had 10 to 20 caps, and credit to them, they've been pretty good."

The Kookaburras' full focus now turns to the 2025 Oceania Cup in Darwin from 4 - 7 September, where they'll face New Zealand in a three-match series, when international hockey returns to the Northern Territory.

"We absolutely love playing in Darwin. We love playing in Australia, but we really love playing in Darwin, and we love the NT hockey community," Tom said. 

"[Darwin raised] Jeremy Hayward has always marked the event and we can't wait to get up there and support him in his community... it will be really special and hopefully we can we can review what we've been through in the last eight games and put together some good performances for a home crowd out there."

All Hockeyroos and Kookaburras matches, at home and abroad, are broadcast live and free on 7plus.

Full FIH Pro League fixtures & results

Kookaburras v Germany
Kookaburras: 0
Germany: 5 (Benedikt Schwarzhaupt 5" (PC), Malte Hellwig 13" & 26" (FG & FG), Moritz Ludwig 19" (PC), Raphael Hartkopf 36" (FG))
Ernst Reuter Sportfeld, Berlin

Kookaburras: 2. Tom Craig, 5. Cooper Burns, 7. Nathan Ephraums, 10. Josh Beltz (c), 12. Jed Snowden (gk), 13. Blake Govers, 16. Tim Howard, 17. Tom Harvie, 19. Craig Marais, 20. Ky Willott, 21. Jack Welch, 23. Hayden Beltz, 25. Nathan Czinner, 27. Joel Rintala, 29. Tim Brand, 32. Jeremy Hayward, 56. Connar Otterbach
Kookaburras 2025 Oceania Cup - Darwin, Northern Territory
*All times are in ACST

Thursday, 4 September
6.00pm - Kookaburras v Vantage Black Sticks men

Saturday, 6 September
4.00pm - Kookaburras v Vantage Black Sticks men

Sunday, 7 September
4.00pm - Kookaburras v Vantage Black Sticks men