Eddie Ockenden: The enduring brilliance of Australia’s most capped hockey player

While the Australian squad for the FIH Hockey World Cup features a wealth of fresh talent, with five players set to make their World Cup debut in India, one name on the squad list has been there and done it all.

And he’s been doing it for almost 18 years.

Captain Eddie Ockenden began life as a forward before moving into a midfield role and finally settling as a defender for the Kookaburras.

Now over 400 caps later, the Tasmanian talisman of the team is readying himself for a fourth World Cup following his selection for the squads in 2010, 2014 and 2018.

While Ockenden’s immense fitness levels have seen him defy Father Time to become a mainstay of the team for almost two decades, he also has an undeniable knack for goals, racking up 72 over the course of his career.

He now stands as Australia’s most-capped player in hockey history and fourth most prolific in any sport, following cricket’s Ricky Ponting (575 caps), Steve Waugh (493 caps) and Allan Border (428 caps).

Over 400 caps and counting for Captain Fantastic

Ockenden is known for shying away from the spotlight, although he has often stood in the centre of it when Australia have played their most important games.

He first turned out for the Kookaburras in 2006, making his Olympic debut two years later at the 2008 Games in Beijing. Since then he has competed in three World Cups and four Olympic Games, with the last of those at Tokyo 2020.

So what’s the secret of such a long-lasting career in a sport as demanding as hockey?

“I just love the game and I think that’s what has to keep you going,” Ockenden told abc.net.au before his 400th cap against India in November last year. “I still love training. Obviously playing is the best part but I think if you get to a part where training’s hard then it becomes really difficult.”

It’s a sign of how popular Ockenden is that there was little doubt he would be selected for the match that brought him to four centuries of appearances.

“I’ll probably get sacked if he didn’t play,” Australia coach Colin Batch said jokingly.

And when he did finally make his 400th appearance, in front of family and friends who had made their way to Adelaide to celebrate alongside the Aussie captain, Ockenden marked the occasion in much the same way he has so many other games with Australia, with an emphatic 7-4 victory over the hosts of the upcoming World Cup.

Eddie Ockenden: A perennial winner with just one trophy missing from his cabinet

While Ockenden has a trophy cabinet brimming with the top prizes in his sport, including winners' medals from the 2010 and 2014 World Cup, there is still one medal that eludes him: Olympic gold.

His first attempt at winning the Olympic title came at Beijing 2008 where he scored twice in the bronze medal match as Australia ran out 6-2 winners against the Netherlands.

At London 2012 he won his second bronze medal in succession before Australia finished sixth at Rio 2016.

But the closest Ockenden has come to standing on the top step of the podium was at the most recent Tokyo 2020 Games, where his side fell just short of victory, losing the final on penalties to Belgium following a 1-1 draw in regulation time.

It was a devastating loss for the men in yellow and green, but just a year later Australia and Ockenden were back winning trophies, bringing home their seventh - and Ockenden’s fourth - Commonwealth Games title. Remarkably, the 35-year-old has never lost a game in the tournament.

It left Ockenden with the desire for one more push at Olympic glory, with the journey to Paris 2024 continuing with the upcoming Hockey World Cup that takes place in India from 13-29 January.

“It’s easy to say right now I want to go, but I think I’ll just see how we go and try and keep going, trying to make the squad,” Ockenden said of his chances of making it to Paris next year, before adding: “I’ll just keep putting my name forward and doing my best.”