Hunter Becomes The Hunted

Sun Herald

Sunday June 22, 2008

By Laine Clark

EIGHT years ago, starry-eyed autograph hunter Casey Eastham asked Nikki Hudson for her signature - now the NSW teenager will join forces with the Hockeyroos stalwart in the Australian Olympic women's team.

When the 16-strong team was named last week, the pair were able to reflect on how far they had come - for very different reasons.

At 19, Eastham will be the youngest member of the Hockeyroos team, capping a remarkable rise since first catching the Olympic bug watching the Sydney Games in 2000.

In contrast, Hudson - 32 next month - will extend her incredible 15-year international career at Beijing as the most capped player in Australian women's hockey. Hudson will contest her third Olympics, as will defender Angie Lambert and goalkeeper Rachel Imison.

Eastham is not embarrassed to say she had autographs of all three.

"Around 2000 I was asking players like Nikki, Ange and Rachel for autographs - there are a lot of them [Hockeyroos players] I have autographs of," the Albion Park midfielder said.

"It's surreal to now be playing alongside them.

"When I told them not long ago [she had their autographs] they thought it was pretty cool that they had inspired someone."

Hockeyroos coach Frank Murray said Eastham had the potential to become the world's best player.

Eastham emerged from the Junior World Cup group to nail Olympic selection along with Madonna Blyth, Teneal Attard, Kobie McGurk and Kate Hollywood. "That's the future of our team. They have enormous talent," Murray said.

Hudson won gold at the Olympic Games that Eastham had soaked up as an 11-year-old and has overcome injuries over the years since to line up for Olympics No.3.

"It's almost a surreal feeling," said Hudson, who has played 293 internationals. "Not only am I going to the Olympics, but it's my third one. You can't ever get sick of how exciting that feels."

The team also includes Athens Olympians Nicole Arrold, Emily Halliday and Melanie Wells (nee Twitt).

"The best team was definitely picked," Hudson said.

"The young players bring so much vitality to the team and we are able to give them insight into the experiences and emotion that come with the Games."

While the likes of Eastham and Hudson were all smiles, there were the inevitable hard-luck stories.

Queensland strikers Suzie Faulkner and Wendy Beattie missed the cut after injury plagued their lead-up and Murray admitted defender Emma Stewart was "pretty unlucky" to miss out.

But there were also feel-good yarns.

Sydney midfielder Fiona Johnson missed out on the final Olympic selection trial, the Champions Trophy last month. When the Hockeyroos were finishing fifth at the six-nation tournament, the 25-year-old was playing for the South West Strikers in WA's Wizard League.

But her versatility ensured Johnson made the final cut.

"She adds versatility to our group [and] she's got a huge motor," Murray said. "She's a kid who will die for you. That's the sort of person you are going to need at Beijing."

Ranked fourth in the world, Australia will square off against Netherlands (No.1), China (5), Spain (8), Korea (9) and South Africa (12) in pool A in China.

© 2008 Sun Herald

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