Following a disappointing showing at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Kookaburras and Hockeyroos will kick off the new hockey cycle in Sydney this week at the FIH Pro League.

Entering a new era with a new coach (Mark Hager) and several potential debutants, the men's Australian hockey team will play Spain and the Netherlands in Sydney. The latter team knocked them out of last year's Olympics in the knockout stage.

As the Kookaburras look to defend their title after winning Season 5 of the FIH Pro League with ten wins from 16 matches, they are desperate to avenge their poor form and get off to a terrific start before they head to Europe in June,

The event also marks a special occasion for brothers Jake and Tom Harvie, who's grandfather Gordon Pearce is a former international hockey player and triple-Olympian.

While Jake has been with the Australian squad since 2017 and has made over 60 caps, including winning two Gold medals at the Commonwealth Games, Tom has landed his maiden call-up to the national team ahead of the FIH Pro League.

The 25-year-old midfielder is set to continue the family tradition this week after finally being given his shot to represent Australia after a ton of dedication and hard work - he previously represented the U18s and U21s Australian teams.

"Super excited and proud of Tom. It's a great opportunity for him and something he's worked really hard for and he's definitely had to wait a bit longer than I did to make my debut," Jake said about his younger brother on Monday.

"Really proud of him for his perseverance and the opportunity that he's going to get. It's a really special moment and opportunity to play for your country, whether it's one game or a hundred.

"It's something that we want to encourage guys to make the most of and really lean into and enjoy it.

"We're fortunate to have a strong connection to the sport with our grandad being a triple Olympian in the sport of hockey and he got to play with his brothers and the opportunity that we get to play together is something that's a bit beyond our wildest expectations.

"We're so grateful for the opportunity that we've both already had and not to get to do that for Australia is really special.

"There was plenty of backyard battles out in the back and growing up in a regional area, it's always been something that's really special to us to get the opportunity to play together for the Kookaburras.

"To have that dream come true is just so special and I'm excited to see him go and do his thing."

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Winning the most recent edition in 2023-24, Australia will face tough competition in Span and the reigning Olympic champions, the Netherlands.

“It's really disappointing that we didn't get the result we wanted and maybe at that point we didn't play in the style and it didn't quite click for us,” Harvie added.

“We had some good hockey leading in and had some success in the Pro League but it just didn't come together. It's an opportunity now to move forward, lean into the energy of a new group and start fresh to some degree.

“We're going to be looking to compete really hard and it's a great start against two teams like Spain and Holland that had a really successful year last year.”