South West proud of Kookaburras after medal-favourites fall short

The South West hockey community is proud of their two Kookaburras despite a heartbreaking end to their Olympic campaign as the medal-favourites were knocked out in the quarter-finals. Bunbury’s Jake Harvie and Margaret River’s Aran Zalewski’s Paris dream was cut short with the Kookaburras defeated by the Netherlands. The result represents revenge for the Dutch who were knocked-out by Australia in Tokyo 2020. It lengthens the Kookaburra’s gold-medal drought with the last time Australia took home gold back in Athens in 2004. Boyanup Hockey Club’s Dean Lomax said the club was immensely proud of the efforts of the two South West stars, especially their very own Jake Harvie. “We’re pretty devastated for the young fella — he’s put in so much effort into everything over the last couple of years,” Mr Lomax said. “We wanted to let him have a bit of space too, I’m sure there’s a few raw emotions right now.” Mr Lomax said the efforts of the two South West talents had been inspiring for the region, especially that of captain Zalewski. “Aran’s been such a leader of that Kookaburra’s team for quite a few years now, and I think even for Aran you’d hope that he might be able to hang around a bit longer and retain that stability in this time,” he said. “He’s such an icon for the sport in the South West, having him in as the leader of the Kookaburra’s has been fantastic.” The Paris Games marked Harvie’s first Olympic appearance, while Zalweski captained the side in his third Olympics. Harvie continued his family legacy at the Games, with his grandfather Gordon Pearce — one of five siblings in a famous hockey family who represented the country — playing at the 1956, 1960 and 1968 Olympics. Pearce was part of a silver medal-winning side in his third outing. Mr Lomax said he was still hopeful for Harvie’s future within the Olympic squad. “We hope he’ll still have that fire in the belly in a couple of years time to keep going for it,” he said. “Knowing what his family is like as far as their dedication to the sport, how much they put into it, I’m sure that Jake would not have it any other way. “He’ll be the one that makes that call, but we’d love to see him there still.” The Kookaburras have finished on the podium in seven of their eight most recent Olympic campaigns, but for just the second time since 1992, the Australian team will return home empty-handed. The Kookaburras officially placed sixth, equalling the team’s worst Olympic performance since 1956.