Mark Hager was unveiled as the new coach of Australia men on Friday and will lead the side to the LA 2028 Olympic Games.
Hager, who takes over from Colin Batch, returned to Australia three years ago after leading GB women to bronze at Tokyo 2020 and headed Hockey Australia’s National Athlete Pathway Programme.
He will now aim to revamp a side which was engulfed in a drugs controversy at Paris 2024 after the Kookaburras exited at the quarter-final stage.
A former Kookaburras captain and Olympic bronze medallist, Hager said: “Coaching the Kookaburras has been an aspiration of mine ever since I got into coaching.
“Having started out as an Australian National Junior Coach, working alongside the likes of former Kookaburras’ coaches, Barry Dancer and Colin Batch, has encouraged me to want to go even further in my coaching career.
“You always aspire to coach your home country. Having been a Kookaburra myself, and having had the experience of coaching overseas, I feel now is the right time to step into this role.
“I get very excited about the history and rich legacy of the Kookas and knowing what it means to be a Kooka, having been there and experienced it myself. I’m just really excited to be a part of it again.”
Hager rebuilt New Zealand women after a last place finish at the 2008 Olympics to successive fourth place finishes, as well as 2018 Commonwealth gold.
Hockey Australia CEO David Pryles said: “This is a really exciting new era for the Kookaburras. It’s our chance to refresh, reset and turn our attention to focusing on medalling in LA 2028.
“Mark brings with him the rich legacy of the Kookaburras, having been a captain of the side who achieved success in Atlanta in 1996, so we are excited to see what he can do with this group.”
