The Canberra Chill are hoping for a “loud and proud” home crowd tonight for their match against Melbourne in the second round of the Hockey One competition.
After a long hiatus since 2019 due to pandemic restrictions, the Canberra Chill women are back and better than before, feeling confident after beating the Brisbane Blaze 4-2 in their first game of the season.
The star-studded Brisbane team may feature Australia’s best, but the Canberra Chill’s world-class team featuring several internationals combined well to claim a fantastic victory.
Eighteen-year-old Canberra Chill midfielder Olivia Martin says that as a young player coming into the game, playing against the big guns is “so exciting” and she’s pumped to be taking the home field tonight.
“[I’m] just so stoked to be able to play another game in front of the home crowd. It’s always so special to be able to involve the community in the Hockey One program,” Martin says.
“They put so much into us to be able to be here and I think it’s a really awesome opportunity for us to be able to give back and put on a really good game for them and hopefully inspire a couple of hockey players to do the same.
“I mean, any crowd is amazing and obviously a home crowd, one that’s loud and proud… Please come out and support us, it would be so good to see everyone there.”
Former Hockeyroo and Canberra Chill forward Kalindi Commerford says she’s excited to be able to strike out onto home turf tonight after two years of waiting and to bring the sport back to Canberra.
“Home crowd support definitely helps with momentum during the game. It’s nice to see some friendly and old familiar faces in the crowd and, of course, we do like them to get loud because it helps boost our morale on the pitch,” smiles Commerford.
“So hopefully everyone can just brave the weather. I mean, it’s Canberra, surely they’re used to average weather.”
The former Hockeyroo says there’s a lot of nostalgia playing back in Canberra and she’s taking the time to play for enjoyment rather than for selection this year.
“I’m just playing for enjoyment and if that can translate to inspire someone in the crowd to try and reach a level of hockey that I’ve reached and one day play for the Chill, that’s enough for me,” Commerford says.
The women are all confident in their performance and Japan National Team player and Chill defender Shihori Oikawa says they have “a fighting spirit”.
“It’s going to be a tough game, game two. But I always think about staying calm and staying humble,” Oikawa says.
“I’m a defender, so I always want to help my teammate. If a teammate makes some mistakes, everyone makes mistakes, but I always stand behind the teammate, then just pass to a teammate and just help each other.”
The Canberra Chill are playing their first home game tonight, Thursday 13 October from 6.30pm against Melbourne at the National Hockey Centre in Lyneham.
