Banned Olympian Craig survives Kookaburras hockey cull

Triple Olympian Jake Whetton (right) is a high-profile casualty from the new-look Kookaburras. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS)

Tom Craig has retained his place in the 2025 Kookaburras squad following his Paris arrest and suspension, but there's no place for two of his veteran Olympic teammates.

New Australian men's coach Mark Hager has announced a 17-man squad for 2025 as well a wider Kookaburras squad of 21 who will train within the high performance program.

While three players from the Paris line-up announced their retirement, in Eddie Ockenden, Aran Zalewski and Andrew Charter, there was no room for three-time Olympian Jake Whetton, 33,  or dual Games representative Tom Wickham, 34.

Tom Craig
Hockey ace Tom Craig following his arrest for attempting to buy cocaine during the Paris Olympics.

There's only one player over the age of 30 among the 17, with former Australian captain Hager, who replaced coach Colin Batch, making generational change.

“It’s exciting, it’s a new beginning for this group and we’ve picked 17 players that we feel very comfortable with, having seen how they’ve performed recently in 2024,” Hager said in a statement.

“The next four years to the LA 2028 Olympic Games, and also further to Brisbane in 2032, was a big factor in our decision to name an initial squad and a wider squad with a range of experience and ages so we can bring them along in the journey."

Canberra defender Anand Gupte has earned a full-time Kookaburras call-up almost two years after playing his first Test.

Three players are set to make their debut in HC Melbourne duo Cooper Burns and Liam Henderson and Adelaide Fire's Jed Snowden, who will fill the shoes of Charter, Australia’s most-capped goalkeeper.

Players in the wider group will get some game time at the FIH Pro League in Sydney and Argentina, with Hager looking to add a further seven players to his top squad.

Tom Wickham
Tom Wickham has also been cut from the Kookaburra's squad.

After a disappointing Paris campaign, where they made a quarter-final exit, Craig was banned for 12 months for attempting to buy cocaine, with six months suspended.

The 29-year-old won't be available until early March, ruling him out the Kookaburras' Tests in February against Spain and the Netherlands.

“Tom’s learned a lot of lessons over the last six months, he’s very remorseful and I believe he’s grown as a person,” Hager said.

“Tom’s a very talented hockey player, and I know he’s now working on the other side of being a high performance athlete, which is really crucial. 

"We can learn from his experiences and I know he’ll bring the lessons he’s learned back to the group.”

The squad will travel to Argentina in late February before touring Europe in June as they prepare for the 2026 World Cup Qualifier at the Oceania Cup in Darwin in September.

Kookaburras: Josh Beltz, Hayden Beltz, Tim Brand, Cooper Burns, Tom Craig, Nathan Ephraums, Blake Govers, Anand Gupte, Jake Harvie, Liam Henderson, Jeremy Hayward, Tim Howard, Craig Marais, Lachlan Sharp, Jed Snowden (GK), Corey Weyer, Ky Willott.

License this article

What is AAPNews?

For the first time, Australian Associated Press is delivering news straight to the consumer.

No ads. No spin. News straight-up.

Not only do you get to enjoy high-quality news delivered straight to your desktop or device, you do so in the knowledge you are supporting media diversity in Australia.

AAP Is Australia’s only independent newswire service, free from political and commercial influence, producing fact-based public interest journalism across a range of topics including politics, courts, sport, finance and entertainment.

What is AAPNews?
The Morning Wire

Wake up to AAPNews’ morning news bulletin delivered straight to your inbox or mobile device, bringing you up to speed with all that has happened overnight at home and abroad, as well as setting you up what the day has in store.

AAPNews Morning Wire
AAPNews Breaking News
Breaking News

Be the first to know when major breaking news happens.


Notifications will be sent to your device whenever a big story breaks, ensuring you are never in the dark when the talking points happen.

Focused Content

Enjoy the best of AAP’s specialised Topics in Focus. AAP has reporters dedicated to bringing you hard news and feature content across a range of specialised topics including Environment, Agriculture, Future Economies, Arts and Refugee Issues.

AAPNews Focussed Content
Subscription Plans

Choose the plan that best fits your needs. AAPNews offers two basic subscriptions, all billed monthly.

Once you sign up, you will have seven days to test out the service before being billed.

AAPNews Full Access Plan
Full Access
AU$10
  • Enjoy all that AAPNews has to offer
  • Access to breaking news notifications and bulletins
  • Includes access to all AAPNews’ specialised topics
Join Now
AAPNews Student Access Plan
Student Access
AU$5
  • Gain access via a verified student email account
  • Enjoy all the benefits of the ‘Full Access’ plan at a reduced rate
  • Subscription renews each month
Join Now
AAPNews Annual Access Plan
Annual Access
AU$99
  • All the benefits of the 'Full Access' subscription at a discounted rate
  • Subscription automatically renews after 12 months
Join Now

AAPNews also offers enterprise deals for businesses so you can provide an AAPNews account for your team, organisation or customers. Click here to contact AAP to sign-up your business today.

SEVEN DAYS FREE
Download the app
Download AAPNews on the App StoreDownload AAPNews on the Google Play Store